“Meta description: VUT and UpRiver Development equip young Africans with practical business skills to develop enterprises that respond to community needs.”
22 October 2026 | Story by: Tayron Mhlongo | Picture: Siphephelo Dlamini
3 minutes read time.
From recycling plastic waste in Cameroon to improving access to safe transport, young African entrepreneurs are developing business ideas that respond to challenges in their communities through a partnership between the Vaal University of Technology (VUT) and UpRiver Development.
At a presentation session held at VUT on 11 October 2026, students from Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Malawi showcased entrepreneurship and social development projects developed through the Short Learning Programme (SLP) in Small Business Management and Community Development.
Launched in 2024, the custom-designed programme combines academic learning, practical business skills and industry exposure in South Africa. Students are registered on study visas and receive certificates issued through VUT. They also undertake year-long practical training at companies within the UpRiver Group.
Ms Manini Kganakga, Manager: Short Learning Programmes at VUT, explained that the programme seeks to equip young people with entrepreneurial skills to establish businesses and respond to unemployment across the continent.
The partnership emerged after UpRiver Development identified gaps in youth development and employment opportunities through its work across Africa. VUT and UpRiver Development subsequently developed a programme tailored to these needs.
The SLP comprises six modules, including Transportation Management, Introduction to People Management, Introduction to Project Management and Marketing. Entrepreneurship provides an overarching focus, guiding students to develop business proposals and plans that they can implement in their home countries.
Mrs Onica Matsheke, from VUT’s Department of Human Resources and an entrepreneurship facilitator on the programme, said students are encouraged to build businesses grounded in an understanding of community needs. They begin with idea generation before applying a five-step design thinking process.
“The students are expected to empathise with ten people to get to the pain. It’s not really helpful to start a business if you don’t know who you are going to sell your product to or render your service to,” she said.
Students are also encouraged to align their ideas with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), exploring how their enterprises could contribute to priorities such as education, decent work and clean energy.
Mrs Matsheke praised the quality of the presentations, highlighting a group that developed a transport application aimed at improving safe and accessible mobility.
Among the presenters was Ms Clemence Nueke from Cameroon, whose project, Green Cycle, focuses on recycling plastic waste. Her proposal responds to waste management challenges and limited recycling infrastructure in her home country.
Ms Nueke said the entrepreneurship module had broadened her perspective and challenged her to move beyond theory to identify a pressing community need.
“We have a desperate need for recyclers in Cameroon, desperate need for companies which can take the waste in charge, and that’s what I propose,” she said.
She expressed gratitude to VUT and UpRiver Development for providing a platform to develop her idea into a proposed community solution.
The presentations demonstrated how academic learning and practical exposure can help students turn everyday challenges into enterprise opportunities. They also highlighted the value of bringing young people from different countries together to exchange ideas and explore solutions with local relevance.
The partnership supports the ambitions of VUT Strategy 2033+ through applied learning, innovation and collaboration. By equipping young Africans to develop businesses rooted in community needs, VUT and UpRiver Development are helping them take practical steps towards creating livelihoods and contributing to their countries’ development.