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Home / Young Entrepreneurs Group Association hosts first mentor speed dating session

Young Entrepreneurs Group Association hosts first mentor speed dating session

2019-06-19  Staff Reporter

Young Entrepreneurs Group Association hosts first mentor speed dating session

Paheja Siririka

WINDHOEK – Young Entrepreneurs Group Association last week hosted a Date a Mentor Namibia (#DAMN) event in Windhoek. The event was Namibia’s first mentor speed dating session. The concept was drawn from “speed dating”, which is an organised social activity in which people seek romantic relationships by having a series of short conversations with potential partners in order to determine whether there is mutual interest. 

“Our event was similarly adapted, with focus on providing a network space for industry-specific mentors and potential youth mentees,” said Ndeshihafela Shinedima, communications consultant for YEG Events Management. The intention of the event is to inspire the youth to pursue entrepreneurship. “We want to bridge the gap, that is our 46.1 percent youth unemployment rate,” said Shinedima. Date a Mentor Namibia (#DAMN) placed the spotlight on personal growth and development. “We saw this as the highest form of investment one can put into an individual,” explained Shinedima. 

The event consisted of 11 mentors and more than 20 youth mentees. “The mentors represented the corporate sector, business personalities, academics and researchers,” highlighted Shinedima. The event unfolded exactly how speed dating is done. 

“There were four rounds of speed mentoring lasting 10 minutes each. After the 10 minutes elapsed, the facilitator rang the bell and announced the mentees to move on to their next ‘date’. After the four rounds, there was a Questions & Answers session to further discuss topics and engaged for longer. Our event turned out to be a great success because of the amazing support from our event patron, Ilke Platt, and the presence of our mentors and youth mentees,” said the jovial Shinedima.


2019-06-19  Staff Reporter

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