The Wits Crucible Centre for Entrepreneurship has celebrated a significant milestone in its journey with the graduation of the very first cohort of students. The fifteen students successfully completed the Centre’s pilot Entrepreneurship Capability Development Programme (ECDP) and are now ready to take their ideas into the incubation phase.

Working in teams and partnerships the students earned their place in the formal incubation phase through a rigorous process which required disciplined learning, structured experimentation, resilience under critique, and the translation of ideas into viable venture propositions. 

The Wits Crucible Centre for Entrepreneurship was established in 2024 as a strategic initiative within Wits Business School to rethink how a leading African university engages in venture creation. It serves as an ecosystem node, connecting young entrepreneurs with capital, infrastructure, training, and research capacity, driven by the overarching purpose of civic renewal and social impact.

Partnerships are at the core of the Centre’s identity and vision. Anglo American was a catalyst when it donated a landmark building in Johannesburg’s CBD to Wits University in 2024 to house the Centre. The Services SETA provided an R84 million seed grant to fund programme development, infrastructure build-out, and multi-year entrepreneurial capability development.  The Liberty Group has provided temporary premises at the Flame Station on its campus in Braamfontein, allowing the Centre to commence training while permanent facilities are being finalised. Jozi My Jozi has also supported the urban positioning and integration of the Centre within the broader Johannesburg regeneration narrative.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Professor Maurice Radebe, director of the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, noted that at the core of the partnership network lies the Wits University ecosystem. 

“This is not an isolated initiative; it is embedded within a university that understands both intellectual rigour and societal responsibility. Wits brings faculty expertise, research infrastructure, postgraduate supervision capacity, governance oversight, and institutional credibility.”

Prof Radebe also called for impact investors, development finance institutions, corporate venture arms and philanthropic organisations to add their support. 

“Support is needed not only for training, which already has institutional backing, but also for the risk capital layer that allows founders to shift into full-time venture building. Without that layer, capability remains hidden. With it, ventures scale, jobs are created, and inclusive growth becomes measurable.”

He added: “The Centre itself is scaling. In 2026, we are preparing to support the next cohort of 250 entrepreneurs through the ECDP and into structured incubation pathways for which we need ecosystem partners. The pipeline is structured, the governance is institutional, and the support systems are embedded within a university environment. The time to step in is now.”