Mrs Hajo Morallane and Mr Oluwafemi Joshua Dele-Ijagbulu, two PhD students in the Department of Business Management, received bursaries from the South African PhD Partnering Network for Inclusive Growth through Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship (SASIE Network).

The NRF-ESRC funded SASIE programme and network of global scholars aims to encourage knowledge exchange, networking and collaboration among its partners, including Wits Business School, the University of Cape Town, the University of Pretoria, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, and the University of Essex in the United Kingdom.

The SASIE bursaries were born from a need to offer opportunities to researchers in similar disciplines across South Africa and the rest of the world. Its themes focus on the broad role of enterprise-based development models and in particular all aspects associated with social innovation, social entrepreneurship and enterprise-based inclusive growth initiatives.

Oluwafemi Joshua Dele-Ijagbulu's research career began with his MBA dissertation, which investigated financial constraints amongst small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in South-West Nigeria. His doctoral study focuses on entrepreneurial orientation as a competitive strategy in employment growth of SMEs, a study which seeks to shed light on the job creation trend and potential of SMEs in South Africa. He has a passion for entrepreneurship education, small business development and poverty alleviation in Africa through new venture and job creation. These themes will guide his research career.

Hajo Morallane's goal with her PhD study is to help find solutions to Africa's socio-economic problems. 'Statistics reveal that 80% of start-ups in South Africa fail within the first three years of operation, meaning that 20% of entrepreneurs in South Africa survive. My study focuses on established entrepreneurs and how the relationship between their personality traits and cognitive adaptability can shed light on why they are surviving,' she says.

The network's activities involves free workshops, talks, colloquiums and training activities in South Africa. It also sponsors ten South African PhD scholars from related areas to spend time at the University of Essex, undertaking research training and development, while ten UK students spends time at one of the South African partner universities. It further enables visits by supervisors from South Africa, and presentations of SASIE research at UK conferences and the University of Essex.

Mrs Hajo Morallane		Mr Oluwafemi Joshua Dele-Ijagbulu