Kampala – Boundless Minds, a social enterprise focusing on youth empowerment and business coaching, hosted the Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA) executive team at an exhibition held at Kampala Protea Hotel on 15 September 2022.

In 2020 Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU), in partnership with Boundless Minds, launched the ‘Elevate’ Youth Mentorship programme. It is a virtual youth mentorship and training platform aimed at empowering youth aged 16-25 with work-ready skills in support of their school-to-work transition.

Elevate was designed to fill the gap created by the closure of schools due to the Coronavirus outbreak, which affected students in higher institutions. This innovative learning and mentorship initiative boasts 1,500 alumni, 70% of whom are women, in two cohorts.

The Elevate mentees lauded CCBU for its support in creating opportunities for Ugandan youth under the Boundless Minds transition to work programme.

Elve Nshuti, an Elevate alumni from the 2020 cohort and now Chief Executive Officer at I-Tech Africa, credited the programme for teaching him about innovation with a purpose.

“When I joined Boundless Minds, I interacted with different mentors and learnt that innovation was only the beginning. I learnt that we need to solve societal problems through innovation while paying it forward to other youth.” Nshuti said.

Benjamin Rukwengye, Founder and Chief Executive of Boundless Minds, said: “We are proud of the progress that this programme has registered since its inception. We are extremely grateful to CCBU for the support that has enabled us to impact thousands of Ugandan youth. As part of this programme, training is done primarily using the mentor to access content in the form of best practices, graphics and text, supplemented with the creation of WhatsApp groups for on-the-spot learning through mentorship sessions, thematic articles and videos.”

Kirunda Magoola, the CCBU Public Affairs, Communications & Sustainability Director, congratulated the mentees on their progress.

“We are truly humbled to listen to these testimonials which have given us an opportunity to feel the impact that we are making on the young people in Uganda. I am excited to see the energy behind this programme and its ability to sustain itself. We are inspired to do more as this is really what we are about – doing programmes that are sustainable and impactful,” Magoola noted.