About
Our Story
The Wits Crucible Centre for Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation was born of a conviction: that the University of the Witwatersrand, with its century of research excellence and its position in Africa’s economic heartland, was uniquely placed to become the continent’s pre-eminent university-anchored entrepreneurship platform.
Approved in 2023 as part of the Wits100 centenary strategy, the Centre was formally established and launched in 2025, housed at 47 Main Street, Marshalltown — a landmark building in the Anglo American precinct of Johannesburg’s CBD, currently undergoing renovation as part of the Jozi My Jozi urban regeneration initiative. The Centre’s location is deliberate. The Wits Crucible deliberately chose to anchor itself in Johannesburg’s inner city — not on the comfortable periphery of a suburban business park, but in the economic and historical heartland of Africa’s most dynamic city. When fully operational, this vertical campus will be the largest university-backed entrepreneurship and new-venture creation facility on the African continent.
The 2025 Foundational Execution Year delivered on every commitment. The inaugural Entrepreneurial Capability Development Programme (ECDP), co-funded by the Anglo American Foundation and delivered in partnership with the Wits Business School Executive Education division, from 20 delegates, the program produced a cohort of 15 entrepreneurs across 11 ventures. Fifteen participants completed the programme, 11 ventures were created, and all eligible graduates transitioned into the 2026 Incubation Residency. Programme support funding of R15 million was secured from the Services SETA, and R3.5 million in capital expenditure was allocated for the renovation of the 47 Main Street campus. Institutional partnerships were established with Anglo American, the Anglo American Foundation, Services SETA, Liberty Group, and the Jozi My Jozi initiative. The inaugural Advisory Board was constituted and met for the first time in March 2026.
From April 2026, the Wits Crucible entered its scale phase — launching the nine-venture, nine-month Incubation Residency Programme and targeting 250 ECDP graduates in the 2026 intake. The Centre’s investment thesis is clear: a university-backed venture pipeline, proven execution, de-risked early-stage ventures, and a scalable national model.
Vision & Mission
Vision
To be Africa’s leading university-anchored venture creation and ecosystem orchestration platform — a place where science, technology, and entrepreneurship converge to build businesses, transform communities, and drive the inclusive regeneration of Johannesburg and South Africa.
Mission
To build a university entrepreneurial approach that fosters collaboration, proactivity, and the acceleration of innovation — equipping entrepreneurs with the mindset, capabilities, and networks to build high-growth, technology-driven ventures that create lasting economic and social impact, and positioning Gauteng as the most entrepreneurial region in South Africa.
Strategic Pillars
Champion Empirical Research & Education
Generate and disseminate evidence-based knowledge on entrepreneurship, responsible business, and ecosystem development. Publish policy briefs, working papers, and case studies to inform practice and policy at national and institutional levels.
Develop Entrepreneurial Capability & Mindset
Deliver structured learning programmes — from short masterclasses to the 16-week ECDP — that equip aspiring entrepreneurs with the mindset, skills, and practical tools to turn ideas into viable businesses.
Enable New
Venture Creation
Provide a structured pipeline from capability development through the nine-month incubation residency to acceleration, with access to funding, mentorship, co-working facilities, and investor networks.
Enhance the
Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
Convene public, private, and civil society entrepreneurship support organisations (ESOs) across Gauteng — coordinating research, policy, funding, and delivery via the GECO platform and the Jozi My Jozi urban regeneration initiative.
Core Values
Purposeful Excellence
We uphold the highest standards in everything we do — in research, teaching, venture support, and ecosystem leadership.
Inclusive Innovation
We believe entrepreneurship is for everyone. Our programmes are designed to reach graduates, young people, women, and historically marginalised communities — the core population the Wits Crucible was established to serve.
Integrity & Accountability
We operate with transparency across our finances, governance, impact reporting, and relationships with partners and participants. We do not overstate outcomes or misrepresent traction.
Collaboration & Community
We are a convenor, not a competitor. Our strength lies in the networks we build and the partnerships we maintain — within the Wits ecosystem, across the Gauteng ESO landscape, and beyond.
African Ambition
We are proudly Johannesburg, proudly South African, and proudly African — building solutions to African challenges to global standards.
Institutional Positioning
The Wits Crucible is positioned as a venture-creation and ecosystem-orchestration platform — not merely a training programme. It is embedded within the Wits University innovation ecosystem alongside the Wits Innovation Centre (WIC) and Wits Commercial Enterprises (WCE), which together provide IP protection, governance, legal structuring, and commercial vehicles for Wits spinouts and Crucible graduates.
The Wits Crucible provides demand-side capability development and venture creation infrastructure; WIC and WCE provide supply-side IP and commercial structuring support. Together, they constitute Wits University’s end-to-end innovation and commercialisation pipeline.
The Crucible’s academic home is the Wits Business School, and its programmes are co-delivered with WBS Executive Education, providing participants with access to one of Africa’s most respected business education institutions. As an outward-facing sub-entity of Wits University, the Centre carries the full academic and reputational weight of a leading African research university while maintaining its distinct brand identity.
Leadership & Governance
Professor McEdward Murimbika
Director
Professor McEdward Murimbika is the founding Director of the Wits Crucible Centre for Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation. His academic credentials are exceptionally broad and deep: he holds two doctoral degrees — a PhD in Archaeology and a PhD in Management — as well as an MPhil from the University of Bergen (Norway), a Master in Management specialising in Entrepreneurship and New Venture Creation, and two executive education certificates from Harvard Business School. His scholarship spans the anthropology of organisations, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and the theory and practice of new venture creation.
Dr Semukele Mlotshwa
Programme Coordinator
Dr Semukele Mlotshwa oversees day-to-day programme delivery, participant support, and stakeholder engagement. Dr Mlotshwa is the primary contact for all enquiries regarding programme applications and participation.
Contact: semukele.mlotshwa@wits.ac.za
Advisory Board
Jone Odei-Mensah (Prof)
Acting Academic Director (WBS)
Leoni Grobler (Ms)
Executive Education Director (WBS)
Logan Rangasamy (Prof)
Director and Head of School (WBS)
Boris Urban (Prof)
Discipline Lead Entrepreneurship, Innovation & Strategy (WBS)
Mc Edward Murimbika (Prof)
Director: CFE (WBS)
Maurice Radebe (Prof)
Faculty Director (Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management)
Jason Cohen (Prof)
Dean (Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management)
Adam Craker
Director (Jozi My Jozi)
Anveetha Dayanand
Secretariat (WBS)
Mr Mcintosh Sebake
Senior Manager: Office of the CEO (Service Seta)
Facilities
The Wits Crucible’s permanent home is 47 Main Street, Johannesburg CBD — a landmark building in the Marshalltown precinct, currently under renovation and set to become the Centre’s full-capacity campus.
The 47 Main development directly reflects the Crucible’s role in the Jozi My Jozi CBD regeneration initiative: transforming a historic building in the heart of the city into a hub of innovation, learning, and venture creation. The Centre currently operates from the Liberty Flame Station, 2 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein, pending completion of the 47 Main renovation.
Campus Facilities
- Modern classrooms for Entrepreneurship Capability Development certificate programmes
- NextLab — digital makerspace equipped with 3D printers, AR/VR equipment, and rapid prototyping tools
- Dedicated incubation offices and co-working desks for resident ventures
- Innovation lounge and collaborative breakout spaces
- Podcast studio for the Crucible Conversations series
- Pitch arena and event venue
- Partner and ESO meeting rooms for ecosystem convening
Access to Wits University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem:
Wits Entrepreneurship Clinic Learn more
Wits Entrepreneurship Hub Learn more
Wits Innovation Centre Learn more
