Should very young entrepreneurs enter pitching competitions, apply for grant funding?

For some entrepreneurs, pitching competitions have made all the difference in their search for funding, incubation and other resources. But, is it advisable for very young entrepreneurs to enter these competitions? And what about applying for grants? Does this have any benefit for young entrepreneurs?

This was one of the many topics tackled at last month’s Very Young Entrepreneur Education & Acceleration Summit in Johannesburg.

Speaking at the summit during a panel discussion on investment in very young entrepreneurs, Rekindle Learning founder and chair Rapelang Rabana said she’d found pitching competitions useful when it comes to building relationships and getting exposure. This, even though she admits that she isn’t a big fan of such competitions.

“But I can’t say that I personally secured significant resources through those (pitching competitions),” said Rabana.

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Featured image: ALA vice president growth and entrepreneurship Josh Adler, Chanzo Capital managing partner and Angel Fair Africa founder Eric Osiakwan, ThreeArrows Impact Partner founder and partner Sawa Nakagawa, Cloudline founder Spencer Horne and Rekindle Learning founder and chair Rapelang Rabana (Supplied)

The Anzisha Prize seeks to fundamentally and significantly increase the number of job generative entrepreneurs in Africa, and is a partnership between African Leadership Academy and Mastercard Foundation. Through Ventureburn, they hope to share inspirational and relatable stories of very young (15 to 22 year old) African entrepreneurs and the people that support them. [learn more]