The University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) has entered into a trilateral partnership with Ryerson University, of Canada, and the Bombay Stock Exchange, of India, to increase entrepreneurial growth opportunities and fast-track start-up incubation in the three partner countries.

The partnership was announced in Mumbai, India, where Wits was represented by vice chancellor and principal Professor Adam Habib and Wits Joburg Centre for Software Engineering director Barry Dwolatzky.

Ryerson – which has successfully developed a rich environment for young entrepreneurs and is ranked as one of the top innovative centres globally – identified South Africa and India as key countries for developing and expanding trade and business opportunities.

“This partnership is exactly the kind of boost that South Africa requires to foster development, innovation and entrepreneurship. The Joburg Centre for Software Engineering at Wits will serve as the catalyst for this initiative through its tech hub in Braamfontein,” said Habib.

Ryerson University’s technology start-up programme, Ryerson Futures, collaborated with the Bombay Stock Exchange Institute in 2013 to bring Ryerson’s incubator concept to India to catalyse entrepreneurial opportunities for start-ups in India and Canada eager for access to new markets and new opportunities.

“The partners are developing and expanding a multicountry network of innovation and entrepreneurship zones to drive job growth and opportunities in Canada, India and South Africa,” said Ryerson University president Sheldon Levy, last week, at the first anniversary of Zone Startups India (ZSI), which is Ryerson’s partnership with the Bombay Stock Exchange Institute.

ZSI director Matt Saunders noted that, in less than a year, the Mumbai-based accelerator, ZSI, had “proven to be a thriving hotbed of entrepreneurship” with 40 start-ups, focused on industry connections, a vast amount of supportive networking and learning opportunities and access to a pool of venture capital and investors keen to harness the energy and innovation at ZSI.