“I’m shocked and honoured to be recognised and appreciated for the work that I have been doing in entrepreneurial and incubation development over the past 15 years. You do the work you love without knowing people are watching and then you get this recognition, which means so much to me,” says Dr Lose (left), who is the Director of the Mandela University Africa Hub and Head of the institution’s Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI).
Over the past year, CfERI has incubated 38 small businesses that have created 92 sustained jobs and achieved a turnover of more than R9.28-million.
Dr Lose is a senior researcher and specialist in student entrepreneurship and business incubation development.
He has a PhD in the effective creation of business incubators, and over 50 published internationally peer-reviewed research papers to his name.
The Hult Prize challenges universities and students to help solve the world’s pressing issues by creating for-profit social businesses aligned to at least one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
It is the world’s largest student pitch competition with approximately 1 324 universities participating globally in 113 countries, including 9 400 startups and over 187 000 participants competing for the $1-million (R18.2-million) grand prize.
“We sent Nelson Mandela University’s winning student entrepreneurship team from our campus Hult Prize challenge to the South African National Hult Prize challenge, but I had no idea they would be naming a national entrepreneurship coordinator at the event,” says Dr Lose.
Making up the University’s top team was third-year Diploma in Economics student, Katekani Shannon Mabunda, and LLB student Ongeziwe Mamane, who presented their startup called Comnet Hydroponics at the nationals. They didn’t make it to the top three, but they did an engaging, articulate pitch.
Nelson Mandela University’s winning student entrepreneurship team - Katekani Shannon Mabunda - and Ongeziwe Mamane. Comnet Hydroponics is on Mandela University’s South Campus at the Horticulture Department where they grow vegetables for old age homes and orphanages. “Hydroponic farming is a space-efficient, soil-free, and water-saving method of agriculture. It uses up to 90% less water than traditional farming and can be done almost anywhere,” says Mabunda.
“I’d like to express my gratitude to Sandakahle Sanchez Sivungu, who coordinated our campus Hult Prize challenge, which had numerous student businesses competing,” Dr Lose said.
Mandela University prides itself on being an entrepreneurial university, championed by the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for People and Operations, Luthando Jack.
“I report to Mr Jack and draw a lot of inspiration from his thinking and leadership. He encourages me to do what I think is appropriate and to be innovative and creative,” says Dr Lose.
The University has a policy on entrepreneurial development that allows students to operate businesses on campus and to employ students to run them. Current student businesses include tutoring services, hydroponics, media services, website development, a driving school, tuckshops, food vendors, fashion and beauty stores, and tailoring.
“We constantly remind our student entrepreneurs that they are a student first and that their studies must take precedence. Balancing their time between their studies, running a business and having a social life requires maturity, diligence and time management.
“The students learn this through our co-curricular and voluntary programmes, one of which is the Student Employability and Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) programme,” he says.
“Incubated businesses need capital to grow and as the Mandela University Africa Hub and CfERI at Mandela University, we created an Enterprise Development Fund, to which the University’s finance division disbursed R2.7million in December 2024 in support of student and community small business development through these campus-based entities.”
The money was divided into individual grants of R100 000 and awarded to 27 entrepreneur incubates ̶ 85% students and 15% community-based entrepreneurs, all of whom established and are running small businesses. The terms of the grant include that it is used to take their businesses to the next level.
“We need our universities to be the cornerstone of entrepreneurship and to actively contribute to reducing the massive unemployment levels in our country, where approximately 60% of South Africa’s 15 to 24-year-olds are unemployed, and over 40% of our 25 to 34-year-olds,” says Dr Lose.
“Opportunity favours the prepared and I want to be the best possible entrepreneurship and incubation specialist.”
Dr Lose is also an entrepreneur in his own right with a property development business.
“I believe in practising what you teach. You can’t encourage people to take loans and to start businesses if you don’t do it yourself.”
Looking ahead, he says: “Our team would one day like to be in a position to influence national policy to include entrepreneurial education from the basic education level upwards. We need far more leadership across all sectors to make sure entrepreneurship development gets enough funding, resources, awareness and a powerful voice.”