iAccelerate SA Learners Dive into Innovation and Customer-Centred Problem-Solving During Session 2 - IOL
Elliott Schwartz, Los Angeles-based entrepreneur and advocate for youth entrepreneurship, joins the iAccelerate SA 2026 cohort over Zoom during Session 2: Innovate.
After successfully completing the Ideate phase, iAccelerate SA’s 2026 cohort has entered the next stage of their four-month entrepreneurial programme with Session 2: Innovate.
Held in Cape Town on September 18 and 19, the two-day session focused on equipping the young learners with skills to understand their customers, test their ideas, and explore how innovation transforms potential solutions into viable ventures.
Building on previous sessions where learners identified community challenges and began developing initial concepts, Session 2 shifted focus to the importance of understanding the end-user.
Lean Canvases: Further developing their business models.
Market Segments and Customer Profiles: Identifying who they are seeking to serve.
Interviewing Techniques: Learning how to gather qualitative data from potential clients.
On Saturday, the Grade 9–11 learners put theory into practice, conducting actual customer interviews to better understand needs and gather insights. They were also introduced to the concepts of pretotypes and prototypes before working in teams on their own concepts and participating in the "Marshmallow Challenge."
The iAccelerate SA 2026 cohort and facilitators pose for a photo with Rayhaan Survé, founder of iAccelerate SA, during Session 2: Innovate.
The programme welcomed Elliott Schwartz, a Los Angeles-based storyteller and advocate for youth entrepreneurship with extensive experience, including founding a private jet company and expanding a cosmetic brand to 3,000 stores. Schwartz, who also chaired the NFTE eCouncil for over 10 years, led a "Worst Idea Workshop"—an interactive activity designed to encourage creative thinking and challenge learners to approach ideas from unexpected perspectives.
Later in the day, Rayhaan Survé, founder of iAccelerate SA, led a session on the core definitions and importance of innovation for entrepreneurs. Learners participated in a challenge focused on rethinking outdated processes and businesses, encouraging them to improve existing approaches.
"The key takeaway I want the students to take from the talk on innovation is that innovation takes small steps to create an incredible impact," said Survé. "If they keep going, one by one, and make small changes every day, then by the end of the week or the end of the month, they’ll have created something that is 10 times what they ever thought they could."
iAccelerate learner Likhona Nkohla reflected on the impact of meeting established entrepreneurs.
"The session was very educational and exciting because we had the opportunity to speak to an entrepreneur from America. We were also excited to meet the founder of iAccelerate SA. One of the highlights for me was getting to meet the guest speakers and learn from their experiences," Nkohla shared.
A central theme of the session was the iterative nature of entrepreneurship. Through customer research, prototyping, and feedback, learners were encouraged to test their assumptions and adapt their ideas based on real-world responses. The session concluded with learners preparing to collect customer feedback over the next two weeks to continue refining their ventures.
