SWEEP EDHE

🇿🇦 Celebrating Women’s Day | 9 August

Today, we celebrate the courage, brilliance, and determination of South African women who continue to lead, create, innovate, and build pathways for generations to come.💜

We see this spirit in the student women who are turning ideas into enterprises, stepping boldly into leadership and creating opportunities for themselves and others.

Through initiatives such as the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP), we remain committed to creating spaces where student women can develop their entrepreneurial potential, strengthen their economic participation and build networks that help them thrive. 🌱

This Women’s Day, we celebrate every woman who chooses to lead, create, and empower and, in doing so, makes the road wider for the women coming behind her.

Here’s to women building businesses, building communities, and building the future. 🇿🇦

WomenInEntrepreneurship Studentpreneurs WomenEmpowerment EntrepreneurshipInHE

On 6 August we are hosting our next 🪷SWEEP 2026 TransformHER🪷Webinar with Dr Emma Elkington and Dr Irene Brew-Riverson. This highly practical session will focus on “The - of , and the #8 ”.

📍 is the Head of the School of Finance and Accounting at Westminster Business School, a Chartered Accountant, and Senior Fellow of Advance HE. She brings more than two decades of experience across audit, professional education, and higher education leadership.

📍 is a lecturer at the University of Westminster with extensive experience in enterprise and entrepreneurship education. With a background spanning higher education and entrepreneurial practice, including running her own micro business, she has played an important role in advancing entrepreneurship education.

🪷 This webinar series is part of our research grant, designed under the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP), implemented in collaboration with the British Council, and hosted by the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme under Universities South Africa (USAf).

🔸 Professor Nadia Gulko, PFHEA (UK Lead), Dr Heather Connelly, Madiha Sarwar, Professor Emeritus Ted Fuller - University of Lincoln, Lincoln International Business School - University of Lincoln
🔸 Professor Sanlie Middelberg (SA Lead), Prof Louise Bezuidenhout, Dr Leonie Greyling, PhD, MBA, Professor Herman van der Merwe - North-West University / Noordwes-Universiteit
🔸Professor Liz Warren, Dr Katharina De Vita - The Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester Metropolitan University Business School
🔸 Professor Anne Marie Ward - Ulster University
🔸 Prof Erica Derbyshire CA(SA), Dr Mamorena Lucia Matsoso, PhD - University of Johannesburg
🔸 Thandekile Koza, University of Limpopo

Please register in advance to get your joining link, if you are planning to join us.
https://lincoln-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/LDtUFab0RUOfs7VruTO01A.

Day 3 marked the perfect close to an inspiring three-day journey at the Living Lab.

From powerful conversations to hands-on collaboration, participants explored what it truly means to build sustainable businesses and supportive entrepreneurial communities.

The workshop left us with one powerful message: meaningful change starts with action. By collaborating, sharing knowledge, and empowering one another, we’re not only shaping successful entrepreneurs—we’re shaping the future of women-led innovation.

The journey doesn’t end here. It’s only the beginning. 💜🚀

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SWEEP TransformHER, Living Lab through HER Story 2026, is officially underway! ✨

🤝Today marks the start of the SWEEP TransformHER Living Lab and National Workshop, bringing together approximately 200 student leaders, 30 SWEEP Coordinators, academics, entrepreneurs, government representatives and industry partners from across South Africa for three days of learning, collaboration and innovation.

🚀Hosted in partnership with the British Council and the University of Lincoln UK Consortium, the workshop forms part of the SWEEP TransformHER initiative, which is empowering the next generation of women entrepreneurs through leadership development, entrepreneurship education, mentorship and international collaboration.

🎤 Day One features inspiring keynote addresses and partner messages from leaders representing Universities South Africa, the British Council, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), and the national EDHE Community of Practice for Student Entrepreneurship Coordinators, setting the tone for a programme dedicated to advancing women's economic empowerment through higher education. 🌱

🤝 Over the next three days, participants will engage in thought-provoking discussions, interactive Living Lab activities, practical skills workshops and valuable networking opportunities designed to inspire innovation, strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities and build lasting connections.

📸Follow our journey as we share highlights, insights and inspiring moments from .✨EDHE - Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education

🌸Join us for the 5th session of the TransformHER Webinar Series!

We’re delighted to welcome Professor Meredith Tharapos, who will be sharing her expertise on ”The Power of Mentoring in Entrepreneurship.”

Mentorship has the power to shape entrepreneurial success by providing guidance, encouragement, and valuable perspectives. In this inspiring session, you’ll discover how meaningful mentoring relationships can cultivate resilience, strengthen leadership, inspire innovation, and support sustainable business growth for both aspiring and established entrepreneurs.

🗓 Date: 9 July 2026

🔗 Register here: https://lincoln-ac-uk.zoom.us/meeting/register/xA8sga1QTYyWhvN3BmNnTA #/registration

💬 We would love to hear from you: What role has mentorship played in your entrepreneurial journey? Share your experience in the comments below🌸

Entrepreneurship MentorshipMatters WomenEmpowerment Leadership Innovation EDHE

🇿🇦 🇬🇧 This week, an EDHE delegation is participating in the SWEEP TransformHER: HER Land – Entrepreneurship & Agriculture programme at the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom.

Hosted in collaboration with the University of Lincoln, the British Council, Universities South Africa (USAf), and the Student Women Economic Empowerment Programme (SWEEP), the three day programme brings together academics, student entrepreneurs, industry experts, and ecosystem partners from South Africa and the UK to explore entrepreneurship, innovation, agriculture, sustainability, and women’s economic empowerment.

✨The programme provides a valuable platform for knowledge exchange, partnership building, and international collaboration, while creating opportunities for participants to engage with leading experts, emerging technologies, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and innovative approaches shaping the future of agriculture and enterprise.

We wish our delegation a productive and inspiring week of learning, networking, and collaboration. 🌱

👏 Happening later TODAY!

The journey begins for 499 shortlisted students from across South Africa’s 26 public universities as they enter the first phase of the Waste Innovation Challenge ♻️

Led by the Mr Price Foundation in partnership with Universities South Africa (EDHE), this national initiative is empowering young innovators to turn plastic waste into viable business solutions, driving green entrepreneurship and reimagining the circular economy.

Over the coming weeks, participants will receive training in:
💡 Waste-to-value business models
🌍 Circular economy principles
📊 Product development & pitching

This is where ideas start becoming enterprises, and where the next generation of green entrepreneurs takes shape.

Stay tuned as the journey unfolds. 🔥

price foundation waste

📣 Join us for the EDHE Absa Entrepreneurship InnoVarsity 2026 Masterclasses! 💰

These sessions will provide a clear overview of the category criteria, terms and conditions, and will guide student entrepreneurs on submitting their entries.

🗓️Today, 28 April 2026 we will host 2 sessions.
- ✍️1st Session: Innovative Industries at 12:00 – 13:00
- ✍️ 2nd Session: Existing Business-Tech at 15:00 – 16:00

🎯Register on the link below to receive Zoom details: https://forms.office.com/r/zhwcGZxfTT

🚀 2 DAYS TO GO!

The EDHE Absa Entrepreneurship InnoVarsity 2026 launches this Thursday, 16 April from 10:00 🔥

You can be part of the excitement LIVE from wherever you are!

💡 Don’t miss it — register to watch online:
👉 Link: https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=yHlg92iFL0mQrugUqFZv3cYQSwEBAv5FgjpFi-LhojpUN09QRDhKS0ZVQ1lWWjVNVUFDMEgySTBXSC4u

Absa South Africa Foundation