Events & Conferencing News South Africa

SA wins bid for yet another global event

After winning the bid to host the 12th Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Global Start-Up Workshop, South Africa is gearing up for a global exchange on entrepreneurship development. The conference takes place from 25 - 27 March 2009 at the BMW Pavilion Conference Centre at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town.

After stiff competition from Canada and Denmark, SA prevailed as a cut above the rest, and will benefit largely from the conference in the arena of entrepreneurship development. All eyes will be on SA as it prepares to receive delegates from around the globe. The sights and sounds of Cape Town in particular will be elevated as people live the ultimate SA experience in March 2009.

This event provides the opportunity to share best practices for fostering and supporting entrepreneurs within and between different regions and for contributing to the global network of entrepreneurial support organisations. Wits Business School (WBS) is providing support through the Centre for Entrepreneurship that will facilitate a platform for engagement between students and industry.

Prof Mthuli Ncube, director of WBS and acting director of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, believes that, “[i]t is crucial that the public sector and stakeholder institutions develop the necessary capacity to respond to the need for the development of an entrepreneurial culture within South Africa.

"The relationship between WBS and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will offer great opportunities for technological and entrepreneurial advancement, thus upholding the vision of the Centre for Entrepreneurship.”

Students from both the part time and full time MBA programmes at WBS will collaborate with SHAKE!, a student organisation from the University of Pretoria, on all operational functions. Both groups have been working together on the official conference since 2007 and will continue to leverage their respective networks to ensure the 2009 conference is the best in the history of the MIT GSW.

For more information, go to www.mitgsw.org.

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