Prof Brownhilder Neneh is a Full Professor and NRF-rated researcher at the University of the Free State, specialising in entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on women and student entrepreneurship, work-life balance and entrepreneurial development. She was ranked among the Stanford Elsevier Top 2% Most Cited Researchers globally in 2023, 2024 and 2025 and has received several research and teaching awards. She is also the founder of She Believe, a peer support initiative for women, and author of Craft Your Win: A Women’s Guide for Ideal Work-life Balance.

Dr Ekaete Benedict is a lecturer in business management at the University of the Free State (UFS) in Bloemfontein, where she teaches entrepreneurship and small business management. She holds a PhD in business management, specialising in entrepreneurship. Her research focuses on entrepreneurship education, student entrepreneurship, and SMME growth and development. Dr Benedict is passionate about innovative teaching that cultivates entrepreneurial mindsets and equips students to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. She also supervises postgraduate students at honours, MCom, MBA, and PhD levels and is an accredited ETDP facilitator and moderator. Her commitment to excellence has earned her several institutional and national teaching and learning awards, including the 2025 EDHE Entrepreneurship Learning and Teaching Excellence Award. In addition to her academic career, Dr Benedict brings practical entrepreneurial experience to the classroom, enabling her to integrate theory and practice in the teaching and learning of entrepreneurship.

Winnie Sereeco holds a master's degree in business management and is an accredited assessor and moderator with the ETDP SETA. She is passionate about entrepreneurship, small business development, and mentoring emerging entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable growth and success. Her academic and professional work focuses on bridging theory and practice by supporting enterprise development through research, teaching, and community engagement.

Her research interests include informal businesses, entrepreneurship, and strategic alliances, with a particular focus on how collaboration and strategic partnerships can strengthen the resilience, competitiveness, and sustainability of small and informal enterprises. She is committed to advancing knowledge that informs policy, promotes innovation, and contributes to inclusive economic development through impactful research and capacity building.

Annemarie van Noordwyk holds a Master of Business Management degree and is a lecturer in the Department of Business Management. She teaches undergraduate modules in the Department of Business Management and also teaches at the UFS Business School. In addition, she supervises postgraduate research students. Her academic interests include entrepreneurship, business management, leadership, and management education. She has contributed to curriculum development and academic programme support and has served as a panel member for external programme reviews at South African higher education institutions, contributing to programme quality assurance and the enhancement of academic standards.

Nkopane Miya is a lecturer in the Department of Business Management at the University of the Free State. He teaches undergraduate modules in entrepreneurship and small business management and supervises postgraduate students. He also serves as an adviser to Enactus students engaged in social entrepreneurship initiatives. Miya holds an MCom in business management, and his research interests include entrepreneurship, leadership, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He is passionate about entrepreneurship education; he enriches student learning by integrating practical industry perspectives through entrepreneurial guest speakers and real-world business cases, helping to bridge the gap between theory and practice.