Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

What Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship does

The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a specialised academic facility housed within the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in late 2011 in partnership with the Bertha Foundation, it is the first academic centre in Africa dedicated to advancing social innovation and entrepreneurship. The Centre pursues social impact through five operational pillars — educating, researching, convening, catalysing, and advocating — applied with a systems lens to social innovation across the continent. Its work is organised around five thematic portfolio areas: Innovative Finance, Climate & Systems Justice, Health Systems, Education & Youth, and Entrepreneurship (including Solution Space).

The Centre's product surface spans educational offerings (Executive Education courses such as Impact Investing in Africa and MOOCs), a Knowledge Hub (publications, case studies, reviews, learning briefs, reports), and media content including the 'Just for a Change' podcast. It has integrated social innovation into the UCT business school curriculum, awards scholarships to students from across Africa, and convenes a wide community of practitioners. Distribution is primarily direct through the UCT Graduate School of Business infrastructure, with MOOCs extending reach globally on a self-serve basis.

The business model is hybrid: philanthropic and institutional funding via the Bertha Foundation and UCT underwrites core operations, while executive education courses and MOOCs generate fee-based revenue. The Centre serves three primary segments — social innovators and entrepreneurs, African graduate students, and a broader practitioner/researcher community — through community-led go-to-market motions including events, knowledge sharing, and collaborative partnerships. There is no proprietary technology platform; the underlying 'technology' is academic content, curriculum, and convening infrastructure rather than software.

Name

Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Legal name

University of Cape Town

Website

https://gsbberthacentre.uct.ac.za

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship is Africa's first academic centre dedicated to social innovation, housed within UCT's Graduate School of Business. It educates, researches, convenes, and catalyses social innovators and African students across five thematic portfolio areas.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Innovation Education & Research

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Technical Universities with Entrepreneurship & Incubation Focus (EDAHAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Applied Research & Innovation Universities (EDAHAEAE), Business & Management Research Universities (EDAHABAE), STEM, Digital Skills & Innovation Partnerships (EDADALAJ)

Keywords

• Social innovation education
• Executive education programs
• Social entrepreneurship research
• Impact investing courses
• Academic research center

Headquarters

HQ city

Cape Town

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Education Programs: Revenue generated through executive education courses, MOOCs, and academic programs. The Centre offers courses such as Impact Investing in Africa.
2. Partnership Funding: Established in partnership with the Bertha Foundation, the Centre receives support through institutional partnerships and likely philanthropic funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Bertha Centre delivers executive education, MOOCs (including the "Impact Investing in Africa" course), and applied social innovation research (publications, case studies, reports, learning briefs). It integrates social innovation into UCT's Graduate School of Business curriculum, awards scholarships to African students, and convenes a pan-African community of practitioners across five portfolio areas: Innovative Finance, Climate & Systems Justice, Health Systems, Education & Youth, and Entrepreneurship (Solution Space).

Product overview

The Bertha Centre is an academic centre at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business dedicated to advancing social innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa. It operates as a multi-portfolio initiative offering educational programs (Executive Education and MOOCs), conducting research (Publications, Case Studies, Reports), and maintaining a Knowledge Hub with resources (Learning Briefs). The Centre's work is organized across five interconnected portfolio areas: Innovative Finance, Climate & Systems Justice, Health Systems, Education & Youth, and Entrepreneurship | Solution Space. The Centre also produces media content including the 'Just for a Change' podcast and publishes research outputs through its Knowledge Hub.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Executive Education Professional development programs for executives and leaders focused on social innovation and entrepreneurship, delivered through the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business.
• MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) Online courses making social innovation education accessible to a broader audience globally, including the Impact Investing in Africa course offering.
• Impact Investing in Africa Course A specialised course focused on impact investing strategies and practices within the African context, offered as part of the Centre's MOOC and executive education portfolio.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• University of Cape Town Graduate School of BusinesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for the Bertha Centre. The Centre is integrated as a specialised facility at UCT's Graduate School of Business, with social innovation integrated into the business school curriculum.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• GIIN (Global Impact Investing Network): Global organization advancing the impact investing industry through research, education, and convening. Comparable to the Centre's Innovative Finance portfolio and its Impact Investing in Africa MOOC through shared focus on impact investing capacity-building.
• Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship: Global foundation that convenes and amplifies social entrepreneurs and produces research. Comparable in the convening, catalysing, and advocacy functions the Bertha Centre performs across Africa.
• Stanford Center on Social Innovation: Established academic hub within Stanford focused on social innovation research and education. Comparable mission and educational/research outputs but with deeper resources and broader global profile.

Regional players

• African Leadership University (ALU): Pan-African university with a mission-driven, leadership-focused curriculum and scholarship model. Comparable in operating a multi-country African higher-education footprint with scholarship access and social impact orientation.

Direct peers

• Yunus Centre (Dhaka): Academic centre dedicated to advancing social business and poverty alleviation. Comparable as a purpose-built academic centre driving social-business research, education, and practitioner engagement.
• Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship (Oxford Saïd Business School): Academic centre at a leading global business school dedicated to social entrepreneurship research and education. Directly comparable as a university-embedded centre producing publications, case studies, and executive programming on social innovation.
• Acumen Academy: Provides online courses and leadership development for social entrepreneurs across emerging markets. Comparable in delivering social-innovation education (MOOCs/executive-style learning) and convening practitioners in Africa and other regions.
• INSEAD Social Innovation Centre: Academic centre at a top global business school conducting research and education on social innovation. Comparable as a business-school-embedded hub with practitioner communities and executive programming.

Emerging players

• Hult Prize Foundation: Global social entrepreneurship competition and platform affiliated with the United Nations. Comparable in mobilizing student-led social innovation through education, challenges, and a global practitioner community.

Others

• Tutu Institute for Prayer and Pilgrimage: Not a direct peer, included only as a generic reference point for African academic centres associated with broader mission-driven institutions. Connection to the Bertha Centre is weak/thematic.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BerthaCentre
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCeoaeKI96RGx77CF-loM32Q/featured
• Facebookfacebook.com/BerthaCentre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bertha-centre
• Instagraminstagram.com/theberthacentre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship