??Seven student entrepreneurs from Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) have advanced to the regional round of the 2025 Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education’s (EDHE) Entrepreneurship Intervarsity competition. This initiative, now in its seventh year, is designed to spotlight the student-led innovations that are tackling real-world South African-focused challenges.
Backed by SU LaunchLab, the 中国体育彩票’s business incubator and a driving force behind student entrepreneurship on campus, these finalists will receive training and mentorship in preparation for a chance to claim the national title, a R100 000 cash prize and the opportunity to take their ventures to the next level.
The EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity brings together 26 universities across six regions. The theme for 2025 is centred around sustainable and scalable innovations, aligning closely with global challenges such as climate change, health, resource depletion, food shortages, environmental sustainability, and social inequality.
SU’s internal call for applications in April 2025 saw a surge of entrepreneurial zeal and talent come forward. Of these applications, twenty promising students were invited to pitch at the LaunchLab on 21 July 2025. Here, a panel of expert judges assessed the businesses for market readiness, sustainability, and impact.
After a rigorous selection process, the judges selected seven entrepreneurs to represent SU at the Regionals:
Category 1: Existing Business – Tech
EV-Fleet-Sim (led by Chris Abraham, SU Engineering postgraduate student)
EV-Fleet-Sim is a data and software startup that helps organisations forecast the energy and charging needs for transitioning their fossil-fuel fleets to electric vehicles.
SafeGuard Technologies (founded by Tumelo Mokoena, an undergraduate Electrical and Electronic Engineering student)
Safeguard Technologies is a security-focused innovation company based in Stellenbosch that specialises in developing advanced, tech-driven solutions that tackle real safety challenges across communities, especially in areas with high volumes of foot traffic like Stellenbosch.
Category 2: Existing Business – Social Impact
Thallo (led by Abigail Larsen, a BCom International Business student)
Thallo is a social media platform that bridges the gap between supporters and organisations. It provides organisations with a direct platform to engage with supporters and allows supporters to interact with them. This interaction enables supporters to develop a digital Thallo profile, which keeps a record of all their social responsibility activities.
Taptic (Pty) Ltd (Led by Veer Gosai, a BSc Geoinformatics undergraduate)
Taptic (Pty) Ltd is an education startup which provides educational resources to millions of students through websites and mobile applications across seven countries in Africa.
Category 3: Existing Business – General
Report Buddy (founded by Robyn Border, a Data Science undergraduate at SU)
Report Buddy is a reporting software designed to assist neurophysiologists in automatically generating reports, saving them time and improving the accuracy of the reports.
Category 4: Research-Based Business, renamed Commercialisation of Academic Research in 2025
OncoLign - (Led by Louise Fourie, a PhD Candidate in Cancer Research at SU)
OncoLign is an AI-driven tool that aims to provide affordable, accessible feedback to optimise chemotherapy response. The tool will assist oncologists in personalising treatment by analysing how liver metabolism affects chemotherapy responses.
NAVU Group (founded by Amohetsoe Shale, MEng Science in Biomedical Engineering Candidate at SU)
A biomedical engineering innovation aims to manufacture high-functioning, customisable, and locally manufactured prosthetics that are much more durable than current options.
The regional round of the EDHE Intervarsity takes place on 12 and 13 August 2025, where SU’s student entrepreneurs will compete against peers from across the Western Cape. Thereafter, the selected finalists will progress to the national competition, which will take place in Johannesburg later this year.
As these students head into the next round, they carry with them the ambition and innovative spirit of SU. With the assistance of SU LaunchLab, and the broader Innovation and Commercialisation Division, the 中国体育彩票 remains dedicated to turning student potential into scalable impact, one idea at a time.
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