The Sunday News
Uzile Mkwananzi, Sunday News Reporter
ORGANISERS of the Hustlers Summit, which is in its third edition, have revealed that this year’s edition will be packed with entrepreneurial information that will be impactful as well as entertaining for the youths who want to venture into the business sector.
The summit which will be held on 22 March at Barbourfields stadium, Bulawayo, with a targeted audience of 30 000. This year, it will be headlined by prominent figures like Tsega Tadesse Belachew (USA), Nicolette Mashile also known as the Financial Bunny (SA), Nyary Moyo owner and founder of Yanaya, Thubelihle Mpofu – Purse on Point and young Victoria Falls based musician, Andre the vocalist.
Tsega Tadesse Belachew
In an interview with Sunday News, the summit’s founder and convener, Mr Nkosana George Mazibisa, said the summit will be impactful to the entrepreneurial youths.
“As Hustlers Summit, we make sure that our summits are not the typical conferences which are too formal. Ours is a blend of fun activities, discussions, conversations, break away sessions, performances and something that will motivate you to come back again the next time it is held,” said Mr Mazibisa.
He added that from their summits, one gets direct insights regarding a certain industry and become more informed on the industry. Attendees get to meet like-minded people,who will help them push through their dreams, as the entrepreneurial journey can be a lonely one.
“The selection of our panel and topics is one that is organic. We look at the current year trends and how relatable we can be. This year, we are saying “Hope and Hustle”. We are looking at how young people can take advantage of the creative space through the influence of culture and come up with home grown genres and businesses that can be used to then create value for them.
“We also look at the economic underpins under a certain sector, considering the success and failure stories of the economy.
This year we are looking at “Dream chasing and art of entrepreneurship in Africa” which then gives context to how one fails and succeeds in Africa. We will also be looking at managing entrepreneurial hustles in a risky dynamic environment, as well as the corporate social success and entrepreneurial influence around big companies and how they contribute to all that,” said Mr Mazibisa.
In the inaugural edition, in 2022, the summit managed to attract 1693 delegates, with the Guest Speaker being international celebrity/entrepreneur and creative Sibusiso “Dj Sbu” Leope from South Africa, who owns Mofaya Beverages.
That same year in December, Hustlers Summit won two international awards at Africa Start-Up Ecosystem Builders Summit and Awards in South Africa. In 2023, the second edition had 2 087 delegates, with the guest speaker being a 33-year-old multi-millionaire, Dumisani Ncube from Zambia. Mr Mazibisa said their main goal is to focus on and empower young people who want to venture into the entrepreneurial world.
“Our main goal and mission is to capacitate and empower upcoming entrepreneurs in varsities and high schools,who are in creative spaces by giving them actionable insights and tools that can be used to leverage what they are doing. My first international summit that I attended was in the US, where I purposed in my heart to say we need to have such programmes in Bulawayo, where we have young people discussing economic opportunities and academic exchange programmes and also have spaces where they can collaborate and have transformative conversations hence the formation of the Hustler’s Summit,” said Mr Mazibuko.
