Over 1000 entrepreneurship stakeholders from universities and institutions all over the country attended the event, which was held in-person and online. The Department of Business Management was well represented at the Lekgotla with Prof Shelley Farrington and Mr Riyaad Ismail (a PhD student in the department) showcasing the outcomes of their international collaborative project with Ghent University (Belgium) focusing on student entrepreneurship support at South African public universities.
Left to right: Mr Riyaad Ismail; Prof Shelley Farrington; Dr Ayanda Deliwe; Ms Atlehang Nkotha; Prof Elmarie Venter
In addition, Ms Atlehang Nkotha, a Master’s student in the department and chairperson of the Student Women Economic Empowerment Project (SWEEP), was on stage to introduce Mandela University’s first chapter of SWEEP. SWEEP is the brainchild of EDHE and aims to equip student women for entrepreneurial activities in the context of gender-based violence and under-representation of student women in entrepreneurship. For her Master’s degree, Ms Nkotha is mapping Mandela University’s student entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Also in attendance at the Lekgotla were Dr Ayanda Deliwe, the HOD of Business Management, as well as Prof Elmarie Venter, Director of the Nelson Mandela University Family Business Unit and Entrepreneurship lecturer in the department. The department also sponsored several Business Management Entrepreneurship Honours students to attend the in-person Studentpreneurs Indaba on the last day of the Lekgotla, which was attended by over 269 students from all over the country.
- Honours Entrepreneurship Students from the Department of Business Management