Economics Excellence Association — Becoming The Change We Want To See

We became the change we wanted to see. — Keabetswe Ndlovu, Founder & Executive Director

Who We Are

Born in a classroom.
Built for a continent.

The Economics Excellence Association was founded in 2024 at Tshwane University of Technology — not as another student club, but as a structured movement with legal standing, a governance framework, and a genuine ambition to change how people engage with economic opportunity.

We are registered as the Centre of Economic Excellence NPC under CIPC — a legal structure that reflects who we aim to become: a nationally scaled institution that connects academic learning to township economic reality. Our doors are open to every young person willing to grow, contribute, and lead.

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Knowledge

Rigorous learning that challenges everyone, regardless of field or background.

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Community

Co-designed programmes that serve real people in real places.

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Integrity

Constitutionally grounded, legally registered, and publicly accountable.

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Scale

Designed from day one to grow beyond one campus, one city, one cohort.

What We Do

Three pillars.
One mission.

01

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Knowledge & Growth

Open to everyone

We create spaces where anyone — regardless of their field of study — can develop economic literacy, build critical thinking, and connect ideas to real-world decisions. Peer learning, seminars, and academic mentorship form the core.

Peer-led tutorials and study circles
Economic debates and panel discussions
Academic mentorship and career support
Pathways to postgraduate and professional life

02

🏘️

Community Impact

CEP · In Development

We are developing the Community Economic Participation (CEP) programme to take learning beyond campus — into Soshanguve, Mabopane, Garankuwa, and the communities that surround us. We aim to build real enterprise capacity, together with community members, not for them.

Township enterprise cluster development (in progress)
Financial literacy and livelihood skills
Beyond Matric school outreach
Informal trader support (planned)

03

💡

Innovation & Ventures

For builders & doers

We believe that understanding economics should lead to building things. From student-led investment analysis to community enterprise models, this pillar turns thinking into action and action into lasting value.

Investment club and financial literacy sessions
Community enterprise pilot clusters (developing)
Business model workshops open to all students
Linkages to corporate SED and ESD programmes

The Question That Drives Us

What are you
becoming?

Not what career. Not what grade. What kind of person — and what kind of force — are you choosing to be in the world? That's the question EEA is built around.

01

As a student

Knowledge without walls.

You don't have to study economics to belong here. What matters is curiosity, commitment, and the willingness to think beyond the lecture hall. EEA is for anyone who wants to understand how the world works — and do something about it.

02

As a leader

Authority earns itself.

Leadership in EEA is not a title. It is a daily choice to carry others, to be accountable, and to act in the interest of the collective. We are building a generation of leaders who lead through service — not status.

03

As a community builder

Change starts next door.

The communities we come from are not our problem to solve — they are our reason to grow. EEA exists to bring knowledge back home, to create economic opportunity in the spaces that shaped us, and to build futures that don't require us to leave.

"We are not waiting to become something. We are becoming it now."

Join the Movement →

Featured Initiatives

Where ideas
meet action.

All Programmes

Flagship Programme · In Development

Community Economic
Participation (CEP)

We are developing a structured framework to establish enterprise clusters in township communities — grounded in a principle we believe deeply: that learning must come before profit, and that ownership must be collective.

Learn about CEP →

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Beyond Matric

We visit Grade 12 learners at under-resourced schools in Soshanguve and surrounding areas, providing university application support, subject guidance, and economic literacy sessions.

See Impact →

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Learning Circle

Monthly sessions connecting EEA members — from any discipline — with economic thinkers, industry professionals, and people doing real work in communities. Open to all.

Get Involved →

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CEP Pilot Cluster

We are planning our first enterprise cluster — a subscription-based barbering cooperative — as a proof-of-concept for the CEP model. In early development.

Follow Progress →

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Investment Club

Student-led sessions on financial markets, economic policy, and investment thinking — open to all students, regardless of discipline, who want to understand money and markets.

Join the Club →

Our Impact So Far

Early days.
Real momentum.

150+

Young people reached through Beyond Matric outreach

3

High schools visited across Gauteng and North West

1

CEP enterprise cluster in active development

2024

Founded, legally registered, and constitutionally structured

"At Soshanguve South Secondary and Seageng Secondary, we didn't find a lack of potential. We found a lack of access. That's the gap EEA is committed to closing — one school, one community, one cluster at a time."

CEP Framework · Guiding Principles

How We Aim to Create Lasting Change

Our developing CEP framework is grounded in New Institutional Economics — designed so that community economic programmes outlast their founders and belong to the people who build them.

Learning must precede profit — always

Collective ownership over individual gain

Co-designed with communities, not for them

SED-aligned for sustainable corporate funding

Leadership

Meet the people
building EEA.

A student-led executive committee and a growing network of ambassadors — each one committed to the values and vision of the movement.

View Full Team →

Chairperson

Oletilwe T. Mojela

Branch Chairperson leading EEA's executive operations and organisational direction.

Deputy Chairperson

Tetelo P. Chueu

Supports executive leadership and assumes Chair responsibilities when required.

Secretary

Khanyisile Nkabinde

Oversees official correspondence, meeting records, and administrative governance.

Treasurer

Sindisiwe S. Mahlangu

Responsible for EEA's financial management, budgeting, and financial reporting.

Meet All 13 Committee Members + 19 Ambassadors →

Member Voices

In their own words.

"I have seen EEA at work and been impressed by the initiative — which led me to join as an ambassador. I believe leadership means being at service for those who follow. I don't want to change the world, but I want to have played a part in doing so and to have influenced those who will. I see EEA becoming a leading platform for economic awareness in TUT and beyond."

Kamogelo William Makhura

Ambassador & Financial Planning Tutor · TUT Garankuwa

"EEA was like a firecracker, igniting a vision that unfolded like a red carpet — revealing beauty beyond measure. EEA sharpened my leadership and organisational skills, proving that young people can commit to a goal and crush it. It's not just bridging the gap between Economics theories and real-life problems — it's a catalyst for self-development. I hope EEA keeps pushing boundaries, catapulting students onto international stages."

Balungile Nkungwana

Former Executive Secretary · Advanced Diploma in Economics, TUT

"EEA helped me reach out of my comfort zone and to not be afraid to challenge myself — to ask how I can do it instead of focusing on the problems. I see EEA becoming the biggest and most influential student-led association in TUT and a successful NPO. My hope is that the core values don't change and that each generation continues to grow the vision and expand it from its first conception."

Skhumbuzo Mabena

Former Secretary · EEA 2024, TUT Garankuwa

Get Involved

Your place in
the movement.

Whether you study economics, engineering, education, or anything else — whether you're a student, a professional, an organisation, or a community member — there is a place for you here.

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Join as a Member

Any student, from any discipline, at any level. You don't need to study economics — you need to care about growth, community, and building something that matters.

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All EEA programmes and events
✓
Leadership and committee pathways
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CEP community project participation
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Ambassador programme eligibility

Apply to Join

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Partner or Sponsor

Align your organisation with a legally registered NPC delivering measurable community and academic outcomes. B-BBEE SED scorecard contributions welcome.

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B-BBEE SED scorecard contribution
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Brand visibility across EEA platforms
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Direct community programme co-funding
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Graduate talent pipeline access

Partner With Us

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Launch a Branch

Is your campus not yet part of the EEA network? We are building a national presence. Lead the chapter at your institution and join a movement that's growing.

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Full governance and constitutional framework
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National EEA brand and resources
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Founding leadership recognition
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Direct support from the Executive Director

Express Interest

A movementfor realeconomic change.

Born in a classroom.Built for a continent.