Why Judging the EDHE & Absa Entrepreneurship Challenge Left Me Hopeful for South Africa
The EDHE (Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education) programme exists to unlock entrepreneurship at South Africa’s public universities by supporting student founders, building an innovation culture, and creating platforms where young people can turn ideas into commercial ventures. Through the EDHE Absa Innovation Challenge and the EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity, the programme goes beyond theory by awarding real funding, in this case, over R1 million, to promising student businesses ready to grow.
This year, I had the honour of serving as a judge after being invited by my colleague and good friend, Edwil Gumbo, Director of Entrepreneurship at Universities South Africa (USAf). Edwil and I first met during our ongoing work with AfriLabs, and our shared passion has always been clear: building an innovative Africa, one entrepreneur at a time. Saying yes to judging this challenge felt like a natural continuation of that mission, and it became one of the most inspiring professional experiences I have had in recent years.
The range and depth of business ideas presented by university entrepreneurs was powerful to witness. Many of the most compelling solutions were rooted in healthcare and industrial impact, practical, scalable, and deeply needed. One standout was Ms. Mpho Kotlolo, a PhD Candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences, whose development of age-appropriate ARVs for children living with HIV/AIDS earned her the 2025 EDHE Absa Innovation Challenge top title, along with recognition as both Top Student Innovator and Top Student Woman Innovator. Instead of reinventing medical science, she redesigned treatment for real children and real-world adherence challenges. Her solution proved that innovation is often most powerful when it is humane, accessible, and intentional.
Another standout innovation came from Nondumiso Nkosi of Enactus SMU, founder of HepaSure, who won second place at the 2025 EDHE Absa Innovation Challenge, securing R250 000 in funding to propel her business forward. HepaSure is an accessible and affordable diagnostic solution designed to improve early detection of hepatitis B, particularly in communities underserved by traditional screening methods. By offering a faster, more accurate, and more inclusive testing platform, Nondumiso’s innovation enables healthcare workers to diagnose infections earlier, reducing missed cases and strengthening community health outcomes. Her work is proof that innovation, at its best, saves lives long before it reaches scale — simply by meeting people where the gaps exist.
Ms. Kholofelo Makhubupetsi, a second-year Master’s student in Agriculture and co-founder of CSK Environmental Consulting, an IoT-driven device for environmental and water monitoring, won first place in the Existing Business Tech category, demonstrating technical maturity and commercial readiness in a field critical to climate-resilient development.
Then there was Zanodumo Godlimpi of Walter Sisulu University, an entrepreneur and staff member in WSU’s Faculty of Health Sciences within the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, whose prosthetic foot design received thunderous applause for its potential to transform the lives of lower-limb amputees. His innovation earned high honours because it was built with practicality, biomechanics, and patient mobility at the centre.
Equally notable was Amohetsoe Shale of NAVU Mobility, who is redefining accessible prosthetics through her modular prosthetic knee: a high-functioning system built to be more affordable and more adaptable to the needs of everyday users. Her clarity of purpose and commitment to mobility equity stood out as a model of what meaningful innovation can achieve.
One idea, however, reminded me that innovation does not always need a lab, a patent, or a research department. Tumelo Ratala, founder of Drink & Print, identified a simple yet profound need in his community — access to clean water — and built a business around it. He lives in Bochum, Limpopo, a town situated in a region with high temperatures, historically associated with surrounding salt pans and water scarcity. In a place where filtered water, ice, and basic printing services are not guaranteed conveniences, Tumelo stepped in with one solution that does all three. He filters water, sells water, produces ice, and offers printing services under the same roof because people need it. No complex machinery. No futuristic technology. Just insight, execution, and consistency.
He is literally selling ice in the desert.
What I witnessed during this challenge confirmed what many of us already believe: South Africa is not short of innovation or ambition. What we need now is acceleration, mentorship, capital, market access and infrastructure so these ideas do not die at prototype stage.
At GRIT Hub, we are committed to walking alongside founders like these, not just applauding them, but helping them scale, export, recruit, professionalise, and occupy space in global value chains.
If this competition was a glimpse of what is coming, then we are on the right path. The innovators are here. The ideas are alive. The future is forming, and Africa is rising.