Dlamini was speaking during the official launch of the Limkokwing Entrepreneurship Acceleration Platform (LEAP) yesterday.

“The presence of Limkokwing University in Swaziland underscores its interests, investment and involvement in the economic development of this country, hence we are calling upon companies and organisations to attach five students each,” he said.

He said the success of the programme lied in the earnestness with which companies and the University must engage to provide Swaziland’s youths a road map to participating meaningfully in the economic progress of the Kingdom. Dlamini said it was in the young creative minds that the country needed to rely on in order to provide new energy and thinking necessary to pull Swaziland into new directions.’

“Limkokwing University brings to Swaziland the lessons it has learned through its direct influence in creating a paradigm shift in the conduct of private education in Malaysia,” he said.

He said he had even observed that students from the institution were easy to identify even in town because of their behaviour and hoped other tertiary students would copy from Limkokwing students.

The premier said as steps were being taken to engage the energy of the students from the university, they already saw a new chapter in the country, where education would no longer be purely for education’s sake. “Swaziland has to build a strong foundation of skills and knowledge that can be harnessed to forge forward towards realising the aspirations I outlined in Vision 2022. And only the youth can help towards this,” he said.

He mentioned that the rapid progress made by the Limkokwing University could only have been made possible through the support of government and the wonderful people of the country, who welcomed this Malaysian institution into their midst.

Objectives of LEAP

Help the students test the practical application of the theories of academic learning in a professional setting under the supervision of an industry agent and a university faculty advisor.

• Create job opportunities to align with the nation’s vision of eradicating poverty.
• Take the national economy several notches up the value chain.
• LEAP is tailor-made to suit the pressing need of an economy.

The programme aims to:

• Create job opportunities to align with the nation’s vision of eradicating poverty, where the university expects these students to be more than just employees but also employment creators.
• Expose interns to the industry so as to empower them with the key skills that will make them competitive globally.
• Empower the interns with knowledge that brings out their core competencies and enhance their marketability in the industry.
• With these objectives of LEAP, Limkokwing is aware and embracing the Prime Minister’s interest and passion for entrepreneurship.