MUAH team members with Mandela University's EDHE Awards - From left: Nelisiwe Sishange (SWEEP programme co-ordinator on the University’s George Campus), Zubenathi Daca, (SEED programme coordinator): Karen Snyman (specialist in student entrepreneurship) and Professor Thobekani Lose (Director: Mandela University Africa Hub – MUAH)
The EDHE was established in 2016 by the Department Higher Education and Training and has since been included in its University Capacity Development Programme to develop the entrepreneurial capacity of students, academics and leaders.
The new EDHE Champion award recognises exceptional institutional teams that have significantly contributed to the institutionalisation of entrepreneurship within South Africa’s 26 public universities, which all competed in the awards. The first runner-up was Stellenbosch University’s LaunchLab.
Director of the MUAH Professor Thobekani Lose said: “Entrepreneurship and incubation is the spark of higher education life that transforms our universities from institutions that produce graduates who are employment seekers to innovators who are job creators. We are committed to being an entrepreneurial university, championed by our Vice-Chancellor, Professor Sibongile Muthwa, and the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: People and Operations, Luthando Jack.”
He explained that the aim of the MUAH is to invest in students and young township and community entrepreneurs and empower them to draw on their own ability to get on their feet in their own businesses and to do well.
“This is not just talk; this is entrepreneurship and incubation in action. In the past year, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI) at Nelson Mandela University, which is part of MUAH, has incubated 42 small businesses over the past year, creating 96 jobs.”
Over the past two years, MUAH raised close to R10 million, 65% of which went to the development of the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). “As a country, we are compelled to address our unemployment rate of approximately 60% among those aged 15 to 24 and over 40% among those from 25 to 34,” said Prof Lose.
The award recognises MUAH as national leader in creating a vibrant University-wide entrepreneurship ecosystem. It was honoured for its transformative impact in strengthening and advancing entrepreneurial development within the institution.
This includes startup support for student and youth micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, business incubation programmes, social innovation initiatives, a strong focus on developing a research and development entrepreneurial culture, including curricular and co-curricular experiential learning opportunities. These cultivate innovative, entrepreneurial mindsets and enhance the readiness of graduates for life and work.
This strongly aligns with the EDHE mandate to build a higher education entrepreneurial ecosystem that empowers students to become economically active during and after their tertiary education. drives research-based innovation and contributes to national and regional economic growth.
Prof Lose paid tribute to the late Professor Keo Motaung, who had nominated MUAH for the award and had passed away recently. Prof Motaung was the holder of the Female Academic Leaders Fellowship- FirstRand Empowerment Foundation Research Chair in Entrepreneurship and Financial Inclusion, hosted by Nelson Mandela University.
The University’s Karen Snyman, a specialist in student entrepreneurship within the MUAH, received an award along with Zubenathi Daca, Programme Coordinator for the Student Employability and Entrepreneurship Development programme (SEED) and Nelisiwe Sishange, Programme Coordinator for the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP) on the University’s George Campus. The award was for their exceptional contributions to advancing student entrepreneurship in higher education.
Snyman, the national chairperson of the EDHE Community of Practice for Student Entrepreneurship Coordinators, said, “This award belongs not only to the MUAH team, but to all the champions of innovation at Nelson Mandela University.” She thanked the University’s executive leadership “whose unwavering support for entrepreneurship development ensures that Nelson Mandela University is at the forefront of innovation in South African higher education.”
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Jack concluded: “For millions of young South Africans, entrepreneurship is the only viable path forward to a better future. This is the stark reality that frames our work at Nelson Mandela University, where student and youth-driven entrepreneurship is not merely desirable, it is essential. It must become a centrepiece of our national psychology where innovation, boldness and reinvention are not luxuries, but lifelines.”
Nelson Mandela University team at the EDHE Awards - From left: Nelisiwe Sishange (SWEEP programme co-ordinator on the University’s George Campus), Zubenathi Daca; (SEED programme coordinator), Dr Mapula Razwinani (Researcher: FALF-FREF Mandela Research Chair), Thabile Ndaba (coordinator: FALF-FREF Mandela Research Chair); Karen Snyman (specialist in student entrepreneurship), Professor Thobekani Lose (Director: Mandela University Africa Hub – MUAH) and Dr Palesa Natasha Mothapo (Director: Research Support and Management).