Because A New World Needs New Ideas
Our programmes equip leaders for fast-growing emerging markets and critical global challenges
About Us
A distinctly African business school with a global reach
Research Excellence
Research designed for impact
Rigorous research and innovative teaching that informs the business world.
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Award-winning
cases
Excellent teaching case studies focused on African and emerging market challenges.
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A focus on sustainable development
Champion of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).
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Connect with the Alumni Community
Discover our vibrant network of UCT GSB alumni and continue your lifelong journey of growth and connection. Our global alumni community represents a wealth of shared wisdom and access to opportunities
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Centres & Initiatives
World-leading centres that reflect our core, capabilities and areas of expertise
Dr Catherine Duggan
UCT GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS DIRECTOR
"The UCT GSB is uniquely placed to lead some of the most important critical conversations about the future of business that are going on in Africa and around the world.
Our faculty have tremendous expertise on issues such as social innovation, diversity and inequality, environmental sustainability, the role of business and society, and values-based leadership—very much including leadership under conditions of crisis and uncertainty."
View profileIdeas Exchange
Managing Company-Community Conflict: UCT GSB Partners with Synergy Global
Company-community tensions are rising – but with practical tools and training, businesses can respond constructively and sustainably.
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UCT GSB Ranks Among the Best for Transforming Leadership Across Africa and Beyond
The UCT Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) has been ranked among the world’s top business schools for both Customised and Open Executive Education in the 2025 Financial Times Executive Education Rankings.
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UCT GSB and TETA launch game-changing skills programme
The University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) in partnership with the Transport SETA (TETA) have launched a new year-long course to equip rising leaders with vital skills and capacity for this sector, which has the potential to unlock much-needed economic growth for South Africa.
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UCT GSB wins international award for case study on transforming SA schools
The University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB) has won a prestigious gold award in the 2025 EFMD Excellence in Practice (EiP) Awards for a case study on the impact of skills development for principals at SA schools.
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UCT GSB’s EMBA Ranked Best in Africa and 11th Globally by CEO Magazine
The UCT GSB’s has reaffirmed its position as one of the world’s leading business schools in Africa and 11th globally for its EMBA programme in the 2025 CEO Magazine Global MBA Rankings.
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UCT GSB’s EMBA ranked 31st globally for Overall Satisfaction by the Financial Times
The UK’s Financial Times has ranked the UCT GSB's EMBA programme among the best in the world for alumni satisfaction in its 2024 rankings, with over 92% of alumni expressing satisfaction with their degree. This achievement places the GSB's EMBA in the FT's global Top 100 and highlights the School's dedication to delivering world-class education at the very highest levels.
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UCT GSB Welcomes Prodigy Finance's Blended Finance Programme
Prodigy Finance has launched a groundbreaking Blended Finance programme aimed at providing African students with greater access to international education. This initiative aligns with the UCT Graduate School of Business's mission to empower Africa’s future leaders, offering an innovative financing solution that breaks down financial barriers and fosters diverse, globally minded leadership across the continent.
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How to motivate your employer to fund your studies
Company funding is an excellent option for those who wish to further their qualifications but can’t cover all of the costs. So we’ve compiled a comprehensive guide to getting your employer to pay for your professional enrichment.
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Be intentional in your career choices
Qasim Abrahams credits the networks and experience gained as a result of completing his MBA at the UCT GSB, with his career journey to his current role. Here he shares advice for recent graduates, explaining that it all starts with a plan, consistency, and the knowledge that failure is an important part of success.
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Insights from Zimbabwe on how to link formal and informal economies
Government alone will not be able to bridge the gaping chasm between South Africa’s formal and informal economies. There are innovative intermediaries better suited to the task – but government must play a key enabling role to allow them to do what they do best.
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The war in Ukraine and its broader implications for the international green energy transition
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the importance of energy politics in international relations and resulted in calls to accelerate the green transition to reduce fossil fuel dependencies. However, the strategic importance of Ukraine's natural resource wealth, particularly as it relates to Europe's energy- and resource-independence in coming decades, is being overlooked both as a potential contributory factor to the war in Ukraine and in terms of its long-term implications.
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Why inequality persists: How institutions and organizations reproduce inequality
The continued institutional reproduction of inequality is a matter of growing concern in vast parts of the world.
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Three top tips for acing the GMAT test
There is no shortage of advice on how to prepare for the GMAT exam – the often daunting test that opens the door to the most prestigious MBA programmes around the world – but taking advice from someone who’s cracked it themselves is a good place to start.
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Trust and Governance: why trust is key to economic performance
Trust greatly reduces transaction costs within an economy and society. Just as a functional health care system will produce healthy citizens, trustworthy governing officials help to create trustworthy citizens.
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How the UCT GSB helped me start my own business
For Patra Sumari, one of the biggest advantages of doing the PGDip course at the UCT GSB, was that it gave her the confidence and the final push to set up her own HR company in Tanzania.
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Credible data is key for successful development in Africa
Southern African Region Community Champion of the Global Shapers Community – an initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF) – and one of the SADC Top 100 young leaders of 2018, Bongiwe Beja-Ntsiko wants to see economic and social prosperity in Africa. But to achieve better developmental outcomes, she believes the barriers to digital transformation on the continent must be overcome.
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How to climb the ladder to the top – and fast
MBA alumna Diane Moalem holds a top job as Group Head of Operations at African tech organisation, ROAM Africa – which operates in six countries with 12 different brands– just eight years after entering the workforce.
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International alumnus remains hopeful for change in South Africa
Despite challenges, South Africa continues to be an innovation hub with the capacity to develop the next generation of change makers. The UCT GSB's MBA programme attracts students from all walks of life that want ‘in’ on this journey.
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UCT GSB partners with 6 other institutions in energy to launch the African School of Regulation (ASR) initiative.
The initiative to create the African School of Regulation (ASR) has been launched via a scientific knowledge partnership agreement among the European University Institute (EUI), the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business (GSB), the Pan African University Institute of Water and Energy Sciences (PAUWES), the Enel Foundation, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), and the Energy Nexus Network (TENN).
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Addressing the lack of JEDI in the workplace
The South African workplace remains a very complex space. To bring about a change in workplace culture and organisational orientations, we may need to consider new approaches. Recent research from the UCT GSB has highlighted several practices that organisations can implement to help address the lack of justice, equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.
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More purpose, more flexibility, more empathy – what’s really driving ‘The Great Resignation’?
The record number of people leaving their jobs in 2021, mainly in the US, has given rise to the term ‘The Great Resignation’ or ‘The Big Quit’. We asked the UCT GSB's Azvir Rampursad and Rayner Canning for their insights into this trend.
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Here’s why black millennial women are leaving your organisation
New research digs into the deep frustration causing many African millennial women to call it a day at the office.
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Three essential provocations for leaders in business and government today
Executive MBA transforms executives and equips them to focus on solving the complex problems of our times by putting them into a better relationship with their lived experience.
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Never mind a wealth tax, South Africa needs a corruption tax on companies that collude in State Capture
Without private sector collusion, South Africa’s numerous corruption scandals would have been near impossible. A corruption tax on private sector companies complicit in corrupt activities should be introduced.
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Top tips to ensure employees can still learn from one another in a hybrid world
Two-thirds of professionals fear that a hybrid workplace will damage their ability to learn from colleagues – global survey
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Poor quality control leaves a bad taste in consumers’ mouths
The recent spate of food quality failures going back to the country’s deadly listeriosis outbreak in 2018 reveals the damaging health consequences and reputational damage that can flow from a single ‘bad batch’.
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Master of Business Administration (MBA) Virtual Info Session
Join Dr Catherine Duggan, UCT GSB Director (Dean) for an information session webinar about the UCT GSB’s Master of Business Administration (MBA). This webinar creates an opportunity for prospective applicants to learn more about the school, the programme and the admissions process
Learn more RSVPMaster of Business Administration (MBA) JHB Info Session
Join Dr Catherine Duggan, UCT GSB Director (Dean) for an information session in Sandton JHB, about the UCT GSB’s Master of Business Administration (MBA). This in person engagement creates an opportunity for prospective applicants to learn more about the school, the programme and the admissions process.
Learn more RSVPOnline Information Session: Impact Investing in Africa in Nairobi, Kenya
The session will include key details on the content, application process and what to expect from the course.
Learn more RSVPInformation Session: Postgraduate Diploma in Development Finance (PGDIP DF)
Join us for an interactive webinar to learn more about the Postgraduate Diploma in Development Finance (PGDip Dev Fin) offered at the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business (UCT GSB).
Learn more RSVPMaster of Business Administration (MBA) CPT Info Session
Join Dr Catherine Duggan, UCT GSB Director (Dean) for an information session, Cape Town, about the UCT GSB’s Master of Business Administration (MBA). This in person engagement creates an opportunity for prospective applicants to learn more about the school, the programme and the admissions process.
Learn more RSVP