Master of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Examine enterprise creation and innovation through advanced enquiry.
About the course
Examine enterprise creation and innovation through advanced enquiry. You will test venture assumptions, assess enterprise-development approaches and investigate how innovation operates in Southern African economic and social settings.
What you'll learn
Critique theories explaining entrepreneurial activity.
Evaluate a venture proposition against evidence and uncertainty.
Compare corporate, technology and social enterprise approaches.
Select a defensible method for an entrepreneurship study.
Produce research-informed recommendations for venture or ecosystem development.
Requirements
Prepare with a relevant degree-level background, research literacy and evidence of subject readiness. Admission, supervision and any bridging requirements require confirmation against BMIT rules.
Course content
The complete subject sequence below moves from foundations to specialist application. Stages show learning progression. Practical work and the final project draw together the subjects studied.
3 learning stages 11 subjects
1Stage 1: Foundations4 subjects
2Stage 2: Core subjects5 subjects
3Stage 3: Specialist subjects and application2 subjects
Subjects in this programme
The complete subject sequence below moves from foundations to specialist application. Stages show learning progression. Practical work and the final project draw together the subjects studied.
11 subjects are listed below with a short description of each. The Subject descriptions tab contains the learning outcomes, topics, practical tasks and assessments.
Stage 1: Foundations
- Entrepreneurship Theory and Research. Critically examine how entrepreneurship is explained and studied. You will compare opportunity, resource and institutional perspectives and assess evidence from different venture settings. The module develops a defensible research position while recognising diversity in enterprise motives, ownership arrangements and regional business conditions.
- Innovation Strategy and Venture Growth. Evaluate innovation as an organisational and economic process. You will compare technology, market and social innovation pathways, assess growth barriers and design a suitable support system. Cases connect entrepreneurial decisions with networks, intellectual assets, financing and the evidence required before committing substantial resources.
- Entrepreneurial Finance. Plan how a new or growing venture obtains and manages money. You will estimate start-up needs, forecast cash and compare funding proposals. Cases address owner contribution, debt, equity and informal finance while requiring a realistic assessment of repayment capacity and control implications.
- Enterprise Ecosystems and Development Policy. Examine how institutions, finance, networks and public programmes influence enterprise development. You will assess support interventions and their distributional effects, then identify evidence for improvement. Cases consider informal firms, women and youth entrepreneurs, cooperatives and the practical limits of programme performance claims.
Stage 2: Core subjects
- Social Enterprise and Cooperative Development. Design enterprise responses to social needs while examining how revenue and governance support the mission. You will compare social enterprises and cooperatives, assess participation and develop measures of social results. Cases require clear thinking about beneficiaries, customers, accountability and financial sustainability.
- Corporate Entrepreneurship. Develop entrepreneurial initiatives within an established organisation. You will examine opportunity sponsorship, internal resources and the organisational conditions supporting experimentation. Cases require you to compare a new initiative with existing strategy and to define evidence for continuation, revision or closure.
- Small Business Growth and Resilience. Plan the next stage of an enterprise after initial establishment. You will diagnose growth constraints, examine systems and staffing needs and compare expansion options. Cases consider owner capability, customer concentration and operating disruption, with an emphasis on manageable growth and continuing financial control.
- Management Analytics. Develop analytical evidence for complex management decisions. You will frame questions, assess data quality and compare modelling approaches before interpreting outputs. The module emphasises reproducible reasoning, appropriate visualisation and the limits of prediction when decisions involve changing behaviour, incomplete information and uncertain operating conditions.
- Advanced Strategic Management. Critically evaluate strategy under uncertainty and competing stakeholder demands. You will compare theoretical explanations of organisational advantage and test their use in complex cases. The module combines strategic judgement with evidence about implementation, governance and the social consequences of major organisational choices.
Stage 3: Specialist subjects and application
- Advanced Research Design and Analysis. Develop a research design capable of addressing a complex organisational or social question. You will critically synthesise literature, justify methodological choices and assess evidence quality. The module develops the reasoning and analytical preparation required for an independently argued postgraduate research report.
- Dissertation or Substantial Research Report. Conduct an extended investigation into a focused programme-related problem. You will develop an argument through critical reading, appropriate evidence and sustained analysis. The completed report explains the contribution, limitations and practical or scholarly implications, supported by a transparent record of ethical research decisions.
Assessment and practical learning
- Critical literature and venture-case analyses.
- A research proposal with ethical and methodological justification.
- A supervised research report and oral defence.
Practical application
Undertake a proposed venture or enterprise-development enquiry. Customer or founder evidence requires consent. Demonstrate what the evidence supports, where assumptions remain and how conclusions inform practical decisions.
Subject descriptions
Select a subject to read its learning outcomes, main topics, practical task and assessment.
Stage 1: Foundations
Entrepreneurship Theory and Research
Critically examine how entrepreneurship is explained and studied. You will compare opportunity, resource and institutional perspectives and assess evidence from different venture settings. The module develops a defensible research position while recognising diversity in enterprise motives, ownership arrangements and regional business conditions.
Learning outcomes
- Compare entrepreneurship theories
- Critique venture research evidence
- Develop a theoretical research argument
Main topics
- Opportunity perspectives
- Resource perspectives
- Institutions
- Entrepreneurial cognition
- Venture diversity
- Research debates
Practical task
Write a critical literature paper and a programme-related venture research question.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Innovation Strategy and Venture Growth
Evaluate innovation as an organisational and economic process. You will compare technology, market and social innovation pathways, assess growth barriers and design a suitable support system. Cases connect entrepreneurial decisions with networks, intellectual assets, financing and the evidence required before committing substantial resources.
Learning outcomes
- Compare innovation pathways
- Assess venture growth constraints
- Design an innovation strategy
Main topics
- Innovation theory
- Innovation ecosystems
- Technology ventures
- Intellectual assets
- Growth barriers
- Scale strategies
Practical task
Prepare an innovation and scale proposal with experiments, resources and decision milestones.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Entrepreneurial Finance
Plan how a new or growing venture obtains and manages money. You will estimate start-up needs, forecast cash and compare funding proposals. Cases address owner contribution, debt, equity and informal finance while requiring a realistic assessment of repayment capacity and control implications.
Learning outcomes
- Estimate a venture's funding need
- Compare funding offers
- Prepare a credible finance proposal
Main topics
- Start-up costs
- Cash forecasting
- Funding sources
- Investor proposals
- Valuation foundations
- Financial controls
Practical task
Build a venture financial model and present a supported funding request.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Enterprise Ecosystems and Development Policy
Examine how institutions, finance, networks and public programmes influence enterprise development. You will assess support interventions and their distributional effects, then identify evidence for improvement. Cases consider informal firms, women and youth entrepreneurs, cooperatives and the practical limits of programme performance claims.
Learning outcomes
- Map an enterprise ecosystem
- Evaluate a support intervention
- Recommend an evidence-based policy change
Main topics
- Enterprise ecosystems
- Institutions
- Support programmes
- Access to finance
- Inclusion
- Policy evaluation
Practical task
Prepare an enterprise support policy appraisal for a defined regional setting.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Stage 2: Core subjects
Social Enterprise and Cooperative Development
Design enterprise responses to social needs while examining how revenue and governance support the mission. You will compare social enterprises and cooperatives, assess participation and develop measures of social results. Cases require clear thinking about beneficiaries, customers, accountability and financial sustainability.
Learning outcomes
- Compare social enterprise structures
- Develop a viable mission-led model
- Select credible social measures
Main topics
- Social enterprise models
- Cooperative principles
- Participation
- Revenue models
- Impact measures
- Accountability
Practical task
Prepare a social enterprise or cooperative proposal with operating and impact measures.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Corporate Entrepreneurship
Develop entrepreneurial initiatives within an established organisation. You will examine opportunity sponsorship, internal resources and the organisational conditions supporting experimentation. Cases require you to compare a new initiative with existing strategy and to define evidence for continuation, revision or closure.
Learning outcomes
- Assess an internal venture opportunity
- Design an organisational experiment
- Evaluate a renewal proposal
Main topics
- Internal opportunities
- Innovation culture
- Venture sponsorship
- Resource mobilisation
- Experimentation
- Strategic renewal
Practical task
Prepare an internal venture proposal with milestones and decision criteria.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Small Business Growth and Resilience
Plan the next stage of an enterprise after initial establishment. You will diagnose growth constraints, examine systems and staffing needs and compare expansion options. Cases consider owner capability, customer concentration and operating disruption, with an emphasis on manageable growth and continuing financial control.
Learning outcomes
- Diagnose a growth constraint
- Compare expansion options
- Develop a business continuity response
Main topics
- Growth diagnosis
- Systems development
- Staffing
- Market expansion
- Partnerships
- Continuity
Practical task
Produce a staged growth plan with cash, staffing and continuity requirements.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Management Analytics
Develop analytical evidence for complex management decisions. You will frame questions, assess data quality and compare modelling approaches before interpreting outputs. The module emphasises reproducible reasoning, appropriate visualisation and the limits of prediction when decisions involve changing behaviour, incomplete information and uncertain operating conditions.
Learning outcomes
- Frame an analytical decision
- Compare model results
- Communicate uncertainty to managers
Main topics
- Decision framing
- Data quality
- Predictive models
- Scenario analysis
- Visualisation
- Model limitations
Practical task
Produce an analytical management report and a reproducible decision-support model.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Advanced Strategic Management
Critically evaluate strategy under uncertainty and competing stakeholder demands. You will compare theoretical explanations of organisational advantage and test their use in complex cases. The module combines strategic judgement with evidence about implementation, governance and the social consequences of major organisational choices.
Learning outcomes
- Critique a strategic argument
- Evaluate a complex corporate choice
- Defend a strategy under uncertainty
Main topics
- Strategic theory
- Dynamic capabilities
- Corporate scope
- Competitive responses
- Strategic uncertainty
- Strategy evaluation
Practical task
Present a board-level strategy recommendation supported by competing scenarios.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Stage 3: Specialist subjects and application
Advanced Research Design and Analysis
Develop a research design capable of addressing a complex organisational or social question. You will critically synthesise literature, justify methodological choices and assess evidence quality. The module develops the reasoning and analytical preparation required for an independently argued postgraduate research report.
Learning outcomes
- Critique a research design
- Justify an analytical approach
- Develop a defensible research proposal
Main topics
- Critical literature synthesis
- Research philosophy
- Design justification
- Advanced sampling
- Analytical methods
- Research integrity
Practical task
Submit a postgraduate proposal with a critical literature review and pilot analysis.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Dissertation or Substantial Research Report
Conduct an extended investigation into a focused programme-related problem. You will develop an argument through critical reading, appropriate evidence and sustained analysis. The completed report explains the contribution, limitations and practical or scholarly implications, supported by a transparent record of ethical research decisions.
Learning outcomes
- Conduct an approved investigation
- Develop an evidence-based argument
- Defend and revise research conclusions
Main topics
- Proposal refinement
- Ethical approval
- Evidence collection
- Sustained analysis
- Argument development
- Defence and revision
Practical task
Complete an independently assessed dissertation or substantial research report and oral defence.
Assessment
Assessment combines applied exercises, a documented case or practical portfolio and an individual written or oral explanation. Judgement considers technical accuracy, reasoning, evidence quality and the feasibility of recommendations.
Instructors
