CIDA City Campus

Welcome to the CIDA City Campus website. CIDA City Campus (CIDA), based in Johannesburg, is the first virtually free higher education institution in South Africa, offering holistic education to historically disadvantaged youth who would not otherwise be able to access higher education. With the cost of higher education in South Africa spiralling out of control, CIDA has emerged as the abiding hope for underprivileged students who have a desire to pursue a university level education. The university is driven to develop the infinite potential of every student regardless of his or her background. CIDA aims to develop business minded graduates who can think creatively, engage in open dialogue and care about transforming Africa.  The university admits students from historically disadvantaged communities to study for a business degree, and registered students qualify for a full scholarship that includes tuition, books, food, accommodation and transport. This is thanks to the support the university continues to receive from major donors who also enable the institution to offer the course at a fraction of the cost of other tertiary education institutions in South Africa as CIDA receives no direct government funding from the Department of Education.  CIDA not only offers marginalised school leavers a unique opportunity to achieve their dreams while also helping to break the bonds of inter-generational poverty, but also aims to transform these students into leaders within their communities who will then advance the socio-economic transformation of the country. This is through the Extranet programme – a compulsory module in the curriculum where students have to be part of community initiatives that seek to educate, inform and encourage scholars to pursue their tertiary studies, and to also teach the community at large new skills and more about entrepreneurial initiatives. Founded in 2000, CIDA has to date, qualified over 1000 graduates in its primary offering of a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree. The BBA’s programme content and design is structured to redress the problems caused by a background of poor standards of education and to ensure that learners achieve competitive and appropriate levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes required to meet international standards. This offering provides integrated business skills and knowledge in all major functions and areas of human resources management, finance, investments and entrepreneurship. In addition to the BBA degree, CIDA has two schools of excellence specialising in investments and information communication technology (ICT). Through a number of partnerships with some of our donors, CIDA has enabled its graduates to become competitive in the market place, with most of them joining the banking and investment industries, and other key sectors of the South African economy. CIDA’s donors and partners help uplift the lives of many disempowered South African youth and thus improve the county’s economic participation globally, and also equip those who were previously disadvantaged with relevant and marketable skills.  CIDA’s BBA degree is fully accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) of South Africa and is recorded on Level 6 of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). CIDA City Campus is a registered Nonprofit Organization no: 075-717-NPO. CIDA City Campus is accredited by the Council on Higher Education (CHE) until 31 December 2014 as a private higher education institution under the Higher Education Act 1997. Registration Certificate No 2002/HE08/011 Browse the website and find out more for yourself!