How MUT became a beacon for South Africa’s student entrepreneurship movement

The choice of the Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) as the host for the announcement of Universities South Africa (USAf) — Absa Bank R5.5 million partnership on 25 June was not random. The decision marked the deliberate recognition of MUT’s transformative potential of a historically disadvantaged institution of higher learning.

Through USAf’s Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Programme, in partnership with Absa Bank, the 25 June event also doubled as the launch of the EDHE-Absa Innovation Challenge, a strategic initiative designed to unlock the entrepreneurial potential of students and alumni at South Africa’s 26 public universities, thus driving solutions to critical societal problems.

Dr Phethiwe Matutu, CEO of Universities South Africa, said the entrepreneurial initiatives included in the USAf-Absa partnership “are driven by inclusive innovation, so it is fitting that the launch is taking place at the point of need.”