UCT student entrepreneur tops regional competition category

It was a nail-biting regional round of the annual Entrepreneurship Intervarsity competition. And University of Cape Town (UCT) student entrepreneur Jordan Smith pulled out all the stops – topping his category and heading straight to the national final later this year.

An initiative of Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE), the annual competition aims to identify the top student entrepreneurs at South Africa’s 26 public universities. The event provides students with an opportunity to showcase their businesses and to attract investors to their enterprise. The two-day regional round of the competition was hosted by Stellenbosch University on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September.

“This year’s competition was marked by fierce rivalry, but it was the camaraderie among participants that truly shone through. Students from various institutions bonded over their shared passion for entrepreneurship, creating an atmosphere of support and encouragement. As they navigated the challenging questions posed by the judges, it became evident that the event was not just about competition, but also about learning and growth,” said Nadia Waggie, UCT’s Intervarsity Competition coordinator and the head of sustainability and impact at Careers Service.

A genius idea

Speaking to UCT News after the competition, Waggie said she’s thrilled that Smith has made it to the national round.

Smith is completing his postgraduate diploma in management in entrepreneurship. His start-up, Cartell, which formed part of the competition’s research category, aims to solve a real-life headache that staff, students and visitors to UCT must all contend with: parking.

As a student, Smith understands how much time people spend circling campus for a parking spot, and the stress and inconvenience it often causes. So he put on his thinking cap, and developed an innovative platform that offers real-time monitoring of parking availability across campus. Genius!

“Winning the regional round is a huge honour for our team.”

As part of the competition’s rules, he pitched his idea to a panel of judges in just three minutes. Thereafter the judges facilitated a question-and-answer session to gain a more in-depth understanding of his concept.

“Winning the regional round is a huge honour for our team. We’ve worked incredibly hard, and we’re looking forward to representing UCT at the national competition. The support from our peers, Careers Service and our mentors, and the feedback from the judges, have been instrumental in our journey,” Smith said.

Outstanding student businesses

Waggie also congratulated UCT’s seven other student entrepreneurs who went head-to-head with the region’s best in four categories, including existing business (general), social impact and tech. She said that even though they’ve not made it to the national round of the competition, their grit and innovative business ideas highlight the talent to be found among UCT students.

“In entrepreneurship, there are no losers – ever! Don’t lose your can-do spirit and your enthusiasm. Continue to believe in your business idea and the power of entrepreneurship, and it will take you places – it already has. This is only the start of your entrepreneurship journey; you still have so much to look forward to,” she said.

Other students who entered the regional round were:

• Kamogelo Mokale (existing business general): MKLuxe Hair Growth Oil develops and produces premium quality hair growth oil, formulated to nourish, strengthen and stimulate hair follicles for healthier hair.
• Keith Ntini (existing business general): Figura de Culto designs clothing garments that serve more than just a functional purpose. They are symbolic expressions of their clients’ individuality.
• Saxola Gxulwana and Emmanuel Afodofe (social impact): Aspiring Learning Tutors (ALT) uses new teaching methods and leverages the power of technology to tutor high-school learners.
• Lehlogonolo Mohale (social impact): The NextDoor Chef platform enables anyone with an appreciation for cooking and meal prepping to do so. It also provides diverse and delicious meals that would otherwise be unavailable or hard to access in certain communities.
• Mpilonhle Ngcoya (tech): Makethe ensures that their clients find the perfect service or product, ranging from food to entertainment and a few other things in between. The team is also in the process of developing an online platform and mobile application to enhance users’ accessibility.
• Bonga Njamela (tech): Barterly operates two mobile applications that give clients access to various services run by qualified technicians, such as handymen.
• Pearly Joubert (research): uMama provides delivery services for pregnant women in rural areas, transports them to hospital to give birth, and delivers healthy, nutritious food to their homes.