Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Management hosts InnoVarsity competition

CPUT recently hosted the Western Cape Regional Round of the EDHE Absa Entrepreneurship InnoVarsity 2026 competition, organised by USAf through EDHE, showcasing exceptional student-led businesses from South African universities at the UWC Innovation Hub.

The EDHE Absa Entrepreneurship InnoVarsity 2026 is the flagship national platform across South Africa’s 26 public universities aimed at identifying, recognising, and showcasing outstanding studentpreneurs. Zinzi Magoda, lecturer in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Management, said Universities South Africa (USAf) spearheads the event through the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Programme. “It is funded by the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) via the University Capacity Development Program (UCDP), with sponsorship from Absa Group and long-standing support from the SAB Foundation.”

In her opening speech, Dr Xena Cupido, Director of the Fundani Centre for Higher Education Development, said the 2026 InnoVarsity is a particularly significant and exciting opportunity, as the programme creates a national platform intended not simply to celebrate good ideas, but to help students translate ideas and research into viable and scalable enterprises. This year’s theme, ‘Entrepreneurship in Action: From Vision to Implementation. From Policy to Impact,’ is therefore especially appropriate.”

Cupido told the participating students that it’s easy to think of an event such as this primarily as a competition, where someone must win. “But its value is much greater than the outcome of today’s judging.

“Every student who stands here and presents an idea is developing the confidence to say: I see a problem, and I believe I can do something about it; that is inspiring. That creates an important capability for our graduates. South Africa needs graduates who are not only looking for opportunities, but who are capable of creating opportunities for themselves, for others and for their communities.”

The two-day event included regional activities, including an insightful Canva Business Storytelling session led by Canvassador and Deputy Head for Generation Schools Leazle Harker-Myataza, intensive student pitch presentations across five competition categories, and a decisive adjudication session to crown the Western Cape winners.

The core goals of this project are to:

• Identify top talent: Pinpoint the brightest student entrepreneurs across participating institutions.
• Promote promising ventures: Discover and elevate high-potential, student-led businesses.
• Strengthen institutional support: Encourage universities to build robust ecosystems for enterprise development.

Reflecting on the event, Magoda said this year’s round stood out for several notable moments, including groundbreaking solutions across five distinct categories: Existing Business, Social Impact, Existing Business General, Innovative Industries, Existing Business – Tech, and Academic Research Commercialisation, as well as inspiring presentations.

“The highlights included impact-driven ventures like Magaye Cleaning Services and Pest Control, tech breakthroughs like Lupak Healthcare and DriveCred, creative enterprises like Fishtank Clothing, and cutting-edge research outputs like FM Safety and GreenLoop. Capacity Building: Workshop elements like the Canva business storytelling session gave our students practical skills to refine their brand narratives.”

Nicole Arendse from the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Management added that the event was a “resounding success”. “Despite major last-minute logistical hurdles and disruptions that forced them to move off campus, the team showed incredible resilience. The collaboration among CPUT, USAf, EDHE, UWC, and our external partners kept everything running seamlessly, and the student pitches were inspiring, high-energy, and deeply professional.”

The EDHE Absa Entrepreneurship InnoVarsity 2026 Western Cape Winners included:

• Innovative Industries Winner: Sivise Magqazolo, Director of Fishtank clothing - Eco Blend, CPUT.
• Existing Business – Tech winner: Tumelo Mokoena, Director of SafeGuard Technologies, Stellenbosch University.
• Existing Business – Social Impact winner: Sonwabise Gcolotela, Director of Guideian EDU, University of Cape Town.
• Existing Business – General winner: Kamogelo Mokale, Director of Vhutomi Trading Enterprise (Pty) Ltd, University of Cape Town.
• Academic Research Commercialisation: Dr Gugu Gama, Director of GreenLoop, Stellenbosch University.

Magoda expressed the excitement within the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business Management, highlighting their delight with the fantastic outcome of the event. “The quality of the business models, the depth of market research, and the poise demonstrated by the contestants exceeded our highest expectations. These outcomes

confirm that our ongoing efforts to embed practical entrepreneurship within higher education are bearing tangible fruit.”

Written by Aphiwe Boyce
Email: BoyceAp@cput.ac.za