Prof Ben Marx Director The year 2025 marked the formal establishment of the Wiseman Nkuhlu Centre of Thought Leadership, Innovation and Governance (WNCIG). Named in honour of Dr Wiseman Nkuhlu, South Africa’s first Black Chartered Accountant, the Centre was founded to serve as a national platform for advancing research excellence, governance reform, innovation, and professional sustainability within the accounting and auditing profession. WNCIG recognises that complex professional challenges require coordinated responses and positions itself as a thought-leadership hub addressing systemic risks in the auditing and governance landscape. The Centre’s inaugural research focus addressed a critical national concern: the decline in Registered Auditors in South Africa. This issue has far-reaching implications for financial reporting integrity, investor confidence, public accountability, and economic sustainability. The Centre is strategically aligned with the University of Johannesburg’s commitment to innovation, digital transformation, ethical leadership, and societal impact and is framed by the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): SDG 4: Quality Education – Strengthening professional education and research capacity. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Supporting sustainable professional employment pathways. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure – Promoting innovation in audit and governance systems SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions – Strengthening accountability, transparency, and governance. WISEMAN NKUHLU CENTRE FOR INNOVATION, LEADERSHIP, AND GOVERNANCE (WNCIG) School of Accounting Ronny Mabokela Head The Technopreneurship Centre (TPC) continued to strengthen its role as a leading hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation in 2025. The Centre provides a dynamic environment where students develop technology-driven solutions to real-world challenges through hackathons, research collaborations, training programmes, and startup incubation initiatives. Throughout the year, TPC programmes focused on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data science, and digital entrepreneurship, equipping students with practical skills required in the modern digital economy. Through collaboration with industry partners, government institutions, and innovation ecosystems, the Centre continues to empower students to build impactful solutions that contribute to economic development and societal transformation. The Centre contributes to several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 4 – Quality Education, SDG 5 – Gender Equality, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth, SDG 9 – Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure, SDG 11 – Sustainable Cities and Communities, SDG 17 – Partnerships for the Goals. A key milestone during the year was the launch of the University of Johannesburg’s first Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Reporting Tool developed through the Technopreneurship Centre. The platform provides a secure and accessible digital reporting system that strengthens campus safety and accountability. The Centre also hosted several highimpact innovation initiatives including the NEMISA Discothon with Geekulcha, the SheLeads Hackathon, the START Fellowship Pitching Competition, and the Gauteng Youth Entrepreneurship Tour with ABSA Bank and the Young African Entrepreneurs Institute. Hackathons and innovation challenges hosted by the Centre encourage students to develop solutions addressing cybersecurity awareness, digital misinformation, healthcare access, public service delivery. Eight TPC students offered digital literacy and coding training at schools and community institutions including Grace Bible Church. Student entrepreneurship remains a central focus of the Centre. In 2025, three potential startup ventures emerged from TPC programmes: Mpilo Mobile App, AviJozi App, SABC Productivity App. Another notable student innovation was FinLitGPT, a financial literacy platform developed by a TPC team led by Unathi Suru and Nombali Mafa. The platform provides an AI-powered financial assistant capable of supporting financial literacy education across all 11 South African languages. Nombali Mafa achieved national recognition and won first place in the Gaming and Entertainment category at the NODE Engine Hackathon, demonstrating the creativity and technical excellence of UJ student innovators. She also co-led the development of FinLitGPT, an AI-powered financial literacy platform designed to help young people better understand personal finance, debt management, TECHNOPRENEURSHIP CENTRE (TPC) School of Consumer Intelligence and Information Systems 48 49 College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2025 College of Business and Economics | Annual Report 2025
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