Faculty of Commerce student Asonele Gevenenga's company, Fleeker Finance, won at the 2021 UCT Leopards Lair Competition alongside some other incredible companies headed by student entrepreneurs. After winning, Fleeker Finance gave special mention to AKRO, Investment Society UCT (InvestSoc) and UCT Entrepreneurs Society, who worked together to make the event online. For a full list of all the finalists, take a look at AKRO's website. 

The faculty congratulates Asonele on this remarkable achievement and wishes the final year BCom Management Studies in Finance student well with all of his future endeavours. 

For those who don't know: the competition - previously known as Shark Tank - aims to fan the flames of entrepreneurship among University of Cape Town students by providing opportunities and support. At this year's event, R400 000 was given way. To enter, contestants had to present a three‑minute pitch of their original idea – in any field or stage of its development – to a panel of top judges (also potential investors) in the virtual Leopard's Lair. After getting a thumbs-up, they then proceeded to the next of two preliminary rounds. The finalists' pitches were live-streamed on Tuesday, 5 October. It is the third year the event has taken place. 

This year's judges were:

• Magda Wierzycka, Braavos Investment Advisers
• Precious Mdlalose, IDF Capital
• Anton Baumann, Imvelo Ventures 
• Jason Basel, Qoorio

Asonele's company, Fleeker Finance, allows students to borrow small amounts of cash at a nominal interest rate of 2% per month. By doing this, young people can build a healthy credit record while at university. Providing students with this facility is especially important because many students don't know that paying off debts timeously and consistently lets future leaders realise they have developed good money habits. 

For more information on Fleeker Finance, check out this video that Asonele recorded for us about their win or give them a follow on Instagram.