By Mpho Shelile
MASERU – On the 15th July 2022, the People Building Institute (PBI) proudly announced its official launch as a dynamic organization which is committed to empowering the youth for a sustainable development, with its focus mainly on fostering entrepreneurship, leadership and personal growth. PBI aims to unleash the full potential of youth and strive for positive change in communities.
When briefing the media at the Great Heights Guest House about the launch, Mpine Moejane who is the secretary general of the People Building Institute (PBI) here in Lesotho, said she was given an opportunity in October 2022 to go to Rwanda to attend the youth connect summit which was hosted by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) through the ministries of Lesotho. The summit was meant to offer knowledge and help teach the youth about business and the importance of networking. “I took it upon myself to network with relevant people in that forum and this is where I met the co-founder of the PBI Mr. Stephen Dotse who shared the same vision as PBI, and this immediately stroke something in me as we discussed certain challenges the youth encounters and how mentorship plays a major role in the building of successful leader and in future entrepreneurs”, She said.
What is PBI? Mpine answered that by saying PBI is a mentorship program which is based in Ghana and was founded by Mr. Stethen Dotse and Miss Elinam Ablah, “the program provides solutions to young people with startup business ideas that display great potential, especially the ones that aim to answer some of the 2030 sustainable development goals and advance Lesotho. And we all know how innovative the youth can be. These incredible ideas tend to collapse because there is no guidance, and they usually lack the capital to start off, so far only two countries have PBI, and those are Ghana and Rwanda” Mpine declared
She added that PBI will be holding cohorts that will be mentioned in due course with its major aim at nurturing young executives and business owners, providing them with the necessary tools, guidance and mentorship to excel in their respective careers and create impactful projects, by offering a mentor-mentee program, practical workshops and networking opportunities. “PBI aims to bridge the gap between aspiring entrepreneurs and the resources they need to succeed”, Mpine emphasized.
She further indicated that the heart of PBI’S approach is to offer strong mindset, build character and nurture leadership skills while also empowering young individuals with knowledge skills and the support they need. For it believes that the youth are the agents of change and can contribute immensely to the sustainability development across different sectors. “As we may be aware, it is common knowledge that unemployment rate is quite high, especially among African youth, it goes as high as 26.66%, and is one problem that we are all facing, studies have shown that mentorship programs can curb this problem”.
She also stated that January this year Mr. Stephen came to Lesotho to discuss how they were going to establish PBI in Lesotho, the same discussions were also shared with organizations and relevant ministries here in Lesotho that share common interests in the youth empowerment, and she also assured us that PBI is here to create an impact among the youth of Lesotho.
When asked what differentiates PBI from other organizations that came before it, Mpine said that PBI has an investment wing in its organization which will offer consistent youth cohorts, where the youth will reap the benefits of being mentored by PBI and they will not dessert them after they have helped them set up their businesses. They will form an alumni that will be constantly supporting and checking on how their businesses are doing. “ there are other mentorship programs in Lesotho but what sets us apart from them is that we are willing to go an extra mile with our mentees while others just mentor and that is where it all ends. PBI is here to invest in Lesotho and make our country great, so we as the PBI are committed to collaborating and forming partnership with organizations who share the same vision as us to maximize the impact of sustainable businesses and to be set on a path of economic development and we are actively seeking alliances”, She Concluded.