Bachelor of Science in Startup Engineering and Enterprise Growth
Most African ventures do not fail at the idea. They fail somewhere between the tenth customer and the hundredth employee, in the unglamorous machinery of hiring, cash management, sales process, systems and governance. That machinery is a te...
Employment thesis
What this programme is designed to produce
Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.
Roles
- Chief of staff and operations lead
- head of sales or revenue operations
- growth manager
- business development lead
- venture studio operator
- accelerator programme manager
- enterprise development officer
- co-founder in a commercial or operating role.
Employer types
- High growth start ups and scale ups
- venture studios, accelerators and incubators
- venture and impact funds in portfolio support roles
- family enterprises entering a growth phase
- corporate venture and innovation units
- enterprise development programmes
- and student founded ventures.
Target outcomes we hold ourselves to
- Strong and growing demand from the region's venture ecosystem, where operating talent is scarcer than founding ambition, plus direct application to family enterprise succession.
Compulsory · The Forward Core
How the Core works →Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.
- AI Fluency
- Quantitative Reasoning
- Ethics and African Context
- Human-Advantage Skills
- Enterprise
Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning
Am I eligible?
Check yourself against the published requirements
7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Startup Engineering and Enterprise Growth. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.
What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?
Curriculum structure
The same degree, in both pathways
Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.
Path One term plan shown
Path One · The Term Model
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 101 | AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BIV 110 | Enterprise Foundations and the African Venture Landscape Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
| BIV 111 | Accounting, Cash and Financial Records Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 112 | Data and Spreadsheet Modelling for Operators Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 113 | Sales Practicum I: Real Customers, Real Conversations Performance | 5 | 1-0-8 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 102 | Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BIV 130 | Financial Modelling, Runway and Unit Economics Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 131 | Marketing, Positioning and Demand Generation Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 132 | Operating Systems, Metrics and Reporting Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 133 | Business Law, Registration, Tax and Compliance Both | 4 | 2-2-2 |
| COP 190 | Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term) Performance | 0 | 0-0-0 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 201 | Ethics, Society and the African Context Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| BIV 210 | Growth Systems and Revenue Operations Performance | 5 | 2-2-4 |
| BIV 211 | People, Hiring and Employment Practice Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 212 | Venture Operations Practicum: Embedded in a Growing Company Performance | 5 | 0-0-0 |
| BIV 213 | Technology and Intelligent Systems for Small Teams Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 202 | Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 290 | Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BIV 230 | Fundraising, Term Sheets and Investor Management Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 231 | Negotiation and Commercial Contracting Performance | 3 | 1-0-4 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 301 | AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| COP 390 | Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months) Performance | 10 | 0-0-0 |
| BIV 310 | Cross Border Expansion, Structure and Tax Both | 5 | 3-2-2 |
| BIV 311 | Governance, Boards and Founder Conflict Both | 3 | 1-2-2 |
| Code | Course | CU | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| FDC 302 | Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy Both | 4 | 2-2-0 |
| FDC 401 | AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| FDC 402 | Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation Both | 3 | 1-2-0 |
| BIV 330 | Growth Capstone: Measured Commercial Outcome in a Real Enterprise Performance | 8 | 0-2-14 |
| BIV 331 | Turnaround, Distress and Honest Wind Down Objective | 4 | 3-2-0 |
Total credit units: 134
Curriculum source
Forward University Curriculum Compendium
Assessment
Coursework + project + integrated exam
Work-integrated learning
12 months paid co-operative education
Your week at Forward
A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Startup Engineering and Enterprise Growth
Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Curriculum explorer
Drill into the degree, step by step
Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.
Step 1, choose a year
Step 2, choose a term
TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1
Year 1 · this step is worth 23 CU
Cumulative
23
Programme total
132
23 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)
Step 3, choose a course
Pick a course to see the detail
Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.
The twelve Forward capabilities
What this programme develops in you
Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.
- C1Intelligent Systems FluencyLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C4Communication and Persuasion CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 3 of 4, Independent
- C7Problem Framing and Systems ThinkingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary Teaming CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 4 of 4, Leading
- C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
Critical capabilities for this programme: Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Communication and Persuasion · Collaboration and Multidisciplinary Teaming · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.
Programme Learning Outcomes
What you will be able to do
Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.
- PLO 1Build and operate a repeatable sales and customer acquisition process.
- PLO 2Model cash, runway, margin and growth and manage an enterprise against the model.
- PLO 3Design and run operating systems, metrics and reporting for a growing company.
- PLO 4Hire, onboard, manage and let go of people lawfully and decently.
- PLO 5Prepare a venture for investment and manage the process and the investors afterwards.
- PLO 6Apply technology and intelligent systems to obtain leverage in a small team.
- PLO 7Expand across African borders with correct legal, tax and operational structure.
Why this programme exists
Most African ventures do not fail at the idea. They fail somewhere between the tenth customer and the hundredth employee, in the unglamorous machinery of hiring, cash management, sales process, systems and governance. That machinery is a te...
Admission requirements
UACE with two principal passes in any subjects, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.
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