Bertha Centre For Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship

Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town: Our mission is to pursue social impact towards social justice in Africa, through teaching, knowledge-building, convening and catalytic projects with a systems lens on social innovation.

University of Cape Town, Graduate School of Business

THE BERTHA CENTRE FOR SOCIAL INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship is the first academic centre in Africa dedicated to advancing social innovation and entrepreneurship. It was established as a specialised centre at the UCT Graduate School of Business in late 2011, in partnership with the Bertha Foundation, a family foundation that works with inspiring leaders who are catalysts for social and economic change, and human rights. In collaboration with the GSB, the Centre has integrated social innovation into the business school curriculum, established a wide community of practitioners and awarded over R7-million in scholarships to students from across Africa.

Our SIHI Focus Areas

Our Health Systems Innovation Portfolio frames an approach to healthcare innovation in Africa, for Africa. It is based on an understanding of real health needs and the belief that social innovation for health is a mechanism through which health systems – in South Africa, across Africa, and globally – can move closer to achieving health equity.

Our goals are:

OUR ACTIVITIES

Researching for Action

Educating for Impact

Convening for Results

Just for a Change Podcast Series
- Spotify
- Apple
ISPIM Connects: Transforming Futures through Innovation
Bertha Centre Brown Bag Series: Innovations towards Health Equity in Africa
Social Innovation Indaba 2024
Bertha Centre Collective: Investing in Africa Health Opportunities

Catalysing for Change

Healthy Futures South Africa: Africa Health Collaborative

Q2 2025 Activities

Healthy Futures South Africa Primary Health Care Entrepreneurship Bootcamps
The Bertha Centre team ran week-long Entrepreneurship bootcamps with a focus on Primary Health Care to build capacity among youth in the Western Cape, South Africa. The target group for the Bootcamps are youth who are unemployed or not in education and training. Through Challenge-based innovation, students identified solutions for mental health, addiction, sanitation, sports and recreation and early childhood development centres. This forms part of the Health Entrepreneurship Pillar of the Africa Health Collaborative.

Healthy Futures South Africa 5-week online Venture Launch course
Between May and June 2025, the Bertha Centre ran a 5-week intensive online Venture Launch course. This course is pitched at postgraduate level and supports students with building business models with the aim of strengthening primary health care. Students will progress to a 12-week Venture Scale course, where they will receive mentorship and coaching from experts.

Air Mercy Services
The Bertha Centre team concluded a project with the Air Mercy Service to mobilise support for their rural outreach programme. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the outreach programme on the east coast province of Kwazulu Natal has faced funding uncertainties. Through convenings, the Bertha Centre team facilitated crucial conversations and buy-in among specialists who are passionate about rural health outcomes.

ABOUT US

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Gillian has a background in health and social sciences. She has experience in the research and non-profit sectors, providing information to decision-makers to enable them to deliver interventions with impact. After pursuing an MBA through the University of Stellenbosch and MPH at Wits, she joined the Bertha Centre Health Financing Team as a Senior Project Manager in collaboration with the South African Medical Research Council. Gillian is passionate about finding innovative solutions to make healthcare accessible, affordable and equitable for all.

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Solange is an independent public policy and strategy consultant, Associate Faculty and Adviser with the Allan Gray Centre for Values-based Leadership and the Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship, based at the Graduate School of Business, University of Cape Town (UCT). Her clients include international organisations, national and provincial government departments, academic institutions, non-government organisations and philanthropic foundations. She teaches on Executive Education and MBA programmes at the UCT Graduate School of Business and the UCT School of Economics. She has a Doctorate in Constitutional Law from the University of Stellenbosch and a Masters degree in Law from the University of Cape Town. She worked for the Western Cape government for 10 years as the head of the Policy and Strategy Unit in the Department of the Premier.

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Katusha has served as the project manager for the Groote Schuur Hospital Innovation Hub as a part of her work with the Healthcare Innovation Initiative, was the editor of the first Innovative Finance in Africa Review, published in 2016, and facilitated and co-designed innovation workshops in partnership with IDEO.org and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design Thinking at UCT. Prior to joining the Bertha Centre, Katusha worked with Surgical Directions, a boutique peri-operative healthcare consultancy based in Chicago, IL, and with PricewaterhouseCoopers, as part of the Chicago Health Advisory practice working on multiple payer, provider, and pharma/life sciences projects across the American healthcare system. Katusha has a JD from the University of Kentucky Law School, and a Masters in Health Service Administration from Xavier University. She is Lean Six Sigma certified from Villanova University, and holds a certificate in Project Management from DePaul University.