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Become an Entrepreneur

Be Your Own Boss

Would you like to change your life by benefitting from your own skills and knowledge? Can you think creatively and outside of the box? Would you like to be your own boss? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you may have what it takes to become an entrepreneur!

The need for entrepreneurs in South Africa has never been greater as we look to rebuild the economy and create more jobs in our communities. Currently, approximately seven out of 100 people are entrepreneurs. The country needs about 20-25 out of 100 people to be entrepreneurs to recover the economy. For each student who becomes a successful entrepreneur through UP’s support, five people will directly benefit from it!

UP has a custom-designed course and support system developed for our students who wish to become entrepreneurs. UP’s support system for encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset is based on a multi-pronged ecosystem approach.

Our courses are open to students, regardless of their field of study. The skills and support offerings are transferable to any entrepreneurial environment, whether your business idea is based on selling for profit or offering a product or service for social change and improving lives.

Self-employability is one benefit of producing graduates who are also trained as entrepreneurs. If the job market looks bleak, you can be your own boss! Don’t forget about intrapreneurship – this is where you think proactively, develop new services, programmes, and products for your company, thus generating more income. This means our graduates become more desirable as potential employees too!

Training Courses

Learn the skills necessary to become a successful entrepreneur and achieve your business goals! UP is offering various tools and a pool of expert knowledge to help students take their business from idea to launch.

The Entrepreneurs POD online course is open to all students, regardless of their field of study. The skills and support offerings are transferable to any entrepreneurial environment, whether your business idea is based on selling for profit or offering a product or service for social change and improving lives. Enrol for the POD course here.

Research Solutions

You have a great idea and a fire in your belly. But before you can launch your business, you need to determine whether your business opportunity or idea will produce the desired amount and type of value. It is important that you fully understand the nature of the industry, who your competitors are, available substitute products, the willingness of the customer to pay a particular price, etc. This information arises from the entrepreneur's directed research into the market.

Likewise, market research helps entrepreneurs to understand their potential customers. It involves identifying the needs and wants of your target customer and scoping out the business operations necessary to meet those needs.

UP’s world-class Research and Advisory services are informed by science and evidence, and delivered by practical industry experts:


Research and Advisory Services	Business Units	Business Development Support Programme

Start-up Success Stories

At UP we understand that entrepreneurship can be used to achieve sustainable development goals as well as contribute to the fourth industrial revolution and help solve youth unemployment. We encourage an entrepreneurial-focused mindset and provide support and solutions to students looking to start their own businesses.

To #BeYourOwnBoss and launch your entrepreneurial career, all students have access to our online entrepreneurship courses. When students – or staff – wish to undergo an entrepreneurial venture, UP offers assistance and access to the Makerspace for prototyping as well as the UP Business Incubator.

After your ideas have been developed, we encourage creators to take action and explore TuksNovation – a technology incubator that will assist you in commercialising your innovation and building a sustainable business.

If you want to awaken and harness your passion, and #BeYourOwnBoss, UPBI is for you!

Watch some of our students’ success stories to get inspired: