2019 Cohort

On the 12th June 2019, we launched Barloworld Mbewu, followed by road shows across the nine provinces of South Africa. With over 5000 kilometres travelled, and well over 23 local radio station interviews and a social media campaign to boot, we received over 4 000 applications.

During a three day workshop, the Barloworld Mbewu CSI Champions sifted through the applications and shortlisted the best 30 to go through to the Big Pitch.

The Big Pitch involved three days of face-to-face business pitches, to our Adjudicating Committee and Potential Financiers, where Social entrepreneurs were invited to outline well-developed plans.

South Africa has amazing talent and all that stands between them and success is a little support and investments. We are excited about the 30 candidates that have been selected and are confident that through this programme we will enable them to start “Seeding their social change for a world of difference”.

With this promising start, it’s clear that the Barloworld Mbewu Programme is not just a vehicle for social change but also one that has come at the right time.

Thank you to all that have shown interest in the programme and we hope to hear from you again in 2020.