We are in the final week of accepting applications for the Thrive Investor Readiness programme. During a series of workshops, 10 Lusaka-based entrepreneurs will receive training on how to prepare their businesses for investment, with training on business models, financials, pitches, sales pipelines to mention a few. Visit the Thrive Webpage to find out more. Applications close on Friday, 11 December at 23:59hrs.

We closed off the Absa Zambia Future Traders programme last Friday, which was being run by BongoHive X, our student-based innovation arm, and the Absa Global Markets team. The 12 finalists competed against each other in 4 groups of 3, with each group pitching their solutions to the 3 set challenge statements to a panel of judges from the Absa Global Markets team. Congratulations to the challenge winners -  'Team Three': Musonda Mutale, Peter Mulenga, and Lily Musuku, who walk away with K15,000 worth of prizes and 3-month one-on-one mentorship with the Absa Global Markets team members. We look forward to hosting another cohort with Absa Zambia in the future.