College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2019 31 OUR ENTITIES positioning jbs For the lAunch oF the mbA jAnuAry 2020 the Johannesburg Business school in the College of Business and Economics at the university of Johannesburg took a fresh approach on the future of business, specific to the context of doing business in south Africa, and Africa at large. the mBA is orientated towards business owners and entrepreneurs and family-run businesses that require cutting- edge tools and insights to grow and scale their small- and medium-sized businesses. in addition, it is also for professionals that work with and consult to small- and medium-sized enterprises (smEs), to integrate them into the broader value chain. Eleven mBa information sessions were hosted in the second half of 2019 and on 22 January 2020 the new inaugural mBa was launched with a cohort of 80 students. the mBa has two streams, namely the Weekender and an innovative Early Bird class. With a subtle departure from conventional general management studies, the mBA focuses on growing and scaling businesses in the south african and african context. moreover, it has a strong practical orientation, taught by local and international faculty, who are recognised for their excellence in teaching and who have also contributed extensively in industry. centre For AFricAn business (cAb) the Centre’s principle activity is to develop and publish contextually relevant case studies and it is committed to the decolonisation of teaching, learning and the broader curriculum – using africa-specific examples and outputs. Another important area of focus for the Centre is research focused on Africa, through the publication of opinion editorials, white papers and journal articles. the Centre also presents various events, short courses and learning immersions linked to its research outputs and is geared towards driving the Pan-african agenda and strategy of the Johannesburg Business school and the College of Business and Economics at large. the Centre collaborates with other research centres at the university, and beyond, in establishing and fostering African business and networks of experts. in 2019, the Centre for African Business hosted seven workshops and seminars, including; strategising for informal economies, geopolitical and country risk until 2024, introduction to blockchain for business, and aaBs-JBs Case study Writing Workshop. (3) centre For entrepreneurship (cFe) the Centre for Entrepreneurship strives to be an internationally recognised centre of excellence in discovering, developing, initiating and implementing innovative and value-adding small and medium enterprises development programmes. firstly for the soweto and greater Johannesburg areas, but also for gauteng, south and souter Africa. one of the more notable events CaB hosted was ‘does democracy work for business in Africa?’ with esteemed speakers such as former president of liberia Ellen Johnson sirleaf and former president of nigeria olusegun obasanjo.the Centre seeks to be at the forefront of entrepreneurship – in how we assist our entrepreneurs; work with our students; through the partners we bring to entrepreneurship ecosystems; in innovative thought-leadership; OUR ENTITIES &
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