Fonty’s- Northrise University Social Enterprise Project

An entrepreneurial project with a social impact was all it took for me to get interested in the Fonty’s- Northrise University Social Enterprise Project. This project saw the merging of the business minds of students from The Fonty’s Business School and The Northrise Business School with the aim of creating a company that would operate under the umbrella of a social enterprise, being financially self-sufficient, but with a social impact that would meet the needs of the countries of The Netherlands and Zambia. My initial expectations were quite blurry because I couldn’t predict at the time how the 4 day work shop was going to narrow down multiple ideas of different social settings into one social enterprise project that would meet the needs of both countries and be of meaningful value. One thing was for sure though; it was going to be an interesting few days at Northrise working with Fonty’s University students.
The experience of taking part in the workshop and ultimately being part of the social enterprise was much more fulfilling than I could have anticipated. From the cultural and intellectual diversity that was brought by the students from both Northrise and Fonty’s, to the vast knowledge imparted in us by Madam Greene, Mr Marco and Mr Sikobela, I can confidently say that I have learnt so much already and yet it’s only the beginning. The workshop was an overwhelming success and it was very interesting and encouraging how well the Northrise University students worked so remarkably well with the Fonty’s students in the short time we had to interact with one another. The week of the workshop offered both sides of students an opportunity to learn from one another on an international basis, appreciating the social and cultural differences and diverting all of that positive energy into the project, the results of which can vividly be seen by how much work was accomplished.
At the end of the workshop, new friendships have been developed and a foundation for the social enterprise project set. 21 students of different backgrounds came together; brain stormed on numerous ideas and managed to come up with something quite remarkable. I truly believe that this will be the next big thing in Ndola and Venlo and that it will definitely be something to look out for.

By Musa Mukuka