Following the successful completion of the idea generation phase, participants in the iAccelerate SA 2026 program moved on to the second stage of their four-month entrepreneurship course titled 'Innovation.'
The two-day session, held in Cape Town on September 18th and 19th, was dedicated to equipping young learners with skills in understanding customer needs, testing their concepts, and learning how innovation transforms potential solutions into viable businesses.
Understanding the Customer is Key
Continuing from previous sessions where participants identified community problems and developed initial ideas, the second session shifted focus to the importance of deeply understanding the end-user.
Participants studied aspects such as:
Lean Canvases:
Further development of business models.Market Segments and Customer Profiles:
Defining the target audience.Interviewing Techniques:
Mastering methods for collecting qualitative data from potential clients.
On Saturday, 9th to 11th-grade students applied theoretical knowledge practically by conducting real interviews with customers to better understand needs and gather information. Furthermore, they were introduced to the concepts of prototypes and pre-prototypes, after which teams worked on their own concepts and participated in the 'Marshmallow Challenge.'
The program welcomed Elliot Schwartz, an entrepreneur from Los Angeles and a proponent of youth entrepreneurship, who possesses extensive experience including founding a private aircraft company and expanding a cosmetics brand to 3000 stores. Schwartz, who also chaired the NFTE eCouncil for over ten years, conducted a 'Worst Ideas Workshop'—an interactive event designed to stimulate creative thinking and encourage participants to view ideas from unexpected perspectives.
Later in the day, Raihan Surve, founder of iAccelerate SA, led a session on the fundamental definitions and significance of innovation for entrepreneurs. Participants took part in an exercise aimed at rethinking outdated processes and businesses, which helped improve existing approaches.
Surve noted: 'The main takeaway I want students to have from the discussion on innovation is that innovation is achieved through small steps to create incredible impact.' He added: 'If they keep moving forward, one step at a time, and make small changes every day, by the end of the week or month, they will create something that exceeds their wildest expectations tenfold.'
Learning Through Experience
An iAccelerate participant, Lihona Nkoxhla, shared her impressions of the impact of meeting experienced entrepreneurs. She stated: 'The session was very informative and exciting because we had the opportunity to speak with an entrepreneur from America. We were also happy to meet the founder of iAccelerate SA. One of the highlights for me was meeting the guest speakers and learning about their experiences.'
The central theme of the session was the iterative nature of entrepreneurship. Through customer research, prototyping, and feedback collection, learners were encouraged to test their assumptions and adapt ideas based on real responses. The session concluded with participants preparing to collect customer feedback over the next two weeks for further refinement of their projects.