Week 1
Learn by building
Build a simulated company in a sprint of up to seven days. An initial 5–6 hours of guided work introduces prompting, code, design and market thinking.
A practical foundation for your own venture.
Overture × The Turning Point
A turning point
for your business.
Entrepreneur Residency
Turn a real business opportunity into a useful technology product, with hands-on AI expertise and a community of founders.
5 founders per cohort4 months of buildingSoweto + online hybrid residency
What you get
Your business.
A product you can test.
Work towards a tested prototype or AI-enabled workflow that addresses a real business need. Learn to use tools such as Codex and Cursor, understand when AI adds value, and keep human judgement in the loop.
- Practical workshops and specialist technical clinics
- User feedback you can turn into product improvements
- Peer reviews with a small founder cohort
- A business proposition, demonstration and pitch
The four-month journey
From first build to practical use.
Weeks 2–8
Develop & test
Work on your own business problem. Build a prototype, test it with users and improve it through technical clinics and 1.5-hour peer-review sessions.
A working prototype and evidence from users.
Weeks 9–12
Demonstrate & launch
Show what you have built, respond to customer feedback and sharpen your business proposition and pitch. Relevant investor introductions depend on your venture’s stage and needs.
A product demonstration and a clear business proposition.
Month 4
Put it to work
Take the product into practical use. Continue testing and identify the resources, development work and business support you need beyond the residency.
An implementation pathway for your business.
Business opportunities
Start with the work you know.
Bring a problem from your sector. These are examples of where technology can help; your project begins with the needs of your business and its customers.
Textiles, sewing & jewellery
Quotations, customer orders, production and inventory.
Cleaning-chemical manufacturing
Inventory, order processing and production records.
ICT
Software products, SaaS and technology-enabled consulting.
Agriculture
Farm records, buyer matching and traceability.
Desktop, mobile and web products are welcome. Each founder assesses whether AI is useful, validates its outputs and maintains appropriate human oversight.
Who it is for
Ready to build.
Willing to learn.
Postgraduate and community founders aged 25–32 who are developing technology products or applying AI to a practical business opportunity.
Selection considers the relevance of your business problem, your learning needs and your readiness to build and test. You will need a laptop and reliable Wi-Fi.
Take part through a Zeal of Grace referral or express interest following an introductory AI session. Participation is optional within the wider entrepreneurship journey.
The partnership
Business support meets technical practice.
Zeal of Grace
Leads The Turning Point’s wider entrepreneurship and incubation journey, founder nominations, business-development support and local coordination.
Overture
Provides AI expertise, practical workshops, technical clinics, rapid prototyping and responsible-AI guidance.
In-person sessions at College Community CLC, Soweto, alongside online participation.
Take part
Bring your experience.
Build what comes next.
Prepare a résumé and a cover letter describing your background, current position, career goals and the problem you want to solve.
Apply through Overture’s founder application to join The Turning Point’s four-month entrepreneur residency.
Apply to The Turning Point ↗