Roll up wallets, farming with no land, coloured tyres and athleisure clothing were some of the exciting ideas young entrepreneurial minds pitched at last night’s “Pitch Off” hosted by Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) in Parow Industria. Eighteen teams from the University of Cape Town (UCT), a visiting student group from Belgium and fledgling entrepreneurs from the Raymond Ackerman Academy (RAA) of Entrepreneurial Development (at UCT) embraced the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. UCT team, Instinct, walked away with the R5000 winning pitch for their ‘Eco Band’. Their safety armband has a built-in panic button and allows loved ones to be tracked when they can’t be found. The judges indicated that the group presented well and got to the point quickly.

 

The group also outlined the profitability of their solution; something which is always important to remember when pitching to potential investors. “There is no doubt about the great value of developing an entrepreneurial spirit amongst young people,” says Priscilla Urquhart, Public Affairs and Communications Manager at Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages. “They possess great energy and potential to contribute to economic prosperity, job creation and ultimately to improve the community in which they operate. We are thrilled to partner with the Raymond Ackerman Academy and the Development Unit for New Enterprise on this exciting journey.

 

The talent, potential and opportunities shared this evening have been incredible and we thank all the participants for their interesting pitches, and we wish them well on their entrepreneurial journey,” concludes Urquhart. The Belgian student pitches included: Let's Sport, E-Exam, Uber Police, Invisible Winner, Bottle Up and an Anti-Rape Detection Kit, while the young entrepreneurs from the RAA pitched business concepts and ideas across health, travel and food. Let’s Sport (Higher Institute of Learning Kempen, Belgium) and #WhyTravel (RAA) were the runner-up winners.

 

Ends

 

For more information about Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB), visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/CocaColaPenBev  or http://www.peninsulabeverage.co.za/.  Note to editor: Coca-Cola Peninsula Beverages (CCPB) is the local bottler and distributor of the products of the Coca-Cola Company in the Western and Northern Cape. Products and brands include Coca-Cola, Sprite, Fanta, Stoney, Appletiser, Powerade, Bonaqua, Glaceau, PowerPlay and Monster amongst others. CCPB has been operational for 77 years, having first opened for business in 1940. Their state of the art bottling facility is based in Parow Industria, with distribution centres in Athlone, Worcester and Koelbly. For more information visit www.peninsulabeverage.co.za.  More photos available on request. ### Released by Reputation Matters Media contact: Nalene de Klerk Mobile Number: 081 409 2453 nalene@reputationmatters.co.za