Samsung in partnership with METIME, is calling on all aspiring entrepreneurs to enter its Mixed Talents competition.
METIME is an online start-up company that specialises in creating employment opportunities.
The initiative, which started last year, is aimed at addressing the issue of youth unemployment in SA and winners will be rewarded with funding and mentorship.
The closing date for submissions is 3 July.
According to Samsung, the competition will see ten finalists pitching their ideas to a panel of business experts, who will then choose three winners.
Michelle Potgieter, director of corporate marketing and communications at Samsung SA, says each of the winners will receive R 50 000 to help launch their business dream.
They will also be given access to over R 300 000 worth of invaluable business support tools - such as serviced office space for each organisation through Work Central and coaching through Winning Edge, she elaborates.
Earlier this year, Samsung Launching People, in partnership with METIME, unveiled the Ideas Bank - a Web-based tool which filters and vets entrepreneurial ideas according to type, industry, nature of impact and others, and then channels and matches these to the right business partner, coach, funder or business collaborations, says Potgieter.
Samsung created this technological platform for young local entrepreneurs, offering them an opportunity to voice their ideas and link them to expert partners for guidance and help address the issue of youth unemployment, she adds.
"When we mix different talents with technology, great ideas are born and ideas have the power to inspire and to change the world," says Samsung.
To enter the competition, users are invited to visit the Ideas Bank Web application and submit their entrepreneurial ideas or aspirations, it continues.
New users will need to build a professional profile to source the relevant support or information to take their idea or business to the market, Samsung adds.
Existing users should make sure that they polish and update their profile on the Ideas Bank platform, also completing new fields that have been added, says Samsung.
According to Potgieter, one of the distinguishing characteristics of the competition is that promising entrepreneurs are able to get real guidance and support by simply presenting an idea.
In contrast, most business incubators stipulate that the entrepreneur needs to have actually established their business, she adds.
"With one of the highest jobless rates in the world, young South Africans are struggling to find opportunities for success in the corporate world.
"They therefore need to create their own, entrepreneurship being one of the most underutilised outlets in which to do so."
The problem is not lack of skills, drive or knowledge, but an inability to express their ideas and unlock their potential, says Potgieter.
"Technology has the power to push people forward and spark innovation. More than that, technology has the power to unite people, fostering an environment to create solutions that are not only innovative in functionality, but also serve important social purposes.
"It is through such mediums that start-ups can find differentiation, become impactful and are grown sustainably."
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