VinPro Foundation investing in the leaders of tomorrow

Thursday, 7 July, 2016
VinPro Foundation, Unathi Mantshongo
The VinPro Foundation awarded five bursaries in 2016 to previously disadvantaged graduates to study towards a Wine Business Management Course at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB).

The group of graduates are currently employed in several sectors throughout the wine industry value-chain, including research, winemaking, wine buying, wine marketing, trade and hospitality & tourism. 

The Wine Business Management course is the only training programme of its kind in South Africa that focuses on the business aspects of wine. Its specialised approach supports VinPro Foundation’s philosophy of building up the wine industry from within through investing in the capabilities of its people.

The programme is designed to develop delegates’ wine business acumen, critical market insight, and leadership skills, making their organisations more competitive. It achieves this through reinforcing the academic programme with practitioner involvement. It consists of a nine-day contact period at the GSB, followed by the submission of an individual assignment and is credit-bearing - affording 25 UCT Professional Development credits (250 notional hours of work) at NQF level 8 (honours-level) to successful delegates.  

The course is also a specialisation within the UCT Graduate School of Business Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice. Successful graduates who want to further expand their business know-how can complete the remaining modules leading to the full diploma.

Some of the bursary recipients had this to say:

  • “This course is relevant for every wine professional, it shows you the bigger local and international picture of the SA wine industry!” – Researcher at the ARC Nietvoorbij.
  • “The course was brilliant! Relevant topics were discussed and I’ve made great friends along the way!” – Market Research Analyst at Wesgro.

While the programme is intense, immersive and certainly puts the delegates through their paces, it also facilitates networking amongst previously disadvantaged wine professionals in a focused business environment. Transformation in the SA wine industry is essential at all levels of management and in all sectors of the wine value chain. Since the completion of the block week, several connections have been facilitated and these high calibre individuals have committed to keeping communication channels open between their organisations.

By investing in programmes such as this, the VinPro foundation aims to enable the involvement of highly skilled, previously disadvantaged individuals in the decision-making structures of the SA wine industry. This will foster transformation that is sustainable and promotes competitiveness.

 Photo (from top left to right): Thandekile Conana, Ndabezinhle Dube, Chandre Petersen, Philisiwe Shange and Ruby Swigelaar.

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Bursary recipients - See caption for detail.
Bursary recipients - See caption for detail.

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