BSc Business Enterprise Scholarship competition 2008

The University of Buckingham Business School are really leading the pack when it comes to embedding enterprise in higher education. The business school hosted an array of inspiring events throughout Enterprise Week. The most high profile and exciting of them all was the final of the SEGRO Business Enterprise Scholarship competition.

The competition was to find a future student who had a great business idea they wanted to turn into reality, and wanted to study BSc in Business Enterprise at the University. Entrants had to present their ideas to the “Buckingham Angels” venture capital panel, made up of a collection of inspirational female role models to mark Women’s Enterprise Day: Jane Tapsell (Dean of the Business School); Liz Horler (Group Financial Controller, SEGRO plc); Jan Sharman (Chief Executive, Young Enterprise South East); and Sophia Bergqvist (Managing Director, Quintadelarosa Ltd).

The winner of the two-year scholarship, worth £16,000, was Sean Obedih. Originally from Rwanda, his one dream in life was to determine his own destiny by running his own business. Sean started his course on 19 January 2009.

Sean’s Story

‘Having come from Rwanda, I always had one dream in life - to determine my own destiny by owning my business. So I tried many businesses which subsequently failed, but I always learned something new. When I got the chance to enter a competition for a scholarship in the UK’s only private university to study business enterprise and run a business at the same time, this seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity that will never come again. So I rolled the dice and entered the competition. I was then selected amongst the final candidates to pitch for the scholarship during Enterprise Week to a panel of women from the Buckingham Angels. As they say, the rest is history!’

‘Having been in full time employment and worked in many fields like sales, management and marketing, I was always aware that I needed to sharpen my skills if I really wanted to be a brilliant entrepreneur. This has been one the best things ever that happened in my life. I have met people from over 80 nationalities, I am now running my own businesses from the university’s Hub, and the expertise that comes with being a student here is something that I could never have been able to afford if I was paying consultants to do the same work. ‘

Sean is now an ambassador for Make Your Mark carrying out public speaking roles in venues such as Westminister Kingsway college. Read his full story here: www.makeyourmark.org.uk/inspiring_stories/ndiho_sean_obedih