CEI graduates empowered entrepreneurs of 2016

UWC’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation continues to help entrepreneurs hone their business skills and grow their businesses, as shown by the success of their recent graduates.

The University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) celebrated the success of their graduates recently.

Several entrepreneurs in the Western Cape graduated from the CEI’s 2016 eTools Kit for Entrepreneurs course (NQF 5) last month.

The ABSA-funded project saw participants engage in a five-day training workshop, where they were taught how to utilize a variety of online and offline eTools to help them consider and engage with business challenges in a new way.

The CEI aims to grow and promote entrepreneurship education, innovation and small business development. The course  is designed to fill a critical gap in the skill sets of many entrepreneurs, explains Charleen Duncan, Director at the CEI..

But developing business skills and an understanding of best practice for entrepreneurship is an ongoing journey of personal development, and for some, the eTools Kit programme is just the beginning - which is why the CEI also celebrated their 2016 Fellowship programme, made up of graduates from the 2015 eTools programme.

The objective of the Fellowship programme is to create an environment that creates networking opportunities, and to enhance their skills through knowledge and peer-to-peer learning.

One of UWC’s postgraduate students, who is in the process of finishing his Master’s Degree in Information Systems, interviewed all the participants and used a qualitative analysis on their use of a maturity model in Strategic ICT Investments in Micro-Enterprises in the Western Cape.

For more on the Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, visit the website or contact Wendy Mehl on 021 959 9549 or via email at wmehl@uwc.ac.za