July 1 2024 16:45
One of the well-known Anglo American buildings in Johannesburg’s CBD, 47 Main Street was handed over to Wits Business School (WBS) on Friday June 28th.
Anglo American moved to offices in Rosebank in 2021. The mining group has looked to give back to communities and downtown to hold onto its long-term legacy there as it operates in the commercial node.
The handover event was attended by numerous delegates including Wits vice-chancellor Professor Zeblon Vilakazi and Anglo American CEO Duncan Wanblad. Anglo says the handover of the building is in line with its commitment to education, entrepreneurship, and leaving a positive legacy in the CBD.
The eight-floor, 15 000m² building will enable WBS to establish the “Wits Crucible”. This is a centre which will provide business education and foster business development and growth services for youth and entrepreneurs in the Johannesburg CBD.
The Wits Crucible will include for units of entrepreneurship development support for youth, student entrepreneurs and Wits graduates. This will include a development unit to provide aspiring entrepreneurs with the skills to develop ideas, launch and grow successful businesses. The Crucible will also include a Venture Screening and Selection Unit which will focus on the feasibility of business ideas to drive innovation and digital technology integration. It will also boast an Incubation Unit for selected business ventures and an Acceleration Unit to offer intensive growth support to top performing ventures.
“We’ve always been dedicated towards contributing a positive legacy wherever we are, and so making sure that our much-loved historic campus in the CBD is repurposed to provide long-lasting contribution to the vibrancy and sustainability of the city was always part of our vision. Through our close collaboration with several passionate public and private sector partners, we are contributing toward the rejuvenation of the city,” Nolitha Fakude, chairperson of the Anglo American management board in South Africa, said.
“Seeing our buildings find new purpose in the hands of exemplary partners like Wits not only proves the power of partnerships, but also supports South Africa’s national imperatives ,education and job creation through entrepreneurship and will set up a whole new generation of young people for success,” she said.
In 2022, Wits University and Anglo American also partnered to upgrade the Johannesburg Planetarium, situated on the university’s city campus, into a digital hub. The new Wits Anglo American Digital Dome aims to be “a state of-the-art science centre that will inspire all generations to take an active interest in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and the digital arts”, according to Anglo.
Last year, Anglo American handed over the 45 Main Street building to the Maharishi Invincibility Institute (MII), supporting education outcomes for underprivileged youth in the CBD, while De Beers transferred ownership of the historic Harry Oppenheimer House building in Kimberley to the Sol Plaatje University, allowing it to expand the development of its Centre for Continuous Professional Development.
“As a leading African business school, we are honoured to collaborate with stakeholders like Anglo American to fuel Johannesburg’s renewal. The CfE embodies the power of partnerships to enable young entrepreneurs to turn their innovative ideas into thriving businesses and to unleash the potential of small businesses to drive economic growth not only in Johannesburg but in other inner cities and townships throughout South Africa,” said Professor Maurice Radebe, Head and Director of WBS.
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