The Beginning
The Louis family, under the umbrella of House of Louis, built their business by nurturing their entrepreneurial spirit over ten decades. A major focus of House of Louis was to “pass this business knowledge on “to positively impact and equip other members of the business community”. The result, after years of research and preparation, was the Business Academy, which was launched in 2003.
University Partnership
House of Louis Business Academy partnered with the University of Stellenbosch Business School (which is the highest rated University in the Continent of Africa) to wholly sponsor a Business Academy not only to pass on business knowledge but also to enable students to experience what it’s like to study at a University.
Wholly Sponsored Applicants
Since its launch in 2003, the Business Academy has grown substantially over the last 12 years. To date, in excess of 4,680 applications have been received and over 1,600 students have attended our graduations, a certification course endorsed by the University of Stellenbosch Business School
The Business Academy is built upon two primary principles: “Learning through Discovery” and “Paying it Forward”.
Paying it Forward
The Hollywood movie, Pay It Forward, made the principle of ‘Paying it Forward’ famous. This principle is, in fact, a very old one that asks the recipient of a good deed to repay it to others instead of to the original benefactor.
The concept was aptly described by US president Benjamin Franklin in a letter to Benjamin Web dated April 25, 1784:
“I do not pretend to give such a deed; I only lend it to you. When you … meet with another honest man in similar distress, you must pay me by lending this sum to him; enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation, when he shall be able, and all meet with another opportunity. I hope it may thus go thro’ many hands, before it meets with a knave that will stop its progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money.”
Approval Rating
Since the initial intake of the Business Academy in 2003, this course has achieved consistently excellent approval ratings from those who have participated, which is a reflection on the quality of the course and the perceived value received by the students.
Average student approval ratings:
2003 – 2013: 89%
2014: 92%
