BILLIONAIRE businessman Robert Gumede plans to produce at least 200 graduates for Mpumalanga in 10 years.

He is already spending R40million through his Family Trust this year on full scholarships for deserving but poor students in the province.

Making the announcement in Mbombela, Gumede said: "In the next 10 years the Robert Gumede Family Keni Foundation is planning to provide for and produce at least 200 graduates who will serve their Mpumalanga communities.

"It is expected that once the Mpumalanga university is finally established the number of scholarships to be awarded on an annual basis might more than double".

For the class of 2010 the Foundation has focused on the Mpumalanga Ehlanzeni region because it is quite a distance from any existing university in South Africa.

Gumede said his foundation would also decide which regions would benefit in 2011 and in coming years.

Gumede decided to award the scholarships to the parents of the students, who in turn will pay the university for their children's study so that their parental role is never diminished nor replaced by the foundation.

Gumede's wife, Tee Gumede, who is the chairperson of the foundation, said the scholarships would be awarded for studies in medicine, civil engineering, chemical engineering, mining engineering, electrical engineering, economics and finance, biochemistry and social sciences.

"Each student will be allocated a mentor, who is a successful leader in their own right, and who will monitor and support the student throughout their scholarship programme," she said.

"The foundation social worker will make unannounced visits to the students at their places of study."