Merchant Capital is dedicating its skills, time, and experience to fostering an entrepreneurial spirit among youth through a new entrepreneurship incubator initiative.

The Venture Vault program, in partnership with King David Linksfield School in Johannesburg, aims to help participating students develop entrepreneurship skills and gain hands-on experience with the guidance of seasoned entrepreneurs from Merchant Capital.

Dov Girnun, Founder and CEO of Merchant Capital, emphasizes the importance of entrepreneurship for young South Africans aiming to build successful careers. "As a business, we have always believed in the power of entrepreneurship as a means of improving lives, creating employment, and addressing some of the challenges our country faces. This new program will enable us to inspire young talent from an early age and instill a love of entrepreneurship in some of our brightest minds."

The program will run for one semester, guiding students enrolled in the Ideation and Entrepreneurship elective through design thinking classes, ideation sessions, financial workshops, prototype development, and pitch preparation. Students will have the opportunity to present their ideas to a judging panel, with winning ideas recognized and awarded with post-incubation support.

Entrepreneurship offers a viable path to a fulfilling career in exciting fields, with the potential to solve complex challenges while driving broader economic growth. Through this program, students will gain hands-on experience in a startup environment, receive mentorship and guidance, develop problem-solving skills, and unlock networking opportunities with peers and industry professionals.

Merchant Capital will volunteer the time, skills, and expertise of several of its executive committee members for the Venture Vault program. Each executive will bring their unique experiences and capabilities to inspire and guide the students as they ideate and develop their startup concepts.

Girnun adds, "As a country, we face significant challenges, but we believe that these same challenges breed innovation and entrepreneurship. We are excited to work with the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs and to inspire fresh thinking and new ideas that will shape the future of our country."