The Acting Deputy Director-General of Exports at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Mr Willem Van der Spuy has described the signing of a Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) between the dtic and Universities South Africa (USAf) as a strategic intervention to inculcate an export culture amongst South Africa’s young entrepreneurs.
Van der Spuy made these remarks during a signing ceremony of the MoU between the dtic and USAf, at the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education Programme (EDHE) 2025 Impact Report and Partnership launch event that took place at the Radisson Hotel and Convention Centre, at the O.R. Tambo International Airport this evening.
According to Van der Spuy, it is important to develop an export culture among young South African entrepreneurs, especially in their early entrepreneurship journey as way to systematically increase the exporter base in South Africa and the number of companies exporting. He said at this stage, young entrepreneurs are agile, adaptable, open-minded, and with the right guidance and support are able to early on integrate export strategies in their business plans.
“In light of the seminal role that universities can play in this regard, entrenching export readiness and development into entrepreneurship development programmes such as the EDHE, is both appropriate and essential towards expanding South Africa’s exporter base. Similarly, through the National Exporter Development Programme (NEDP), the dtic has prioritised the development of export capacity and growth at various levels, with the vision that South African businesses, especially Small and Medium Enterprises, as well as youth-led businesses, are equipped and ready to unlock market access opportunities abroad,” said Van der Spuy.
Recognising the important role that universities play in driving export development globally, which includes economic growth through innovation, research, and entrepreneurship, he said: “Through this collaboration, we aim to support universities in their quest to facilitate inventors commercialising their research, innovation, and intellectual property by linking their initiatives with international markets, through scaling an export culture that will also accelerate the development of globally competitive products, solutions and services.”
The MoU outlines several key areas of cooperation, including the establishment of a framework for collaboration between the dtic and USAf through its EDHE Programme, focusing on the implementation of the NEDP and promotion of a robust export culture among student and graduate-owned businesses (predominantly youth-owned) through various initiatives.
This collaboration leverages the strengths of both organisations to embed an export culture within the EDHE framework, ultimately supporting South Africa’s broader export-led growth strategy. The scope of collaboration will include from export awareness workshops to launching a Studentpreneur Exporter Incubation Programme with capacity building, technical advice, coaching and market access support, as well as introducing an export award to the nationwide EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity initiative.
The Acting Deputy Director-General of Exports at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Mr Willem Van der Spuy and the Chief Executive Officer of the Universities South Africa, Dr Phethiwe Matutu signing the Memorandum Of Understanding (MoU) between the dtic and Universities South Africa (USAf).
The Acting Deputy Director-General of Exports at the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), Mr Willem Van der Spuy speaking ahead of the signing ceremony
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Bongani Lukhele – Director: Media Relations
Tel: (012) 394 1643
Mobile: 079 5083 457
WhatsApp: 074 2998 512
E-mail: BLukhele@thedtic.gov.za
Issued by: The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic)
X: @the_dtic
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedti?mibextid=ZbWKwL
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thedtic
Website : https://www.thedtic.gov.za/
Share this:
