University of Venda Empowers Township and Rural Entrepreneurs Through G20 Startup20 Activation Engagement

29 September 2025 – Under the banner of South Africa’s G20 Presidency, the University of Venda (UNIVEN), in partnership with the Startup20 Engagement Group (SU20), the Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), and 22 On Sloane (Country Secretariat), hosted a landmark Startup20 Activation Session at the University’s Sports Hall.

The Group of Twenty (G20) is the premier forum for international economic cooperation, bringing together the world’s largest economies to address pressing global challenges. For the first time, the Startup20 Engagement Group has been formally recognised within the G20 structure to ensure that startups and entrepreneurs are integrated into global policy frameworks. South Africa’s 2025 Presidency has prioritised inclusive growth, innovation, and sustainability, with a special focus on township and rural enterprises.
The UNIVEN Activation Session was one of several nationwide initiatives aimed at ensuring that grassroots voices, particularly those of students, young entrepreneurs, and rural innovators, are incorporated into the Startup20 policy agenda. By doing so, South Africa aims to shape global discussions on entrepreneurship while ensuring local relevance and representation.

Prof Joseph Francis, Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research and Postgraduate Studies at the University of Venda, welcomed attendees to the SU20 UNIVEN Activation Session, describing it as “a call to action” where “policies alone are not enough” and “deliberate, intentional action is required.” Today marks a crucial step in advancing the Startup20 agenda at UNIVEN, aligning with South Africa’s broader innovation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive growth priorities. The focus on township and rural entrepreneurship resonates deeply with our university’s mission to drive engaged scholarship and local economic development in Vhembe District, Limpopo, and beyond.
Prof Francis highlighted the need for nurturing and sustaining initiatives, encouraging participants to approach the session with curiosity, creativity, and courage, and to harness wisdom from others to drive societal change. By hosting the SU20 activation here, we affirm our commitment to positioning UNIVEN as a hub where research, entrepreneurship, and community needs converge to create tangible impact. This is especially critical given the pressing need to support township and rural enterprises as engines of job creation, poverty alleviation and economic resilience. At UNIVEN, we believe that universities must be catalysts for transformation. Our students are not only learners they are innovators, creators, and problem solvers, Prof. Francis said.

Mr Vuyani Jarana, Chairperson of Startup20, in his keynote address, outlined the organisation’s efforts to promote global entrepreneurship under South Africa’s G20 Presidency, highlighting student entrepreneurship as a key dimension. With themes of solidarity, equality and sustain-ability guiding the presidency, Startup20 has established five task forces. Mr Jarana outlined five task forces that were established to tackle the pressing issues in the global startup eco-system:

Foundation and alliances: This task force focuses on policy frameworks to enable the foun-dations of entrepreneurship.
• Access to finance and investment: This aims to increase access to funding and investment opportunities for start-ups. The stream is working with investors, venture capitalists, and government agencies to provide financial support.
• Trade and Market Access: This workstream focuses on creating opportunities for start-ups to access local and international markets.
• Inclusion and Sustainability: This workstream will examine how countries can enhance youth participation. This work group examine all the barriers and explores new ideas for addressing barriers to entry.
• Township and rural enterprises: This workstream focuses on strengthening local value chains, improving infrastructure and connectivity, and enhancing access to finance and ecosystem support for townships.

Mr Jarana commended the work that the University of Venda is doing in supporting rural enterprises through the UNIVEN Centre for Entrepreneurship and Rapid Incubation (UCfERI).

Mr Mojalefa Mohoto from the Department of Small Business Development highlighted the role of startups in driving economic growth, stating that they can be instrumental if developed to their maximum potential. The department is currently developing a startup policy to create an enabling environment and address regulatory impediments, focusing on five key strategic areas: reducing regulatory barriers, cultivating growth, developing funding solutions, providing market access opportunities, and promoting inclusivity and sustainability. Mohoto also provided an update on the Township and Rural Economic Development and Revitalisation Policy, noting that it is nearing approval and is expected to be published for public comment in 2025, with the final policy to be approved by Cabinet and implemented in the next financial year.
The panel on Township and Rural Entrepreneurship, themed “Advancing Inclusive Growth through Township and Rural Enterprise,” brought together a diverse group of experts, including student founders, women cooperative leaders and rural entrepreneurs. The panel featured notable speakers such as Mr Makwidi Seema, Secretary General of the Township Economy Commission of South Africa (TECSA); Dr Albert Jeleni, President of the Limpopo Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr Nyiko Maluleke, Representative of the South African Township and Village Tourism Association; Ms Rotondwa Musitha, Founder and CEO of Trash Converters; Mr Augustine Nema-sisi from Pan General Holdings Pty Ltd; and Mr Emmanuel Mudau from Mathuba Genetics and Experimental Farm, who shared insights on advancing inclusive growth and entrepreneurship in townships and rural areas.

Papi Mothibi, Deputy Chair of SU20 and member of the SU20 Township and Rural Entrepreneur-ship Task Force, outlined key recommendations to support entrepreneurs, including promoting blended finance, expanding credit scoring through behavioural data, and integrating stokvels. He said, “We want an innovative way of basically looking into how we collaborate with record-keeping, to make sure that we look at how the SMME is performing.” The task force also aims to scale lo-calised entrepreneurship education and capacity building, targeting 20,000 communities by 2028, and invest in digital infrastructure to support SMME growth.

The scenario planning breakout session for Rural and Township Entrepreneurship explored strategies to foster growth and innovation in these sectors, focusing on collaborative solutions and policy reforms to support entrepreneurs. The breakout session report-back emphasised the importance of political will and collaboration among stakeholders in driving innovation in rural and township entrepreneurship. Key recommendations included promoting blended finance and expanding credit scoring innovations, with varying levels of need and implementation difficulty. Groups discussed challenges and potential solutions, including interdepartmental collaboration, accountability, technology inclusion and structured governance.
During closing remarks, Papi Mothibi expressed gratitude to the panellists and attendees, not-ing that “the success of this country is going to depend on SMMEs.” He encouraged entrepreneurs to persist, highlighting the potential for global connections through the G20, saying, “The G20 affords you, as an entrepreneur, to understand that the only place that needs my product is not only South Africa.”
The ideas, concerns, and proposals surfaced during this Activation Session will not end here. They will be carefully consolidated and presented at the upcoming SU20 Summit, as part of South Africa’s broader G20 engagements. Through that Summit, these grassroots inputs, from students, rural entrepreneurs, and local stakeholders, will influence the official Startup20 policy recommendations tabled at the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Johannesburg on 22–23 November 2025.
Issued by:
Department of Marketing, Branding and Communication
University of Venda
Tel: 082 868 2218 / 082 868 1811