UWC’s International Student Entrepreneurship Programme Nurtures Tomorrow’s Business Innovators
It is commonly known that South Africa is facing a major challenge with youth unemployment. The most recent statistics from Statistic SA show that in the first quarter of 2023 4.9 million youth between the ages of 15 and 34 were unemployed, while 5,6 million were employed. But an entrepreneurial programme supported by Leuphana University is proving to be such a roaring success that their Student Training in Entrepreneurship Promotion (STEP) programme at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) will be sponsored for another year.
This follows successful stories emanating from this year’s cohort of graduates who completed the 13 week STEP Entrepreneurship programme.
The programme equips graduates with the relevant skills needed for the new economy by emphasising an entrepreneurial mindset approach focused on problem-solving and analytical and critical thinking skills, said Director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, Mr Abe Olivier.“STEP can be a catalyst – a spark to ignite entrepreneurship and a launchpad to translate
UWC students into becoming active change agents of sustainable socio-economic development,” said Oliver.
“The broad aim of STEP is to develop students’ skills, knowledge and confidence to pursue an entrepreneurial career and transform perception from being job seekers to exploring entrepreneurship as a viable career option, driving sustainable impact solutions.”
Lauphana University’s representative, Janina Peschmann, congratulated graduates for successfully completing the programme and encouraged them to become business owners with impact.
“This is the beginning of your career; take action, be productive and find solutions, while encouraging others to do the same. We’re excited to see where the journey will take you.”
She said as a sponsor it is surprising to see how fast the programme is growing at UWC, which is why it was decided to have it continue for another year.
Olivier reflected on the period, saying the shift in the students’ holistic development is evident. Comments from participating students included, “It was not easy sacrificing one’s Saturdays, but it was worth the pain,” and, “We had to learn to think out of the box.” Also, “We’ve learned processes and principles such as not just to start blindly, but to weigh up the positives and negatives. It is all about perseverance.”
Mtobi Rhampedi from the South African National Committee for Unesco said, “Our country can only stand to benefit in developing new markets and services. This is what the programme is bringing to our students’ skill set. It is a powerful force in driving the economy.” He encouraged students to let the sky be the limit.
A fourth-year LLB student, Eugene Benyani, commented, “I have learned a lot. Business is about resourcefulness, not only IQ, but about having a can-do attitude.”
Olivier explained to obtain success, students had to successfully start a micro business during the 13 weeks. It tested their tenacity while they acquired a solid understanding of entrepreneurship, opportunity identification and creativity.
Last year the programme started with 200 students and this year it saw 250 students attending and the programme being extended by an additional week of training.
At the start of the programme each of the 16 teams was allocated R1700 each which serves as start-up capital. Teams were required to sell items or offer services, make a profit and repay the R1700 at the end of the programme.
“STEP is a research-based project. Based on students’ attendance and completion of milestones Leuphana and UWC have issued a total of 139 certificates. Altogether 62 of these formed part of the training group who had to attend 80% of the compulsory workshops and 77 participants were part of the research control group.“It is about impact and human capital development of UWC students as they embrace an entrepreneurial mindset to come up with sustainable solutions based on real challenges in the community.”
In 2023 the project at UWC introduced STEP mentors to provide consulting and coaching support for micro businesses. The STEP mentors were UWC students who have completed the STEP 2022 programme.
Furthermore, a positive spin-off of the programme is the Centre for Entrepreneurship’s Train the Trainer Workshop which initiated collaboration with University of Venda, Leuphana State University, Bulawayo Polytechnic, Northwest University and Durban University of Technology.
“We observed how the participating students’ understanding has shifted over this period. It offered an opportunity to share best practices with other universities and educational institutions,” said Oliver.
The project is supported by the South African National Commission for UNESCO and the funder of this cooperation, BASF Foundation.