With the Women’s Month, August only a week away, the Durban University of Technology’s Office of DVC Research, Innovation and Engagement in partnership with the Entrepreneurial Centre and Student Desk are hosting a Start-Up Week Workshop to inspire young women to start businesses.

Start-Up Week is designed and facilitated by Plan A. It gives University departments looking to nurture students interested in entrepreneurship a front row seat on what it means to start a business.

The Workshop is held at DUT Alpine Residence since Wednesday, 25 July to Sunday, 29 July. It is attended by DUT female students and other young women from around Durban. The opening day of the workshop incubated a robust go-to-market spring for bidding and stalled entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial leaders.

Entrepreneurial Centre and Student Desk at ML Sultan Campus, Project Co-ordinator, Nonhlanhla Khanyile said the workshop provides an opportunity to female students who are business minded to put their business ideas and innovations into action.

“This workshop provides a rare opportunity to our female students to start and own successful businesses or other innovations which brings significant change in our communities.  What we are trying to achieve here, is to assist female students to believe in their potential and be confident to run innovative businesses,” said Khanyile.

Alisha Golden, the founder of Plan A and facilitator of the workshop said their goal is to up-skill and empower 80 women between the ages of 18-35 to build start-ups initiatives that solve one or more of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, directly impacting Durban’s Ecosystem.

“We look at young women in the country as a missed opportunity. Women are excluded from crucial conversations in the negotiating table, but the reality is that women are capable of doing a lot of things, including coming up and implementing innovative business ideas,” said Golden.

Each day of the workshop revolves around a certain theme, with keynote speakers coming through to provide insight into the theme of the day; and its relevance and implementation in a corporate world. The five-day workshop aims to take the participants through the process from inception to implementation.

Addressing the workshop on day one theme, Design Thinking, Sibonelo Gumede who is a researcher at the Urban Features Centre in DUT said youth is capable of steering Entrepreneurship in the right direction.

“With using Design Thinking, you are able to create products which speak to your market. And also if you are providing a service, you provide a service that speaks to your market and also tries to solve real problems,” said Gumede.

Pictured:  Participants and Facilitators of the Start-Up Week, happening at DUT Alpine Residence.

Sandile Lukhozi