- Moabi Mmualefhe, Martin Moatshe and Bame Rammala emerged the best of 15 entries
- They won P100K each and business mentorship
Three young Batswana have been announced as winners of the third edition of the Total Energies StartUpper Challenge
The three, who were announced on 17 May 2022, emerged victorious out of a total of 15 submissions. The StartUpper Challenge is an initiative by Total Energies launched in 2015 to encourage young Africans across the continent to submit project proposals on why their entrepreneurial idea deserves to receive the attention and support of Total Energies. Open to all individuals under 35 years of age who own a start-up or business under three years old, this third edition of the Challenge received 13,885 applications from 32 African nations.
According to the Managing Director of Total Energies Botswana, Diego Mtshali, the Total Energies StartUpper Challenge is one of the company’s efforts to uplift the youth of communities within which it operates. Mtshali said as with all initiatives that the company embarks on, it ensures that it continuously adheres to global ethical standards as well as with the United Nations (UN) agenda for sustainable development.
“With the StartUpper Challenge, Total Energies aims to ccontribute to the development of the local economic environment, promote our local roots through these local challenges, show the company’s commitment to local entrepreneurship, as well as encourage young companies to integrate environmental and societal dimensions such as the inclusion of women into their business,” he explained.
Fifteen finalists submitted their projects for this challenge in Botswana but only three business ideas emerged as victorious. The winners were Moabi Mmualefhe under the Best Creation Project category, Martin Moatshe under Best StartUpper Under Three Years and Bame Rammala under Best Female category. All winners received cash prizes of P100, 000 each and mentorship.
