The Bertha Scholarship

The Graduate School of Business at UCT offer five annual Bertha MBA Scholarships to students that have met the requirements for the MBA programme and who are driven by their pursuit in social or green ventures.

The focus will be on encouraging selected MBA students to fully realise projects and business ideas that make a real positive impact on society and Bertha Scholars will have access to communities and to mentors to build on their ideas and create companies.

The Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship has been established at the GSB as a result of a partnership between the GSB and The Bertha Foundation. In addition to the Bertha Scholarship, the Centre will drive research in, and promote the practice of social innovation and entrepreneurship and will provide a mix of courses and practical learning for any interested MBA students attending UCT GSB, called the Social Innovation Lab.

Scholarship value

The Bertha Scholarship covers full costs of the MBA programme at the UCT Graduate School of Business for candidates committed to social innovation and entrepreneurship.

Eligibility

The criteria used for selection of Bertha Scholars are:

Candidates must be a resident of an African country.

Candidates must have started or worked in an entrepreneurial social or green venture, or have worked on sustainable social business strategies within an organisation for at least 1 year.

Candidates must demonstrate a strong moral character, strong entrepreneurial drive, a track record of action, leadership qualities, traits of social activism and a commitment to the sustainable development of emerging economies.

Through the submission of an essay, candidates must show how the MBA at this stage in their career will help to accelerate their impact and how it will contribute to the wider creation of value for society.

Candidates must demonstrate some need for the scholarship, through either previous work experience, personal background or demonstrated commitment to start a social venture, which make self-funding the MBA a significant burden.

Scholarship apply

Candidates must first be eligible and apply for the MBA of the UCT Graduate School of Business. See www.gsb.uct.ac.za/mba for full details about the MBA programme, eligibility, criteria and how to apply to the business school.

Interested candidates should submit the Bertha Scholarship Application Form together with their UCT MBA application number received from the GSB Admissions Office, contact details and CV to berthacentre@gsb.uct.ac.za by 15 October 2013.

Candidates will be notified if they are selected for interview by November 2013.

Interviews will take place during the week of November 2013. 

The final decision and award of the scholarship will be made by a Scholarship selection panel, following which candidates will be informed by so" November 2013. Candidates will only be able to take up the Bertha Scholarship if admitted to the MBA programme