New Hub aims to boost innovation and policy reform in SA
The South African Innovation Ecosystem Policy Hub (SAIEPH) has united government, academia, industry and entrepreneurs to strengthen South Africa’s innovation ecosystem and improve how policy decisions are made. The South African Innovation Ecosystem Policy Hub (SAIEPH) was launched on 7 August 2026 in Stellenbosch. The Policy Hub is a partnership between the Department of […]
A sharper lens on African entrepreneurship: launching the AEEI 2026
The Africa Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index moves from working prototype to a peer-reviewed standard, paired with a new diagnostic dashboard. On Friday 26 June 2026, the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE), Utrecht University, and the Innovation for Policy Foundation (i4Policy) officially launched the updated Africa Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Index (AEEI). The announcement took place before […]
Exciting new entrepreneurship fund could be a game-changer for SA youth.
Absa in partnership with the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE) has launched the Absa Youth Entrepreneurship Fund (AYEF) in Johannesburg. The aim is not simply to fund businesses, but to understand what young entrepreneurs actually need and provide solutions based on real data. The launch of the Absa Youth Entrepreneurship Fund (AYEF) on […]
From entrepreneur to educator and scholar
Clint Davies, PhD, joins the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Clint Davies grew up in Mitchells Plain, Cape Town. His father, a fishing trawler skipper, was the breadwinner and mostly away from home through Clint’s formative years. Clint, his younger brother and two sisters were raised largely by […]
Why do some entrepreneurs fail – and others become successful?
Dr Knowledge Shumba recently joined AGCAE as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow. He is particularly interested in studying entrepreneurial ecosystem conditions at a continental level, coupled with resilience strategies, and ultimately exploring why, in the same ecosystem, some innovators and entrepreneurs establish profitable ventures and others do not. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ If there’s a cornerstone to Dr Knowledge […]
‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem Data is a Human Rights Issue.’
This year’s Freedom Day and Human Rights Day were celebrated in the shadow of persistent high unemployment figures, widening inequality and slow service delivery. Despite decades of policy intervention and investment, progress has been uneven and, in many cases, exclusionary. But we could be looking at new avenues for solutions – and one of these […]
Building Africa’s entrepreneurship policy on data: Rafiki Murenzi’s PhD Journey
Policy can unlock Africa’s entrepreneurial potential – but only if it is grounded in evidence. That’s the mission of doctoral candidate Rafiki Murenzi, who is bringing advanced data science and engineering into the heart of entrepreneurship policy at Stellenbosch University’s Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE).
‘We must help younger entrepreneurs brave enough to start a business’
Josh Adler, Chief Programs Officer at the African Leadership Academy, is currently pursuing a PhD at the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship. He wants to focus on improving the practice of youth entrepreneur support as it is more than a field of study to him – it’s his life’s work. After graduating with a […]
Prestigious win for SA-initiated global entrepreneurship research partnership
The Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE) at Stellenbosch University, in collaboration with the Allan & Gill Gray Philanthropies (AGGP), Utrecht University, and the Innovation for Policy Foundation (i4Policy) have won three awards at the 2025 GEN Compass Awards in Indianapolis in the USA. At a glittering gala dinner event on 3 June 2025, […]
We need to build entrepreneurship policies that WORK
On February 19, 2025, Belinda Baah, of Innovation for Policy Foundation (i4Policy) had the privilege of joining the ABSA x AGCAE Youth Entrepreneurship Dialogue in Johannesburg, a gathering designed to move beyond discussion and towards action. Hosted by ABSA, one of Africa’s largest banks, and the Allan Gray Centre for Africa Entrepreneurship (AGCAE), an i4Policy […]