In a country where youth unemployment hovers at crisis levels, the National EDHE (Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education) Absa Studentpreneurs Indaba 2026 has become a game-changer for students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).

For 15 students from UWC, the answer was found not in a lecture theatre but at the Indaba, where young entrepreneurs, university leaders, investors and entrepreneurship support professionals gathered to explore what it truly means to turn ideas into action.

500 participants

Over three days, the Indaba brought together more than 500 participants from 26 public universities across South Africa. With workshops, pitch festivals and networking cafés, it served as a launchpad for student entrepreneurs, equipping young people with the skills, networks and confidence to create businesses that matter, tackle unemployment and drive inclusive growth. For many, it was the first time they saw themselves as job-creators, proving that entrepreneurship can be a powerful answer to South Africa’s unemployment challenge.

Students attending the National Studentpreneurs Indaba 2026. Photo: SuppliedRepresenting the UWC Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), the delegation travelled to the Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre in Boksburg for a conference centred on the theme: “Entrepreneurship in Action: From Vision to Implementation, from Policy to Impact.”

The delegation comprised 12 student entrepreneurs and three UWC Economic Activation Office (EAO) business consultants, who came to learn, connect and discover how entrepreneurial ideas can move beyond imagination and become meaningful solutions in society.

Opening the conversation, Dr Edward Gumbo, Director for Entrepreneurship at Universities South Africa, challenged universities to rethink the relationship between academic knowledge and entrepreneurship. “Universities traditionally are places where knowledge is shared; they teach us how to analyse evidence, understand theories and question assumptions,” he said.”Entrepreneurship challenges us to take that knowledge beyond lecture rooms.”

His message captured the heart of the Indaba — that knowledge becomes truly powerful when it is applied.

Urgency

The urgency of entrepreneurship was further emphasised by Dr Thandi Gumbo, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), who highlighted the realities young people in South Africa face. “Our socio-economic issues make the entrepreneurship agenda more urgent,” she said. “The time has come for us to ask pressing questions that address youth unemployment issues in South Africa.”

Her remarks placed student entrepreneurship within a much bigger national conversation.

Enjoying some of the activities at the Indaba.

The Indaba, which is shifting South Africa’s higher education system from producing job-seekers to cultivating job-creators, encourages students to see their businesses as more than income-generating ventures. It motivates them to recognise that their ideas can become vehicles for solving problems, creating opportunities and contributing to the communities around them.

For Nomqhele Hlongwane, a third-year student in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at UWC and founder of Umqhele Naturals, one of the most valuable lessons from the Indaba was discovering that the entrepreneurial journey does not have to be a lonely one. “This Indaba has made me realise that I am not the only entrepreneur facing the issues that I am facing. There are many more others too, and that gives me a sense of community,” Hlongwane reflected.

UWC students also enjoyed hackathons and pitch festivals, where they showcased innovations and pitched to investors, as well as networking cafés and mixers — speed-networking sessions with investors and industry leaders.

For Mihlali Ngubo, a UWC master’s student, the Indaba reinforced the fundamental principle that entrepreneurial ideas only become meaningful when action follows. “The Studentpreneurs Indaba has made me realise that, yes, we all have brilliant, big ideas, but what distinguishes entrepreneurs from ordinary people is action — taking a step,” Ngubo said.

Wealth of opportunities

Ngubo also highlighted the wealth of opportunities available to aspiring entrepreneurs. “I have also realised that there are many resources out there waiting for us to leverage them and move our ideas from our minds to reality.”

Through the support structures provided by the UWC CEI and the EAO, students are encouraged not only to develop entrepreneurial ideas but also to access guidance, resources and networks that can help transform those ideas into viable ventures.

ALSO READ: UWC programme helps unemployed youth build businesses and find jobs