What is the LORA Centre’s New Venture Creation Programme?

Founded in 2016 by author and entrepreneur, Dr. Roche Mamabolo, the New Venture Creation Programme presented through LORA Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an intensive accredited 5 months entrepreneurship and innovation programme designed to help entrepreneurs, innovators and leaders level up. It challenges people to learn to see differently, to make better decisions and to engage and connect.

Each session of the workshop is led by our trained entrepreneurs, who engage with students in individual and group work. We generally have a ratio of one lecture for every ten students. During the workshop, each student is required to complete individual and group assigned projects.

The entire course is conducted in English, and skill and confidence in English is our only specific admission requirement.

The program is synchronous, with regular deadlines, group discussions, and face-to-face video calls. It is based on class attendance, with students attending classes in Midrand [South Africa] and Gaborone [Botswana].

The tuition for the program is R5,000 [after being awarded scholarship]. Attending students include entrepreneurs, freelancers, independent professionals, and corporate employees.

Admission to the programme is by application only.

How much does it cost?

An investment. R7,000 [R5,000 if you are awarded a scholarship]. And it’s not just the money that you are investing in the programme, it is the time you will be spending as well.

We are giving Scholarships of R2,000 to students to apply on time. Once awarded the scholarship, you will only be eligible to pay R5,000

There are two reasons for the tuition. The first is that the programme requires a significant amount of commitment. Not only time [see below] but the decision to overcome your status quo. One way we can make that likely to happen is to raise the stakes.

The other reason it is not free is that in order to build an environment focused on group dynamics and change, we’re investing in people. Every section of the programme has a full-time organizer behind it. Our goal is not to be big, it’s to be small. Small in size, but huge in our decision to create a difference.

If this sort of change or investment is too much, we totally get it. The programme probably isn’t for you. The good news is that all the content is in the world, free online or in accessible books. There are no secrets.

Are there payment arrangement?

Yes.

Registration fee is R1,000 [payable on registration on or before Friday, 18 January 2019]. And then you can make payments of R1,000 over 4 months.

Are there scholarships available?

We offer a handful of scholarships, reserved each year for entrepreneurs with a proven track record of charitable work. Each session, we carefully review all incoming applications and often have more deserving nonprofit candidates than scholarships available.

We will contact qualified candidates directly throughout each round of admissions.

What are the important dates and deadlines?

Important dates to note:

January to May session – Applications still Open

Closing date: Friday, 18 January 2019

Programme start date: Saturday, 26 January 2019 at 0900 [SA Classes], Gaborone classes to be confirmed

Programme end date: Saturday, 25 May 2019

Graduation date: Saturday, 07 December 2019

How do I apply to the programme?

Send an email to roche.mamabolo@gmail.com and we will send you the application form.

What is the calendar like?

The New Venture Creation programme is a 5 months [12 weeks] sprint built around specific subjects and projects. The classes are from 0900 until 1430 on two Saturdays in a month for 5 months.

The dates for the Midrand classes please refer to: LORA SA Calendar

The dates for the Gaborone classes will be confirmed by Friday, 18 January 2019.

What can I expect?

Unlike traditional compliance-based education, our curriculum is hands-on. More than 75% of your time is spent producing work, meaning that you will learn concepts and immediately put them into action.

The classes combine both theory and practical application in class. You will learn from lectures, from videos, from case studies and from other students in class. The smartest person in the room is not the person, but the room that brings smart people with different backgrounds and experiences into one.

The work involves delivering your responses to projects, getting feedback from peers, providing constructive criticism, and publishing your work on your community page.

There will be a total of 5 projects, one due per month, with a larger, final project at the end of the programme. On those days you’ll also have group meetings for brainstorms and discussion, and co-create the work in your learning teams. Some projects are individual, others with a group.

Most of our students have full-time jobs or busy freelance schedules. We have created an intensive timeline that is designed to stretch you. But it will still be manageable given your real-life responsibilities and you’ll be surrounded by a community that is truly passionate about learning and creating meaningful work.

Who is the ideal programme candidate?

This program is robust like and it designed form for entrepreneurs and innovators or individuals who are working full time in a corporate but want to become entrepreneurs.

This is for entrepreneurs, managers, innovators, freelancers, artists, innovators, designers, builders, doers, and makers. Our alumni run businesses and organizations ranging from accounting practice, photography studio, IT company, filling station, radio station, bed and breakfast lodges, barery and more.

Typical participants have at least 6 months to 8 years of work or entrepreneurship experience.

Past students have come from industries including:

• Technology
• Communications
• Financial
• Manufacturing
• Non-profit
• Consulting
• Accounting Services
• Retail

Regardless of industry or job function, the LORA Programme is for people in a hurry to create disruptive change. It’s for entrepreneurs and innovators who want to sharpen their strategic thinking and add more frameworks to their toolbox.

Who should enroll?

Our goal with the LORA New Venture Creation programme is to assemble entrepreneurs and innovators and to connect them and amplify their work.

The programme doesn’t pretend to make you an expert in finance, cost accounting or marketing. We don’t even try. Instead, we are organized around action, around innovation, around sharing your work and learning from it.

We don’t have a placement program, don’t make any promises of career success or a new job. Instead, we are focused on helping you see new opportunities, making better decisions and leveling up in all the areas that matter to you.

If this sounds like it might be part of the change you’d like to see in your life and career, we hope you’ll apply.

[A college degree is not required. And if you already have an MBA, you’re welcome. We do best with students of any change who are thirsty for change and eager for connection.]

What are the requirements to be admitted?

We are seeking people of all ages, from all backgrounds, who share a desire to make work that matters and who have shown a willingness to contribute important work. We believe that every person we admit to the program will somehow raise the average, producing a community that will provoke, amplify and reward excellent work.

What is your class attendance policy?

This is a 5 months sprint, and the other members of the faculty are counting on you and every other student to be fully present in class. See our course calendar for the details: The short version is that we ask that each member of the class to allocate time and take this process as seriously as the rest of us.

Where does the program take place?

In Midrand [South Africa] and Gaborone [Botswana].

Where can I get more information?

Please feel free to go to this page: LORA Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship or send an email to: roche.mamabolo@gmail.com