2018 Universities Business Challenge winners

The Overlings of Mangosuthu University of Technology from L-R: Brendon Khoza, Nkosinathi Sokhulu, Mbali Tshozi and Khayakazi Chiya

Launched in July this year, the UBC has seen 500 students from 13 different universities across South Africa participate in a business simulation competition designed to develop entrepreneurship skills.

When the competition launched, all teams were challenged to form virtual companies and to virtually manufacture and sell bicycles.

The final 10 teams were from the University of Limpopo, Mangosuthu University of Technology, Vaal University of Technology, University of KwaZulu-Natal and North-West University.

During the two-day final, the teams played six rounds of simulations. Each simulation gave the teams a chance to re-evaluate their progress and improve on certain areas that needed it. The winning team realised during one of their simulations that in order to maximize profits they would need to introduce two new products and market it differently from their initial product. They paid special attention to their customer’s needs.

The aim of the UBC was designed to tackle South Africa’s high level of youth unemployment. Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) announced that South Africa’s official unemployment rate increased by 0.3 of a percentage point to 27.5% in the third quarter of 2018.

Nkosinathi Sokhulu from the winning team said, “Even though we didn’t have a great presentation, we made the most profit. This experience taught us a lot about ourselves and business. Most of the decisions that we made came from serious debates. We learnt that market research is crucial when starting a business. We learnt that marketing starts and ends with the customer.”

“Based on this market research information, we realised that it was important for us to introduce two new products and this, in addition to the main product we were selling, helped us to maximize profits. We saw an opportunity to add more products and it paid off,” said Mbali Tshozi.

Tope Toogun, development advisor and CEO of Cognity Advisory said, “The competition is designed to develop the ‘soft skills’ that are important for those wanting to set up their own business or simply be successful at work. With rising unemployment and ongoing talent shortages, having these skills is crucial for those wanting to get a job.

“We really want to ensure that students are equipped with the necessary skills to not only start a business but to run it effectively. While we have selected one winner, our hope is that each team has benefitted by having learned the skills needed in the workplace.”

The UBC, now in its second year in South Africa, will continue into its third year in 2019 and will run as the Africa Enterprise Challenge (AEC).