Virtual incubators (click for more)

The University of Johannesburg's Technology Transfer Office support innovators in the commercial implementation of novel technologies or business processes. One of their important initiatives is an Incubation and Acceleration program for both students and staff of the University who are engaged in innovation.

They support the incubatees in a number of ways - one of which is to offer them best practice tools and training in the key stages of venture development. This program: Switch-On is the venture team that is still refining their ideas, getting to grips with the problems they are solving and getting to an understanding of their potential customer base.

This program provides education, tools, examples and development support for a number of critical steps in the venture development process. The program will continually be refined and updated, but the initial modules are detailed in the table below:

The program is open to all registered in the incubator program and other student startups approved by the UJ Technology Transfer Office.

For more information on access to the program contact:

Simon Gifford (Mashauri) at simon.gifford@mashauri.org; or

Vuyisile Phehane (UJ TTO), at vphehane@uj.ac.za

The University of Johannesburg's Technology Transfer Office support innovators in the commercial implementation of novel technologies or business processes. One of their important initiatives is an Incubation and Acceleration program for both students and staff of the University who are engaged in innovation.

They support the incubatees in a number of ways - one of which is to offer them best practice tools and training in the key stages of venture development. This program: Fast-Forward is for the venture team who have demonstrated some evidence of a demand with perhaps some early traction. The founders are looking to confirm their value proposition, define a business model and test the key elements of such

This program provides education, tools, examples and development support for a number of critical steps in the venture development process. The program will continually be refined and updated, but the initial modules are detailed in the table below:

Creating a new business can be a life-changing experience for you and potentially all your future customers and employees. However, the road is not easy and requires knowledge, dedication and plenty of hard work.

The objective of the EiR programme is to provide a support platform for aspiring entrepreneurs at Ashoka University to nurture their business ideas in a university environment, having access to networks, mentors, and other fellow entrepreneurs.

With this online programme, Mashauri is supporting this objective through providing the online education and support platform that guides and supports the entrepreneur through the business development process. Basically we provide a map, a compass, some essential tools and a guide to help you along the way.

Further details of the programme can be found at the Ashoka website: EiR

By the end of the EiR programme, students will have developed, tested and validated their business idea in the market, developed a robust business model, crafted a minimum viable product and already have paying customers.

If you would like to design a similar programme for your institution, please contact us at info@mashauri.org for more information.

Is this course for you?

Many people think about starting their own business and even have an idea they have been considering - but just never get around to starting it. 

Are you one of those people? Or would you like to join the ranks of successful entrepreneurs who create value by bringing their idea to life?

If you would like to be in the latter group and you wish to bring your idea to life, then this course is for you.

Objectives of programme

• To expose you to entrepreneurship 
• To assist in refining your business idea to increase your probability of success
• To help you clearly define the problem you are solving
• To guide you in clarity around your target market
• To help you construct a clear value proposition

Curriculum

• Understanding what is entrepreneurship
• The benefits and risks of entrepreneurship
• Characteristics of successful entrepreneurs
• A questionnaire-based assessment of your entrepreneurial competencies
• Introduction to The Golden Circle

• Idea clarification
• The problem you are solving
• Development of the problem vision statement
• Target market and personas
• Initial competitor analysis
• Value proposition development
• Value proposition testing
• Value proposition pitch development

Modus operandi

Each exercise will be preceded by an introduction to the concept in the form of an online lesson. The practical exercises will be posed by way of an assignment to complete. All assignments will be supported  by templates to allow you to efficiently conduct the exercise.

A question and answer forum will be provided that will allow you to ask questions of your colleagues and/or the professor running the course.

Timing and duration

The programme will run from 22nd January to 29th January and will be hosted on online (on Mashauri: an international entrepreneurial education platform). It is anticipated that you will require 20 hours to complete the course: 5 of which will be in the form of instruction and the balance in practical exercises in developing and refining your idea.

As this is an online programme, you will be able to complete it at your own pace although you must finish all the work by the deadline. There will be a suggested schedule and you will be reminded if you fall behind that schedule.

Support and evaluation

You will be evaluated on the basis of correct submission of all the assignments as well as a final quiz (which will be repeatable if you do not at first receive a passing grade.

Prerequisites

The student needs no prior knowledge of entrepreneurship but must have a business idea that they wish to investigate. They will need to have a basic understanding of Google tools (sheets, docs and slides) and a Google account (which is free and quick to set up).

Access to the internet and a laptop or desktop computer will be necessary to complete the assignments.

Course instructor

The instructor will be Professor Simon Gifford who is CEO of Mashauri. He is an entrepreneur who has founded a number of companies (including Mashauri) and acts as an advisor to a number of startups and scale-ups. , He currently also lectures at IE Business School in Madrid and has a rich background of giving strategy support to large companies all around the globe..

Mashauri

Mashauri is a UK based organisation that provides an entrepreneurial education platform to universities and other institutions in Europe, Africa and India. The platform uses best practice from modern entrepreneurial thinking (such as lean startup) as well as advanced digital teaching methodologies including gamification and flipped-classroom techniques.

The organisation has a vision that all university graduates should be offered the opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. More details of this is given n the "what we do" and "why we do it"  sections at the top of this page.

Price

The course is free to all users.

Purpose of the JKLU Pre-incubator

The JKLU Pre-Incubator  is where JKLU students compete to enter the AIC Incubator JKLU 3 month full-time programme. But that is not the only purpose ......

The good news is that whether or not you get accepted, the process will put you firmly on the road to launching your new venture. Even if you do not make it onto the full incubator programme, you will be offered alternative paths to  that will help you move toward your destination.

NOTE: at this stage, this program is for prototype and demo purposes only.
Wording and detailed curriculum must be updated.

Objective of the programme:

To guide entrepreneurs from idea through to the development of a market-tested value proposition ready for development into a full business model. 

In so doing, the student will apply and be assessed for readiness for the full JKLU incubator programme

Who is it for:

JKLU students who would like to apply for the JKLU full incubator programme and:

• Already have a clear business idea and wish to move forward with their business development
• Have an idea and have made some initial steps but are unclear on the right way to go further
• Wish to test if their business idea is viable before investing significant sums in further development
• Would like to apply scientific and proven steps such as the lean approach to increase their probability of success

Timing:

12 weeks

Output / deliverable:

A value proposition that is based on early market testing and assessed in the light of market size, targeted market segmentation, competitive position and underlying customer needs.

The ultimate deliverable produced is a video of the entrepreneur presenting their value proposition.

The final deliverable will also act as your application for the AIC Incubator JKLU Programme.

You will follow a lean startup path, capturing your ideas, progress and models using the tools and templates provided. There are assignments and milestones that will keep you focused and on track. The quizzes along the way will help you to measure your personal learning, along with the advancement of your new venture.

Have a look at the curriculum to get an idea of the journey you will take

Pricing:

This is is free to students who are accepted to enter the programme

Commencement:

The programme will commence in November 2019. Exact dates will be confirmed following JKLU's decision in this regard.

By the end of the programme, you will have developed a robust value proposition off which to develop and grow your business. The customer research will ensure that your idea is sound and that there is a real market for your product. By reaching this “market-solution fit”, you will have avoided the biggest mistake made by failing startups – that is building a product that no one wants.

What do students think of Mashauri? 

Scroll to the bottom of the front page of our site and read through some of the feedback we have received under "Testimonials".

The Food Science Venture Accelerator has been designed to support students who graduated from the EIT Food GFVP Summer School in June 2019 and wished to continue developing a business idea. The programme design is based on what the students said they wanted in a survey following the event. Only those students who completed the survey will be enrolled on this programme.

It is aimed at supporting both those who wished to continue with the idea they started in the School and those who wished to pursue a new idea. It is anticipated that this programme will act as a bridge between the ending of the School and a number of other activities that EIT Food are launching including a mentoring programme and the Lausanne workshop. Furthermore, this will be useful to those students who are not selected by EIT Food to partake in these events but still wish to pursue an entrepreneurial idea.

The UWC Mashauri Post-Graduate Venture Accelerator is the UWC’s centre for innovation and entrepreneurship programme for post graduate entrepreneurs where they are supported in moving their research ideas towards commercialisation.

Creating a new business can be a life-changing experience for the entrepreneur and potentially all their future customers and employees. However, the road is not easy and requires knowledge, dedication and plenty of hard work.

UWC have launched this programme to give post-grad entrepreneurs the necessary knowledge, skills and guidance to get going on the journey. They are encouraged to base their ideas directly or indirectly on their research. The Technology Transfer Office also get involved in assisting the students in areas such as intellectual property.

By the end of the Venture Accelerator programme, you will have developed, tested and validated your business idea in the market. If the test is positive, you will be ready to take the next steps in building a business model and the first demonstrable product (called a minimum value product) to customers. 

Even if your initial idea proves not to be viable, you will have learned how to get going with starting a new business and have a tool-set and process to help you try out the next idea! 

Programme details: outcome and objectives

Programme outcome

At the end of the programme, you will have developed a real business idea that has been market tested and you will have learned the right way to go about designing and developing a new business idea.

Programme objectives

• You will have undergone an entrepreneurial readiness assessment and been exposed to some of the pro’s and con’s of entrepreneurship
• You will have established your personal purpose for wishing to start a new business venture
• You will have identified and evaluated a number of possible business ideas including at least one idea related to your own research project
• You will have selected and defined a venture idea to pursue based on a clear set of criteria
• You will have analysed the market and competitive landscape surrounding your business idea
• You will have selected an initial target market and identified a customer type
• You will have developed a value proposition appropriate for your target market
• You will have tested the value proposition with real customers
• You will have made a movie of yourself pitching your business idea.
• You will be part of a supportive, network of like-minded entrepreneurs

If you would like to design a similar programme for your institution, please contact us at info@mashauri.org for more information.

False Bay College Center for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator

Poster and Pitch Competition

Are you ready to win R10,000.00 by simply submitting a poster?

Student objectives:

• To have learned about some of the critical aspects of developing a business idea
• To have assessed your own ability to be an entrepreneur.
• To have a better understanding of entrepreneurship and what it means
• To understand each of the basic elements of the canvas and why they are important
• To have used that learning to develop the fundamental inputs for your poster and pitch submission
• To be ready to submit your poster and pitch entry

Student outcome:

R10,000-00 prize sponsored by:

 

 

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them."

Walt Disney

Enrol for free now using the code provided by your campus champion.

False Bay College Center for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator.

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