Rebecca Weicht - co-founder @ bantani education

Rebecca helps kids, youths and any lifelong learner develop their creative and entrepreneurial skills to be able to succeed in a changing world of work! I met Rebecca in the U.S. during the Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative (YTILI) programme and I was inspired by her passion and enthusiasm. Meet Rebecca!

- You're a successful leader of a non-profit organisation. What's your journey? What motivated you to start a non-profit organization? 

There are a couple of core values that I hold very dear of which one is social justice. In today's world of constant innovation and change, that means to have skills that allow you to adapt to new situations both at work and beyond.

​Expertise in a field is important but to be able to work in teams, inspire others, communicate clearly, solve problems, persevere in difficult times, be creative and stay motivated is becoming more and more important.

These are exactly the skills that we teach - the skills that an entrepreneurs typically has and uses. We introduce these skills into classrooms and the curriculum and we engage with partners in providing practical experiences that foster entrepreneurial skills. 

I came to co-found Bantani Education with a business partner who is driven by equal values. She has been working in fostering entrepreneurship education policy for many years whilst I have been involved in capacity building and trainings in practice.

So whilst we share similar values, we have skillsets that very well complement each other and begun working together first as partners on projects and then established the legal foundation for what is now our non-profit.  

- What are the most rewarding moments of being a non-profit leader and entrepreneurship educator in Europe?

There are two aspects to this question: gratification of my intrinsic motivation and external gratification. The latter means to see in practice that we are contributing to social change - that is through trainings, discussions with teachers and kids or youth and projects with great outcomes.

​+ Your life motto? 

I don't have a life motto per se but I have always been driven by the desire to learn and have used opportunities at work and outside of it to educate myself - be it through skills development as a volunteer in different organisations or through non-formal education opportunities like MOOCs. So I'm truly a lifelong learner... 

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Rebecca Weicht is co-founder of Brussels-based non-profit Bantani Education that supports creative and entrepreneurial learning policy and practice. She's part of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers community and sits on the Board of Professional Women International Brussels. In 2017, she's been named a Young Transatlantic Innovation Leaders Initiative Fellow by the U.S. State Department. ​

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