CUT Advances Research and Entrepreneurship at 3rd BIWA Conference
At the BIWA Conference, Prof. Mzikayise Binza, CUT Welkom Campus Principal, shared the university’s perspective on advancing research, entrepreneurship and enterprise development, highlighting the university’s contribution to building stronger and more sustainable innovation ecosystems.
The Central University of Technology, Free State (CUT) advanced its research and entrepreneurship agenda through the presentation of research by esteemed academics and students at the 3rd International Conference on Business Innovation and Incubation (ICBII), hosted by the Business Incubation Web Association (BIWA).
The conference convened academics, entrepreneurs, incubator leaders, industry practitioners and investors to exchange research and explore new approaches to strengthening innovation ecosystems and supporting businesses beyond incubation. CUT’s participation positioned its research on post-incubation growth, access to finance, venture scaling and entrepreneurship within these wider conversations, highlighting the pathways and support needed to help ventures move from incubation to sustainable growth.
Representing the university at the conference, Prof. Binza highlighted the importance of connecting academic research with enterprise development and graduate preparation. “Our participation in this conference contributes to the university’s broader innovation and research agenda by strengthening the links between scholarship, enterprise development and graduate preparation. It also provides a platform for our academics and students to share their research, learn from industry practitioners and build relationships that can help translate university knowledge into meaningful economic and social value,” said Prof. Binza.
Mr Katlego Shounyane, FabLab Officer-Welkom Campus, presented research on post-incubation growth, access to finance and venture scaling at the BIWA Conference.
The conference also provided an opportunity for the institution to engage with developments in business incubation and consider how these could inform its own entrepreneurship initiatives. This was particularly relevant to the CUT Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub, which aims to support the development of ideas and emerging enterprises beyond the initial stages of incubation.
Among the university’s research contributions was a presentation by Mr Katlego Shounyane, FabLab Officer at Welkom Campus, whose research focused on post-incubation growth, access to finance and venture scaling. His work examined the challenges enterprises can encounter after completing formal incubation programmes and the continued support needed to help them grow and become sustainable.
The research highlighted the importance of moving beyond a model where support ends when an entrepreneur completes an incubation programme. Continued mentorship, funding readiness, access to markets, investor linkages, commercialisation support and strategic partnerships can play an important role in helping enterprises move towards sustainable growth.
“This conference is important for us because it allows us to represent our institution within the broader entrepreneurship and incubation ecosystem, while also contributing research that directly supports what we are currently building at CUT,” said Shounyane.
The engagement also strengthened opportunities for the university to learn from other institutions, incubators, practitioners and investors working across the entrepreneurship ecosystem. These interactions can contribute to future collaborations, research development and support mechanisms for emerging entrepreneurs.
CUT’s presence at the conference grew from seven presenters at the previous conference, comprising six staff members and one student, to 11 presenters, including nine staff members and two students. The increase reflected the broader involvement of academics and students in research and knowledge exchange around innovation, entrepreneurship and business incubation.
