by Chibozu Mambo



Northrise University launched the first one-on-one speaker series this year on the 25th of February. The sole purpose of the program is to provide encouragement and motivation to all students. The first speaker was Pastor George Chanda from Bread of Life Church, Ndola, a farmer by birth, teacher by profession, and pastor by calling. Pastor Chanda interestingly shared on the need for having a mentor and gave a few pointers on how to actually find one.

For March, Mr. Phesto Musonda, a CEO and Chairman of Sub-Saharan Gemstone Exchange and Phoenix Materials Limited, graced the University students with his presence. He did not hesitate to share his knowledge and wide experience on business. Mr. Musonda mentioned that planning is at the core of business. Furthermore, the five factors that complement business are character, climate, structure, leadership, and information. Alongside these factors, it is vital to take note of competitors and the weaknesses they possess while keeping in mind the need for innovation—a big plus in today’s business market. Tulemye Mpengula, a 3rd year BIT student confidently said, “Listening to Mr. Musonda has not only helped me learn what it takes to be in business but also what holds its helm.”  One profound statement that is still vivid is, “In business, without planning you cannot succeed.”

A few weeks ago, Dr. Zimba posed a challenge to the guys side of the Northrise dorm: to complete a 1000 piece puzzle in a week’s time. Read the previous blog story.  Excited about the guys success, Dr. Zimba took the puzzle to the girls side of the dorm with the same challenge, with an added twist!  If the Northrise ladies could beat the guys, they would recieve 6 Northrise chickens as their reward!  With the burning fire of competition, and a desire to put the guys to shame, the ladies went to work!  Rumor has it, the ladies did not sleep until they managed to finish the puzzle, in only 28 hours! Mathmatically speaking, the ladies had to add 35 correct pieces an hour to complete all 1000 pieces in that amount of time!  Not much room for error.  The ladies of the Northrise dorms finished at 3am screaming “In-your-face guys!”

Congratulations to the Northrise ladies at the boarding house!

How long does it take for an NU student to complete a 1000 Piece puzzle? This is not just a mere child’s play puzzle but let me emphasize; a 1000 piece puzzle. Dr. Zimba challenged the male students at the boarding house on 26th January 2011 to complete a 1000 piece puzzle by the 4th of February 2011. Passionately accepting the challenge, the boys got ‘cracking ‘. With the combined effort of 17 students, the victors managed to complete the puzzle in just four days, specifically at 01:43hrs on the fourth day (30th January 2011). Such regular challenges keep  us alert as students and we are willing to tackle them time and time again. Bravo guys at the NU boarding house.

Zed Bionic of Northrise University scoops a venture competition and walks away with 100 million Zambian Kwacha!

4th year Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) students (from left to right) Choongo Hamoonga, Ignatius Chella, Lyle Doogan, Chisanga Bwalya and Phenias Shamuzumba are the champions.

Over the past few months Inter-Market Bank held the VENTURECOMP 2010 K100 Million Business Plan Competition. Teams from major universities and other higher learning institutes all over Zambia were challenged to produce a viable business plan that would contribute to the nation’s economy.  Zed Bionic’s goal was to find a way to help sustain the agriculture industry and promote eco-friendliness. So, they came up with a way to manufacture organic fertilizer from treated human waste. Their target market would be the local and small scale farmers, especially those that grow vegetables and bananas.

Four of 84 executive summaries were selected to move on to the final round. The teams were each given 5 Million Zambian Kwacha and asked to make an investment over a ten day period. Each team was awarded points according to their Return on Investment.

On July 16th the winner was announced by Bank of Zambia governor Dr. Caleb Fundanga in Lusaka!  Congratulations to the gang! Congratulations to Northrise's Zed Bionic!