MBABANE – In a motivated gesture, Siyethemba Dlamini was announced the winner of E10, 000 in seed funding from The Ludziwo Arts Foundation through Ensha.Catalyse programme.
With the aim to integrate the youth into the (creative) economy through training and seed funding, Ensha.Catalyse took place from November 6 to December 29 2025 in Mbabane. Taking its name from the desire to do something new ‘intfo lensha’, for young people.
Catalyse attempts to solve a gap in the arts and culture ecosystem in Eswatini: a lack of strong, well-formed projects that can tap into international funding opportunities. The project prioritised youth and women with a dedicated 50 per cent intake of each.
Siyethemba Dlamini was announced as the winner of the E10 000 in seed funding at the Eswatini Theatre Club. Her project ‘Theatre As Testimony’ is an immersive eight-week playwriting programme for emerging storytellers Eswatini. It seeks to equip participants with the necessary skills and creative courage to write plays that challenge harmful norms, amplify survivor-centred narratives and spark social dialogue. With a focus on gender-based violence, ‘’Theatre as Testimony’ uses theatre to entertain, educate and transform communities in Eswatini.
In an interview with the winner, she voiced her grateful to have been selected as the 2025 Ensha-Catalyse winner. “Getting the award made me feel seen and valued as a theatre practitioner. It’s so affirming to the work that I do. To have an organisation like Ludziwo Arts Foundation show care by making financial contributions to the arts community is honestly a big deal and will have a huge impact in the space. I am deeply grateful to have been seen in this way,” she said.
A reading of the best play from the project will be performed, with all the plays compiled and published into an anthology. Dlamini is an audio and video storyteller, theatre practitioner and performance arts enthusiast with over three years of experience working in the creative sector in Eswatini.
Founder of Ludziwo Arts Foundation Musonda Loncwala Chimba congratulated Dlamini. “Theatre as Testimony is a great project, but more importantly, it’s a project with a strong structure and will deliver real results. I am proud of Siyethemba work,” said Chimba.
Chimba was joined on the jury by Sphe Mbhele from South Africa Founder of The Music Imbizo, an international music conference widely considered an important music business gathering in the continent and Penny Bouwer (Eswatini), Project Manager of MTN Bushfire and Standard Bank Luju Food and Lifestyle festival.
“The Ensha.Catalyse 2025 cohort submitted great ideas for seed funding. I would like to thank each one of the participants for their commitment and dedication. It is really important that the youth is given a chance and we hope to encourage state and multilateral partners to support youth in the creative sector through micro-grants,” concluded Chimba.
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