EduExcellence Ltd, a Finnish education export company, and mLab, a South African startup and skills incubator in Pretoria, have agreed on expert cooperation in boosting young startup entrepreneurs’ skills needed for 4IR development.
The goal of mLab is to empower and open up opportunities for youth and innovators in the digital sector. What started in 2012 as a platform for supporting the development of impactful mobile applications from idea to launch has evolved into a multifaceted organisation focused on building Africa´s most vibrant digital innovation ecosystem.
The collaboration between EduExcellence and mLab includes technology design sprint sessions held in Pretoria for the startup entrepreneurs. In the first phase of cooperation Finnish innovative skills development model will be piloted in the sprint sessions and participants select a business concept to work on, and each startup will be seeking to advance their specific solution with the help of Finnish 4IR experts and local technology, sales and intellectual property coaches.
“When our youth are empowered with the right skills to innovate and create solutions, they unlock the opportunities for optimising existing or establishing new businesses that will drive our economies forward,” says Nicoli Koorbanally, CEO of mLab. “We thank EduExcellence for bringing these new skills development models to our youth, enabling mLab to continue building its vision through establishing new innovation communities, teaching code, facilitating lean innovation and hosting acceleration labs.”
“We are delighted to partner with mLab in their pursuit of 4IR skilled economy. mLab is one of the main renowned startup incubators in South Africa with a strong track-record and impressive stakeholder network. We are proud to pilot our innovative skills development model with mLab’s Enterprise Development Programme and thus driving 4IR skills development to help new entrepreneurs thrive,” says Tuija Pulkkinen, CEO of EduExcellence.