The Durban University of Technology (DUT) has made history by becoming the first university in Africa to host the prestigious Alliance of Guangzhou International Sister-City Universities (GISU) Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition. The Technology, Transfer and Innovation unit, in collaboration with the innobiz DUT Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, officially launched the 2025 GISU Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition at the DUT Hotel School, Ritson campus on Wednesday, 30 April 2025.
This year’s competition is themed: “Further Promoting Sustainable Urban Development.” DUT participants will be among students from 28 universities in 23 different countries. The finale will be held at DUT from 30 to 31 October 2025, where student entrepreneurs and innovators from across the world will be competing for the big prizes to help take their businesses to new heights.
Dr Pinkie Ntola, Interim Director of Technology, Transfer and Innovation at DUT.
In her welcome address, Dr Pinkie Ntola, Interim Director of Technology, Transfer and Innovation at DUT said it was a proud moment for DUT to be the first African university to host the GISU Urban Entrepreneurship and Innovation Competition. She extended her appreciation to the Alliance of GISU for affording the university the opportunity to carry the touch of urban innovation in 2025. DUT is a proud member of the this Alliance.
“This year, DUT will become the first African university to host this competition. It is the first time that this global challenge is brought to the African continent, more specifically to South Africa, here in our very own institution. We don’t take this lightly, it is a proud moment for us,” said Dr Ntola, who also thanked the GISU secretariat for the guidance and support during the inaugural hosting phase.
“The theme is not only timely but necessary, as our cities including Durban are at the forefront of climate change, inequality, migration, unemployment and technology disruptions and yet, our cities are also hubs of hope, centres of innovation and engines of economic development,” explained Dr Ntola.
She further stated that innovation and entrepreneurship were amongst the most powerful tools that could be used to drive sustainable, inclusive and resilient urban futures. Dr Ntola indicated that this competition will offer a platform to harness the brilliance of student innovators and entrepreneurs who dare to solve some of the world’s most pressing urban challenges.
Attending the launch online, from China, Steven Farr, Director of International Programmes for the Alliance of GISU, said that they were excited that DUT was playing host to this year’s competition. He said they were looking forward to travelling to DUT later this year for the finale. He wished all the participants the greatest of success, sharing his excitement of hearing about their innovations and exciting businesses, which are making an impact in society and the world.
Farr gushed about the incredibly informative launch and was certain that DUT students will be keen to participate in the competition and that they will be well prepared.
Representing Professor Fulufhelo Nemavhola, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation and Engagement at DUT, was Professor Rendani Maladzhi, Associate Professor and Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering at DUT, who reiterated that programmes such as the GISU Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition were significant, as they were aligned with DUT’s ENVISION2030 strategy.
“We are looking to produce graduates who are entrepreneurial. Our next Elon Musk, our next innovators will come from DUT. This is a wonderful opportunity we are bringing the world to Durban, to DUT, for you to be able to shine. This competition is here at home, our home ground, so we need to take advantage of that because innovators are seen by what they produce. We will judge you by what you produce, not what you say. We look forward to using your products, and the ground is fertile for you to show what you are made of,” shared Prof Maladzhi.
Ms Nontokozo Ngcobo, innobiz DUT Centre Manager shared a detailed eligibility criteria breakdown for entrance and participation in the competition including that student entrepreneurs needed to ensure that they were fully registered students with the university or an alumni within the last five years.
Further delving into the requirements for entry into the competition, Ms Ngcobo explained that the start-up needed to ensure that it has a team, which can be created from a variety of students from within the university.
“This competition puts emphasis on having a team. You must implement a structured team, detailing who is responsible for the different aspects of the business including marketing, finance and legal. As a small business, those are the processes and systems that we emphasise that you implement, so that the business grows sustainably,” Ms Ngcobo said.
Further competition eligibility criteria and regulations will be posted on the DUT and innobiz websites to assist student entrepreneurs to familiarise themselves with the requirements to form part of this competition.
The launch also saw two student entrepreneurs, Mr Luyanda Majozi, the founder of hip streetwear fashion brand called Enigmatic Cotton and Ms Nompumelelo Ngcobo, founder of Oluhlaza Energy, who have participated in the competition in October 2024, both share their journey in the competition.
“We had sleepless nights trying to prepare for our pitch and our presentation, we also had to work on streamlining our competition. With the assistance of innobiz DUT, through mentorship programmes and training on how to prepare our pitch deck, we were prepared to excel in the competition. This helped us to make it to the finals,” Ms Nompumelelo Ngcobo shared.
Mr Majozi, who won second place and a whopping R65 000 prize money in the Start-up Category in the GISU Urban and Entrepreneurship Competition in 2024, explained that his journey with GISU was long and tough but based on how he was “cooked” by the innobiz DUT team, he navigated the competition with confidence.
“I came across the competition through innobiz, as I am an incubatee at innobiz and at the time, I was ready for any competition as I had come back from the EDHE Intervarsity National Finals in 2023, where I was a finalist and came close to taking the R100 000 cheque but just couldn’t make it,” Majozi said.
He added that this setback at the EDHE Intervarsity National Finals had spurred him on to put his best effort into making his foray into the GISU Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition a resounding success.
In closing, Dr Farai Dziike, a Technology, Transfer and Commercialisation Specialist at DUT, thanked Mr Steven Farr for facilitating the engagements and DUT leadership for ensuring that DUT students are creative, innovative, entrepreneurial and adaptive to the changes in the world. He applauded DUT for ensuring that its students work towards becoming job creators instead of job seekers.
Pictured: DUT student and staff excited about hosting the 2025 GISU Urban Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition
Simangele Zuma/Samkelo Mtshali
