WHAT DO OUR PARTICIPANTS SAY?

"The increasing number of approaches to starting a business is overwhelming. Instead of being a business tool, for me, Blue Ocean is a problem solving tool that more youth needs to be exposed to. You pick a market with issues you are interested in, study the industry and find your niche gap. The process was intense but at the end you get an affordable product or service with almost no competition."

Nkamogeleng Matloga
CEO & Co-Founder
Eco Bicycles

"As a CEO & Founder of Ann-Connect and on behalf of my team, we would like to appreciate the outstanding work done by the BlueOceanCorners. Kudos to the Team."

Bonginkosi Mabaso
CEO & Founder
Ann-Connect

"The Blue Ocean Programme brought a whole different experience of learning to be and how we run our programmes at Tshimologong. The aim of this programme was to train the entrepreneurs and coaches at the same time, That meant we had to learn the Blue Ocean Strategy while supporting the entrepreneurs in their project which was an intense but exciting challenge. I am grateful for the learning I received from the programme and looking forward to applying it both in my personal and professional life."

Nokuthula Shongwe
Project Coordinator
Tshimologong

"We journeyed through a series of meaningful and powerful Blue Ocean masterclasses that were taught by industry leaders across the globe. The BlueOceanCorners programme is certainly the most robust way to find and develop new and world-changing business ideas."

Kanayo Asomugha
CEO & Co-Founder
TuksWaste

"We found the BlueOceanCorners programme well-designed, thorough and well presented. It was taxing, but impactful.

By working through the methodology step by step using the Igesia platform, regular sessions with Alban, Jason and George, and having the Whatsapp groups for ongoing support, it was possible for me to receive training as a coach while at the same time supporting entrepreneurs using the same content and method.

It was quite challenging to keep up at times, as the sessions and online content required a lot of time and dedication. For us as Tshimologong members (staff and dedicated subcontractors) who also have full-time responsibilities over and above this programme, it became rather difficult to keep dedicating the number of hours required.

The learning experience, however, was very insightful and worthwhile.

I was encouraged by how much progress the entrepreneurs made in the three months of working through the steps in a practical, hands-on way - to examine their innovation idea thoroughly, take concrete steps to set up and have interviews with users and stakeholders and think widely about possible ways of addressing the core need (Exploration), and plan how they would create and validate their prototype (Experimentation). Keeping the programme tight and time-bound really did deliver results. Not all entrepreneurs who started out on the programme managed to keep up and complete the deliverables, but those who put in the time and effort really did make good progress and reaped the benefit.

I commend Alban and his team for being willing to assist entrepreneurs and coaches (those who kept up and those who needed catch-up sessions) by always recapping the previous session's material, always making sure the livestream recordings were available via the YouTube channel, and always being available on the Whatsapp support groups.

Now that the participants are busy with the Experimentation phase of the programme, the additional support I have requested from the Blue Oceans team, and will also be requesting from TIA, is financial assistance for the Tshimologong Makerspace to be able to assist entrepreneurs with their prototyping activities even more (specifically fees allocated towards prototyping consultation, prototyping assistance, tech development and coordination) ideas."

Mia van Zyl
TMG Makerspace Co-Manager
Tshimologong, Wits University

"The Blue Oceans Strategy is a very effective program, it helps not only in organising thoughts and ideas but it provides a mechanical way to implement ideas with increased chances for scaling success. The dedication and commitment of Alban and his team is commendable."

Mbuso ka Ngcongo
CEO & Founder
Parents Education

“The Blue Ocean Corners program teaches you how to create and identify uncommon ideas. It helps you move quickly through your Ideation process by focusing on untapped segments of the market and providing value to overlooked customers. The program facilitators are really engaging and continue to assist in your entrepreneurship journey even after the program ends.”

Bami Oni
Founder & Data Scientist
Eden AI

"It has been a privilege to be a part of this program and to work with Alban, Jason and their highly capable team. It is a robust framework and program that has opened our eyes and minds to approaching problems through a new lens and to explore exciting blue oceans."

Jean-Luc Koenig
Finance and Business Development
Black Box

"The BlueOceansCorner has been a great platform that uses a new approach of Blue Ocean strategy in our entrepreneurship system. This has assisted ourselves as institutions in supporting our startups with new tools to create opportunities in the market place for their solutions.”

Basanda Pongoma
Business Development Specialist
Unisa

"The Blue Ocean Corner programme has provided more in-depth knowledge of fundamentals of entrepreneurship. The framework and tools provided start-up to identify and segment customers, identifying challenges and solving problems that affect communities and the economy. The programme team were supportive in knowledge sharing and driving partnership linkages."

Khensani Nkuna
TuksNovation
Enterprise Development & Commercialisation Manager