South Africa Program

The Entrepreneurship Empowerment in South Africa (EESA) program is open to upper level undergraduate students and graduate students across the SU campus.

Participating students help and learn from entrepreneurs in the townships near Cape Town, South Africa by forming consulting teams and work closely with small businesses over a six-week period to help make the ventures sustainable. Ventures range from catering and arts & crafts businesses to community newspapers and small manufacturing operations.

The student consulting teams identify and prioritize the key needs of the entrepreneur and make meaningful progress in finding solutions. Students develop marketing and financial plans, create bookkeeping systems, improve operations, renegotiate contracts, and more. Stellenbosch University co-hosts the program.

Student Eligibility & Requirements
The program is open to graduate and upper level undergraduate students with a 3.0 grade point average or better. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Only 15 students can be accommodated in the program and students interested in participating are encouraged to submit their applications early.

EESA Courses
Supporting Emerging Enterprises
This course introduces students to the South African context, township entrepreneurship, the basics of the consulting process, the SEE consulting model, and creative, practical approaches to addressing managerial issues in emerging enterprises. It is offered at the Stellenbosch University campus.

Entrepreneurship Field Experience
This course provides interaction with township entrepreneurs over six weeks as part of structured consulting engagements.

A final consulting project report summarizes the teams' assessment of each venture and the set of deliverables produced for the clients. Students must also maintain journals of their experiences.

Application: http://suabroad.syr.edu/