Call for nationwide applications for student leg of Funding Fair 2015.

Deloitte is calling for final and honours year Chartered Accountant (CA) students to apply to attend the company’s leadership summit for bright young minds, named Suit Up, taking place in Cape Town from 17th to 19th March in collaboration with the Western Cape Funding Fair. Suit Up will see 50 students being hosted by Deloitte where they will not only gain critical business thinking skills, but also stand a chance to walk away with R5000 in prize money following a simulated pitching competition.

According to Willem van der Post, Partner at Deloitte, the Suit Up summit provides a unique opportunity for CA students to expand their professional networks, improve business acumen and flex their out-of-the-box thinking muscles.

“Chartered accountants have to demonstrate a variety of skills to be successful in the real world, including problem solving and how to be an effective leader. A CA-qualification can help equip you to become the CEO of a Fortune 500 company or build your own empire, and it is this type of drive and desire that the Suit Up summit aims to promote. We want to plant the seeds of leadership and nurture this talent in the industry,” says Van der Post.

Suit Up will be running off the back of the inaugural and highly anticipated Western Cape Funding Fair set to take place on 18th March 2015, hosted in partnership between Deloitte and the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT). The Funding Fair aims to accelerate economic growth and job creation in the province by facilitating face-to-face contact between project promoters, entrepreneurs and various funding institutions in a one-day pitch session at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.


Suit Up will see all 50 students learning first-hand how to think like a business executive by attending topical presentations and workshop sessions with industry experts. The students will, in a simulated Funding Fair environment, be divided into teams and presented with a business problem. Similar to the popular television show Dragons’ Den, teams will be expected to pitch their solution to a panel of judges. Successful students from the winning team will each receive R5000 in prize money.

Successful applicants will be required to be exclusively available for this summit over the three days from 17th to 19th March 2015. Applications close on 13th February 2015, and shortlisted candidates will be contacted for telephonic interviews between 16 and 24 February 2015. Accommodation, flights, meals and entry to the Western Cape Funding Fair will be covered by Deloitte. To apply, visit www.deloittesuitup.co.za. To find out more about the Western Cape Funding Fair, visit www.westerncapefundingfair.co.za.