Success
About us
Advancing Wits ideas to improve society.
Wits Commercial Enterprise (WCE) is the wholly owned commercial arm of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. For over two decades we have worked at the intersection of academic excellence and real-world impact, connecting the research, expertise and intellectual capital of one of Africa's leading universities to the organisations, industries and communities that need it most.
Who we are
The University of the Witwatersrand is home to some of the most respected researchers across all disciplines on the African continent.
The ideas, discoveries and expertise produced within Wits have the potential to change lives, inform policy, grow industries and solve the kinds of complex problems that no single organisation can solve alone.
Wits Commercial Enterprise exists to make that potential tangible. We do this by providing the professional infrastructure that academic expertise on its own cannot always supply: business development, project management, legal and financial administration, commercialisation support and world-class event management. When researchers partner with us, they gain a capable, experienced team that handles the complexity of working with external clients and funders. When clients and partners engage us, they gain structured access to the depth and breadth of Wits' knowledge, managed to professional standards from start to finish.
Over more than 20 years we have built a diverse portfolio of projects spanning the private sector, all spheres of government, development finance institutions, international agencies and global research funders. That track record is not incidental to what we do. It is the foundation on which every new partnership is built.
Wits Commercial Enterprise exists to make that potential tangible. We do this by providing the professional infrastructure that academic expertise on its own cannot always supply: business development, project management, legal and financial administration, commercialisation support and world-class event management. When researchers partner with us, they gain a capable, experienced team that handles the complexity of working with external clients and funders. When clients and partners engage us, they gain structured access to the depth and breadth of Wits' knowledge, managed to professional standards from start to finish.
Over more than 20 years we have built a diverse portfolio of projects spanning the private sector, all spheres of government, development finance institutions, international agencies and global research funders. That track record is not incidental to what we do. It is the foundation on which every new partnership is built.
Our purpose, vision and values
Our purpose
Advancing Wits ideas to improve society.
Our vision
To be the trusted partner in transforming Wits ideas into commercial value and societal impact.
Everything we do is oriented toward that. Not activity for its own sake, but outcomes that are measurable, meaningful and lasting.
Everything we do is oriented toward that. Not activity for its own sake, but outcomes that are measurable, meaningful and lasting.
Our values
Collaborative delivery
We work as one team with our clients, researchers and partners. The best results come from shared effort, shared information and shared accountability.
Learning and innovating
The problems we work on are rarely simple. We stay curious, invest in our own development and look for better approaches, because the organisations and challenges we serve are always evolving.
Service excellence
We bring professional expertise and attention to detail to every engagement, regardless of its scale. The quality of our service is not a differentiator. It is a baseline.
Inclusive wellbeing
We believe that sustainable impact requires sustainable people. We cultivate an environment where every member of our team and every partner we work with is respected, supported and able to contribute fully.
Accountable integrity
We do what we say we will do. We manage public and institutional resources with rigour, and we hold ourselves to the standards we ask of others.
Why partner with us
There are many ways to access research expertise or to manage a complex project.
What WCE offers is something more specific: a professionally run, institutionally backed partner that understands both the rigour of academic work and the demands of the external world.
When you work with us, you are not navigating a university bureaucracy. You are working with a focused, experienced team that has spent over two decades doing exactly this, with the governance structures, financial systems and professional capability to match.
When you work with us, you are not navigating a university bureaucracy. You are working with a focused, experienced team that has spent over two decades doing exactly this, with the governance structures, financial systems and professional capability to match.
For Wits researchers, we remove the barriers between your expertise and the opportunities that exist for it.
For clients, funders and partners, we give you direct, structured access to one of Africa's great research institutions, managed to the standards you require.
For clients, funders and partners, we give you direct, structured access to one of Africa's great research institutions, managed to the standards you require.
Board members
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Prof. Lynn Morris (Chair)
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Andrew Hope-Jones (CEO)
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Terrence Singh
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Stephanus Marais
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Ashley Francis
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Thami Moatshe
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Zubair Wadee
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Cuthbert Musingwini
Company information
| Legal name | Wits Commercial Enterprise (Pty) Ltd |
| Street address | 3rd Floor, PDH Building, 92 Empire Road, Braamfontein, 2001, Gauteng |
| Registered office & postal address | PO Box 514, Wits, 2050 |
| Company Registration No. | 2002/008461/07 |
| BBBEE status | Level 1 View |
| Financial year | 1 January - 31 December |
| RSC Registration No. | 81294024 |
| VAT Registration Certificate No. | 4220207742 |
| Staff & Director Shareholdings | None (Wits Enterprise is wholly-owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg) |
| Banking Details | Bank: FNB / Branch Name: Braamfontein |
| Branch No. | 251905 / Account No. 62053727304 |