• High Impact Individuals & Scale-ups: We are looking for innovation-driven and high impact scale-ups with solutions that are relevant to the African market and with global potential
• Individuals & Teams: We are looking for both high impact individuals and teams. Individual participants can either explore their own business idea or join an existing venture
• Prototype / MVP: Most of our scale-ups enter with some sort of business case, early version of a product and a couple of team members. They have a working prototype with a minimum feature set ready to conduct early-market testing to further establish product and market fit
• Opportunity & Traction: The initial concept development demonstrates deep and intimate understanding of the problem and market need or opportunity. The idea must have progressed beyond concept and should demonstrate evidence of early market testing, customers, revenues, patents or intellectual property filings

• Ayoba Industry Partnership: ayoba is a free messaging app & more, designed by Africans for Africans. Startups selected to move forward to the Venture Exploitation phase will gain access to technical support and mentorship from field experts to get the guidance needed to accelerate their venture
• Capacity Building: We apply a learning-by-doing approach. At workshops and clinics, scale-ups learn founder fundamentals and core skills focused on moving the business forward. Scale-ups apply what they learn through practical outcomes from each session
• Advisory Services: Access to pro-bono partners and a network of consultants to support with specialist expertise e.g. legal, HR, digital user experience, venture capital
• Feedback & Guidance: Scale-ups receive valuable feedback and guidance from our team and a network of experienced mentors and industry partners. Teams also have access to the UCT GSB Solution Space's network of GSB alumni and corporate partners
• Co-Working & Community: We focus on building a vibrant community of entrepreneurs and offer a calendar of regular events designed to increase a team's knowledge and expand their network. We prioritize peer learning and mentoring through access to our co-working space and regular office-hours

UCT is one of the leading higher education institutions on the African continent and has a tradition of academic excellence that is respected worldwide. Situated on spectacular Devil’s Peak, it is Africa’s oldest and foremost university. Three worldwide rankings have placed UCT among the world’s top 200 institutions, the only African university to have achieved this distinction. UCT is research-led; the premier academic meeting point between South Africa, the continent and the world, and committed to addressing the key issues of our natural world.

Taking advantage of expanding global networks and UCT’s distinct vantage point in Africa, the university is committed, through innovative research and scholarship, to grapple with the key issues of our natural and social worlds. UCT aims to produce graduates whose qualifications are internationally recognised and locally applicable, underpinned by values of engaged citizenship and social justice. UCT will promote diversity and transformation within our institution and beyond, including growing the next generation of academics.