Sincengile Ntshingila, Hlalanathi Mbimbi make Futurize Incubator cohort

University of Cape Town (UCT) postdoctoral research fellow Dr Sincengile Ntshingila and MSc student Hlalanathi Mbimbi are among almost 100 innovators from across the country who are included in the 2026 Futurize Incubator programme. Dr Ntshingila is the founder of Nothile Biolab and Mbimbi is a project manager in the business.

The programme brings together some of the continent’s most influential, up-and-coming entrepreneurs whose ventures seek to find solutions to some of Africa’s most pressing challenges. Their start-ups span a range of disciplines, including digital health access, biotechnology and maternal health. Ntshingila’s postdoctoral research focuses on translational dermatology, medical biochemistry and biotech entrepreneurship; Mbimbi is completing his MSc in medicine.

Thanks to LabZero – a subsidiary of Nothile Biolab, which provides sustainable, risk-free virtual wet-lab and cell-culture training – the start-up made the cut for the incubator programme. What this means is that Ntshingila and Mbimbi will join other early-stage African innovators on a 16-week programme and work alongside clinicians, investors as well as industry experts to validate, build and scale their businesses.

The programme culminates with a demo day – a full-day line-up that includes a panel discussion on “HealthTech innovation for Africa in universities: Scaling solutions and overcoming challenges”, as well as pitches by the Futurize Incubator cohort. During the pitching process, entrepreneurs will present and showcase their start-ups and prototypes to a live audience, including potential investors, venture capitalists and industry experts.