The University of Venda (UNIVEN), established as a comprehensive rural-based institution of higher learning in South Africa, is uniquely positioned to address the educational and socio-economic needs of its community and the broader region. Its mandate prioritises inclusive education, research, and community engagement, embodying a commitment to fostering sustainable development in rural areas.
This foundational purpose has culminated in the formulation of Strategic Thrust 2 of the 2021–2025 plan, which aspires to position the university as an entrepreneurial institution at the forefront of innovation and socio-economic transformation. This trajectory aligns closely with the discourse from Universities South Africa (USAf), which advocates for reimagining academia’s role within the country. The university’s long-standing vision, adopted in 2007, is to provide quality and innovative tertiary education supporting rural and regional development across Southern Africa.
By reducing dependency on government subsidies for financial sustainability, driving local innovation, producing skilled graduates, and enhancing employability, UNIVEN seeks to make a more substantial contribution to combating poverty, inequality, and socio-economic exclusion and promoting development in rural areas. In this context, the development of an entrepreneurial university is paramount, setting the standard for other rural-based institutions in the country and across Africa.
In this ambitious endeavour, Dr. Ishmael Iwara, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Rural Development, a rated researcher by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF) and a product of UNIVEN, has made pioneering contributions. With a UCDP topping-up grant for rated researchers, he has developed a scientifically rigorous index that serves as a strategic blueprint for transforming traditional higher education institutions into dynamic entrepreneurial entities, particularly within rural contexts. His key scholarly works, including “Fundamental Tenets of a Rural-Based Entrepreneurial University: A South African Perspective”
(2023) and “Towards a Conceptual Understanding of an Effective Rural-Based Entrepreneurial University” (2022) —the latter co-authored with Dr. Beata
Kilonzo— are foundational to the discourse surrounding this emergent paradigm.
These groundbreaking studies provide an extensive analysis of the entrepreneur-ial university model in rural settings, with the potential to significantly inform and influence national educational policies and academic frameworks in Africa and be-yond. Central to the narrative of rural-based entrepreneurial universities are five critical constructs: the alignment of curricula with practical skill development, the commercialisation of innovations in the areas of competitive advantages, the in-tegration of Indigenous knowledge systems, the embedding of diverse stake-holders in the educational process, and the promotion of engaged scholarship.
Curriculum Alignment with Practical Skills
A rural-based entrepreneurial university must prioritise knowledge-building that inte-grates theoretical frameworks with practical applications. This involves designing curric-ula that equip students with entrepreneurial competencies, problem-solving skills, and adaptability to rural economic conditions. Practical engagement through business simu-lations, startup incubation, and experiential learning enhances students’ ability to transi-tion from academic environments to real-world entrepreneurial activities. Aligning course content with industry demands and rural economic opportunities ensures that gradu-ates are employable and capable of creating employment through innovative ventures.
Innovation Commercialisation
The commercialisation of ideas and the formation of enterprises in its core areas of competitive advantage are crucial for translating academic research into tangi-ble economic contributions. Rural-based entrepreneurial higher learning institutions should establish business incubators, technology transfer offices, and venture acceler-ation programmes that support student- and faculty-led startups. Fostering innovation that addresses rural challenges—such as sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, renew-able energy and Indigenous grafts as in the case of UNIVEN—these institutions can en-hance societal impact. Access to seed funding, mentorship, and market linkages fur-ther strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem, ensuring that innovations are not confined to academic discourse but actively contribute to economic transformation.
Integration of Indigenous Knowledge
Indigenous knowledge systems hold valuable insights into sustainable rural entre-preneurship, and integrating these practices into academic frameworks enhances the relevance of entrepreneurial education. Traditional agricultural techniques, lo-cal craft industries, and communal trade systems provide a foundation for develop-ing context-specific business models. A rural-based entrepreneurial higher learning in-stitution should promote a learning culture and research that documents, preserves, and enhances Indigenous business knowledge, ensuring that rural entrepreneur-ship is not solely dependent on external economic paradigms but also leverages local-ly developed expertise. This, in essence, builds globally competitive talents and, at the same time, produces graduates with competence that conforms to grassroots realities.
Stakeholder Embedding
A successful entrepreneurial university does not operate in isolation but actively en-gages with key stakeholders, including local businesses, policymakers, grassroots com-munity leaders, and industry experts. Establishing partnerships that align learning curricula and academic research with community needs and industry value chains en-sures that entrepreneurial initiatives are relevant and sustainable. Collaborative proj-ects, public-private partnerships, and participatory governance structures facili-tate knowledge exchange, resource mobilisation, and long-term economic resilience within rural economies. Embedding multiple stakeholders in entrepreneurial develop-ment, these universities create inclusive growth models that benefit entire communities.
Engaged Scholarship
Engaged scholarship bridges academia with community-driven development. This emphasises the role of universities as agents of societal transformation, where re-search and academic activities directly contribute to rural development. Through participatory action research, rural-based entrepreneurial universities can co-cre-ate solutions with local communities, ensuring that knowledge production is not detached from lived realities. Service-learning programmes, extension services, and social entrepreneurship initiatives further strengthen this engagement, posi-tioning universities as catalysts for sustainable rural development. This model fos-ters mutual learning, where academia benefits from real-world insights while com-munities gain access to innovative solutions and capacity-building opportunities.
The research primarily focuses on rural areas in Africa; however, its principles and methodolo-gies have global applicability.
Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding and Communication
University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811
