African universities hold substantial public assets such as knowledge, skilled personnel, facilities and networks that can be mobilised beyond teaching and research.

A recent study examined the University of Cape Town as a case and identified three distinct pathways for universities to foster social innovation: social intrapreneurship, social entrepreneurship and social extrapreneurship.

Social intrapreneurship involves actors inside the university – academics, staff or students – using institutional resources to redesign curricula, broaden access to expertise and shift which knowledge is valued.

The Centre for Higher Education Development at UCT exemplifies intrapreneurship by offering mentoring and academic‑advising programmes that improve student access and success.

Social entrepreneurship expands university impact by linking ideas, people and resources to launch ventures that address social and environmental challenges, rather than focusing solely on commercial patents.

UCT’s Solution Space illustrates this model, providing training, mentorship and network access to support emerging social enterprises.

Social extrapreneurship recognises that complex problems require collaboration across sectors; universities act as convenors, creating spaces where researchers, businesses, governments and civil‑society groups can co‑create solutions.

The Social Innovation in Health Initiative, co‑founded by UCT’s Bertha Centre, connects health practitioners, innovators and researchers to develop and scale health‑focused solutions.

Field observations show the three pathways often reinforce each other: projects that begin as intrapreneurial efforts can evolve into independent social enterprises, while external partnerships can reshape university practices.

Barriers such as bureaucracy, rigid structures and limited funding can impede sustained social innovation, especially in less‑resourced African institutions.

The authors recommend that African universities create enabling environments for experimentation, support ideas that can spin out to external organisations, and build cross‑sector partnerships to maximise impact.