UCT students excel in entrepreneurship competitions

Dear colleagues and students

At the University of Cape Town (UCT), we believe that education must do more than prepare students to enter the world of work. Universities should produce graduates who will not only be jobseekers but who will create jobs while making a positive impact on society.

Therefore, education must equip students to shape the world of work. Students and graduates must be able to identify opportunities, solve problems, create value and contribute meaningfully to society.

As Africa’s top-ranked university, UCT strongly believes in student entrepreneurial excellence. As a result, UCT students continue to excel with their entrepreneurial ideas.

Sixteen students recently competed in globally and nationally recognised entrepreneurial competitions – something of which we are proud of.

Eight UCT students were finalists at the Falling Walls Lab Cape Town, hosted by the UCT Hasso Plattner d-school Afrika on 6 August 2026. Falling Walls Cape Town partnered with the d-school for its second year, with UCT hosting the competition in successive years. 

Falling Walls Lab is a global entrepreneurial competition for breakthroughs, where young innovators from all disciplines pitch their research, business models or social initiatives in just three minutes.

Finalists received expert training in July 2026 after applying for the competition between May and June 2026.

UCT student Mamello Maliehe finished third for her idea, Amanzi X, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect water leaks and predict pipeline failures before they occur. Her presentation was titled “Breaking the Wall of Losses in Water Pipelines”.

Other UCT finalists were:

Finalist	Presentation title	Idea
Sayuran Pillay	Breaking the Wall of Diagnostic Delay	DIAN coordinates imaging resources across public and private sectors to reduce diagnostic delays without building new infrastructure
Kondwani Mzumara	Breaking the Wall of Mango Waste and Cracking Leather	Transforming fibrous mango waste into durable, water-resistant vegan leather using locally available processing technology
Unathi Dladla	Sustainable Tomato Protection Using Kelp and Chitosan	Using seaweed-derived biostimulants and chitosan to activate natural plant immunity and reduce reliance on synthetic pesticides
Ziba Shabir Hussein Somjee Rajan	Breaking the Wall on Sustainable Green Hydrogen Production	Re-engineering iridium catalysts into highly dispersed nanoparticles to dramatically reduce costs while improving green hydrogen
Tumelo Moyo	Salty Soils, Sweet Fields: Improving Crop Resilience Under Stress	Using molecular biology to understand and improve plant salt tolerance for climate-resilient agriculture
Sincengile Nokubonga Ntshingila	Breaking the Wall on Unequal Access to Laboratory Training	LabZero, a 3D immersive platform enabling biomedical students to practise laboratory procedures safely before entering a real lab
Kashiv Bhagwandin	Breaking the Wall of Energy Insecurity with Plastic Waste	Converting plastic waste into electricity and carbon nanotubes, creating decentralised clean energy while reducing pollution

Similarly, we are also proud to celebrate UCT’s student entrepreneurs who participated in the EDHE/Absa Innovarsity Regional Round, which was held on 19 and 20 August 2026 at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) Cape Town campus.

Of the four categories that our students entered, UCT students won in two. This is a great achievement, as it further highlights our university’s student entrepreneurial excellence.

Our two winners at the EDHE/Absa Innovarsity Regional Round were Sonwabile Gcolotela, with his business venture Guideian EDU (Pty) Ltd, in the Existing Business: Social Impact category; and Kamogelo Mokale for Vhutomi Trading Enterprise in the Existing Business: General category.

Other UCT finalists were:

Finalist	Business / Venture	Category
Joseph van Heerden	KINE Hydration	Existing Business: General
Erin Mika Harding	Sluk	Existing Business: Social Impact
Bheka Mabika	Qless Group	Existing Business: Tech
Phemelo Maile	AgriSentry	Existing Business: Tech
Mathabatha Malete	Semestr	Innovative Industries
Kwanele Ntshangase	Fundisa	Innovative Industries

The eight EDHE/Absa Innovarsity Regional Round finalists represented the breadth of student innovation across general enterprise, social impact, technology and innovative industries. Their participation was a powerful reminder that entrepreneurship can begin from any discipline, any idea and any commitment to solving real-world challenges.

All the 16 finalists in both the Falling Walls Lab Cape Town and EDHE/Absa Innovarsity Regional Round entrepreneurial competitions are the latest confirmation that UCT continues to train students to be ready for the future.

Join me in congratulating all the finalists and winners who represented the UCT community well while also signalling that they are ready to make a meaningful contribution to society. We are extremely proud of their achievements.

Sincerely

Professor Mosa Moshabela
Vice-Chancellor