The chapter ended 2018 on a high after being announced as the runners-up in the Cognity Advisory’s Universities Business Challenge (UBC), as sponsored by the multinational conglomerate General Electric (GE).
The competition saw more than 500 students from 13 different universities across South Africa participate in a business simulation competition that is designed to test and develop their entrepreneurship skills.
The final showdown took place on 5 and 6 December in Johannesburg, and saw three teams from the NWU competing. During this round they faced the likes of the Mangosuthu University of Technology, the Vaal University of Technology, the University of Limpopo and the University of KwaZulu Natal, in their quest to win the R50 000 prize money. The NWU finished in the overall second position.
More about the UBC
The aim of the UBC, now in its second year in South Africa (and its 20th year globally), is to tackle South Africa’s high level of youth unemployment by means of innovative entrepreneurial interventions. In 2018 Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) announced that the country’s official unemployment rate increased by 0,3 of a percentage point to a staggering 27,5 % in the third quarter of 2018.
The Development Advisor and CEO of Cognity Advisory, Tope Toogun, was quoted as saying that students are very prepared in terms of theory when they leave university, but not the practical skills they need to start and run a business. Since small and medium sized enterprises make up 90% of formal businesses it is important that students develop an entrepreneurial skillset that will enable them to become job creators in the future.
“The students competing in the challenge learn about the intricacies of managing people, customer service, teamwork, decision making and how to create a sustainable start-up venture without even realising that they are being exposed to all these skills,” explains Toogun.
According to Dr Liandi van den Berg, a senior lecturer in sport business management and an Enactus co-faculty advisor, the challenge was launched in August by means of an online business simulation platform. Students participated in teams and the online challenge put their entrepreneurial skills, commercial awareness and analytical problem solving to the test.
She explains that the NWU entered 10 teams - six teams from the campus in Vanderbijlpark and four from the campus in Potchefstroom. Three teams from Vanderbijlpark eventually advanced to the final round of the challenge. These three teams were coached and mentored by Dr Van den Berg, Johann Landsberg (bhive EDC) and Anneli Steenkamp (bhive EDC).
The team that clinched the second position consisted of Frederick Uys, JP Theron, Allen Hepburn and Amore Swanepoel. They won R30 000 from General Electric.
The team from NWU Vanderbijlpark finished as the runners-up in the national challenge. The team members are from left Frederick Uys, JP Theron, Allen Hepburn and Amore Swanepoel.
