Last night Pizza Hut and Pepsi Zambia launched the Next Generation: #MakeYourMoment campaign at the University of Zambia.
The Campaign is designed to create a platform to offer young entrepreneurs the opportunity to tell their story and inspire the next generation. These events will take place at a number of campuses and schools across Zambia in 2016.
At the event last night Pizza Hut & Pepsi announced a competition launching in 2016 where it would pay for two students university fee’s for the upcoming academic year.
Managing Director of Dagon, the exclusive franchisee of Pizza Hut Zambia, Stefano Benedikter said that ‘both companies strongly believe that the long-term successes of their businesses is undeniably linked to the success of the next generation.
‘The best way to support the next generation was to celebrate success stories of young entrepreneurs, like Mawano Kambeu, who is a wonderful example of a business making its moment in Zambia in 2015.’
With all this hype at the event, the Pizza Hut hashtag #makeyourmoment was the no.1 trending hashtag in Zambia last night.
At the event the Honourable Mr Miles Sampa, who was the Guest of Honour, inspired the Unza students with a raft of quotes from the greats such as Richard Branson and Mark Zuckerberg, before then telling the audience about his story. Mr Miles Sampa also applauded the effort of both Pizza Hut and Pepsi for creating such a platform for the next generation.
The entrepreneurs speaking at the event were, Mawano Kambeu CEO of Dot Com Zambia and Bus Tickets Zambia, Lulu Haangala, TV/Radio personality and Media entrepreneur, Kalenga Kamwendo, Zambia’s youngest commercial pilot, Elijah Zgambo and Kapembwa Siame, Co-founders and Directors of Street Culture Events and Art.
Dot.com Zambia, having been selected as the best start up in Africa by the Harvard Business School and the GES Summit in Morocco was the perfect company used to showcase this initiative. To express his inspiration Mawano Kambeu quoted Martin Luther King Jr., “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Lulu Haangala and Kalenga Kamwendo shared their life experiences and the challenges they faced respectively in their fields using them to inspire young Zambians to reach for their dreams. Lulu spoke about how her #WeKeepMoving Foundation arose out of the need to inspire herself, which in turn inspired others and contributed to her success as a media entrepreneur. Kalenga Kamwendo explained that, “Making your moment does not just begin immediately, it begins with hard work and building on it” and asked the audience “If you went to bed tonight and you didn’t wake up tomorrow, would you regret it?”
Street Culture Events and Arts’ Kapembwa Siame explained, “We are trying to show people that the things they’re passionate about can be used as entrepreneurial tools and bring you success.” Elijah Zgambo added, “Next generation is about the future of Zambia, knowing your environment and using the opportunities around you to build something.” The next Street Culture event takes place between the 18th and 19th of December 2015.
The Next Generation #MakeYourMoment Campaign 2016:
Pizza Hut and Pepsi announced the “Next Generation: Make your moment,” competition, officially launching in January 2016. The competition winners will have their university school fees paid for the upcoming academic year. Furthermore, Bus
Tickets Zambia committed to paying for the winning students’ intercity transport in 2015.
In addition to this competition, Pepsi and Pizza Hut Zambia announced that students with a valid Student I.D will receive a free Pepsi with every Pizza purchase at all Pizza locations, effective in January 2016.
Lulu Haangala, Pizza Hut brand ambassador and Dagon Media Partner, shared the stories of Dante Mwamba and Valentine Chibamo, two 24 year old Zambians who started off as cashiers at the first Pizza Hut Zambia store, at East Park that are now both managers of the chains’ at Ndola and Kabwe stores respectively.
Lulu added that Pizza Hut has also hired 8 students from the Robert Shitima project, a school in Kabwe that educates and grooms children from vulnerable backgrounds; one of whom is nearly ready to undergo his management training.
Another example of Pizza Hut being an active member of local communities is through its job creation in Zambia. At the event, it was disclosed that in its first year of trading, Pizza Hut Zambia has employed over 100 young people in its first three stores and will continue this endeavour by opening new stores across the country aiming to employ over 500 people.
