MatiePreneurs , is a collaborative platform comprising the Community of Practice (CoP), to ensure that students at SU are aware of and have access to all of the entrepreneurial support initiatives that are on offer.

We support the Matiepreneurs committee in ensuring that access to input on entrepreneurship is accessible to every student that desires it. 

We host various entrepreneurial workshops for students throughout the year.

Our new workshop, Entrepreneurial Traits Workshop Series, is inspired by the principles from Disciplined Entrepreneurship, developed at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This six-part workshop series introduces students to key entrepreneurial traits used to evaluate and build successful ventures.

While the original framework consists of 24 structured steps for launching a startup, this series focuses on six practical traits that help students understand how entrepreneurs identify opportunities, design solutions, and create value in the market.

Each session explores one trait.

REGISTER FOR THE LAUNCH ON 16 APRIL 2026

The Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme is an initiative by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET), in collaboration with Universities South Africa. The purpose of the EDHE Intervarsity is to identify the top student entrepreneurs at the South African public universities, recognise and showcase their businesses, and invite investment into this cohort of student businesses.

SU LaunchLab runs the of the EDHE Intervarsity for SU. We curate entries from SU Students and host the SU competition. We also provide coaching and mentorship to ensure that SU campus winners perform as well as possible at the regional and national level competitions. 

At a national level, category winners each receive R100 000, and the overall winner gets R400 000. 

Registration for the online launch is now open!

NEXT ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOTCAMPS DURING JULY RECESS.

Our Bootcamps take students through the process of discovering their own professional purpose and narrative, designing a value proposition, designing a business model, and pitching a solution, all over the course of 2 days. 

We work with faculty leadership to bring key entrepreneurial tools to interested students to learn the basics of what it takes to start a company. 

Bootcamps take place during the autumn, winter, and spring recesses throughout the year. 

We provide engaging guest lectures on entrepreneurship to students across diverse faculties, fostering a dynamic learning experience.

Be on the lookout for emails and announcements by your lecturers and faculties!

Regular opportunities for students, researchers, faculty, and ecosystem partners from various backgrounds to come together for networking, food, fun, and learning. Check our events page for the full calendar.

Are you a Stellenbosch University student with a business you’re passionate about?

We’d love to help you shape it. Sign up below to join one of our bi-weekly Friday mentor sessions, where you’ll get to engage with the SU LaunchLab team and a vibrant community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

What we offer:
At LaunchLab, we help students turn their business concepts into something real and guide you through those early, uncertain steps of figuring out who your customer is, whether your idea actually solves a problem, and how to build something people will genuinely want. Through hands-on guidance and a strong network of mentors across a range of fields, we’ll help you find clarity and direction.

Please note that we are not able to offer funding.

Before you apply, please make sure you’ve done your homework:

Coming with just an idea and a pitch deck isn’t quite enough, and that’s okay, it just means you’re not ready yet, but you can make use of our Entrepreneurship Bootcamps or Workshops to get you to that next phase.

We want to see that you’ve already started asking the hard questions, even if your answers are still hypotheses:

Have you spoken to any potential customers?
Who are your competitors and how are you different?
How do you plan to reach and attract your first clients?
How will your business make money?

The more ground work you’ve done, the more value you’ll get out of your session.

Spaces are limited, so if your application is successful, we’ll be in touch to confirm your participation.

We can’t wait to meet you. Register below to get started!