The UCT GSB Solution Space is an ecosystem for high-impact early-startups, corporate innovation, and entrepreneurship development & research.
We provide an enabling environment in which South Africa’s entrepreneurial talent can work towards building innovation-led, scalable and sustainable enterprises that have a positive impact across our country and beyond.
The Solution Space was founded in 2014 at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business. Its startup capital came from the UCT Vice Chancellor’s Strategic Award, and our founding partner, the MTN Group, has provided significant support since 2015.
Through our multi-stakeholder approach, we fuse academia, industry and local communities. Through the university, we have access to state-of-the-art research and through our Philippi Hub, we are uniquely positioned to innovate relevant and high-impact solutions and engage with local communities while facilitating corporate innovation.
A future-looking programme that focuses on innovation and the creation and scale-up of new ventures
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A new-venture acceleration and a capacity building programme for high impact individuals and teams
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Working with local and international universities to create unique customised programmes.
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Our founders build viable and scalable innovation-driven companies for local, national and international community needs. Founders have access to a range of resources including co-working space, practical learning clinics, mentors, staff advisors, and a community of peers who learn and grow together.
We're located in the heart of a local community, where startups are surrounded by a network of partner organisations and other new ventures, students and community members.
We support founders that are building a sustainable Africa through solutions for Education & Skills, Health & Wellbeing, Cities & Infrastructure, Agriculture & Environment, Financial Services, Employment & Enterprise, Recreation & Leisure and Mobility & Communication.
We have multiple venues at both the Waterfront and Philippi hubs that are available to hire for meetings, conferences, launches and seminars. We provide a full service including meals, refreshments in addition to the usual conferencey stuff like projectors, various table configurations, notepads and pens.
Covid-19
Everyone knows that the global pandemic has either shut down business doors or having to adapt to the ‘new normal’. We sat down with Andrea Böhmert, Co-Managing Partner at Knife Capital to gain her perspective a little more.
Venture Acceleration
The e-Track Programme, launched in 2019 by the University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) Solution Space in partnership with the MTN Group, is a three-part, venture acceleration and capacity-building programme for high-impact ventures.
Entrepreneurship
Staying focused while simplifying the value aspect of a business is one of the fundamentals. We took this opportunity to equip entrepreneurs about how to they can bring value to their customers by chatting with Ellen Fischat, the Founder of Story Room.
Entrepreneurship
The launch of the new e-Track Programme at the Solution Space at UCT GSB in partnership with the MTN Group marks a step-change in the way business schools in South Africa nurture the country’s entrepreneurial talent. After rigorous selection, the successful candidates will work towards building scalable, sustainable enterprises with global impact.
