{"id":63412,"date":"2025-03-27T12:19:49","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T10:19:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/?p=63412"},"modified":"2025-03-27T12:45:31","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T10:45:31","slug":"su-innovators-bag-coveted-entrepreneurial-awards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/su-innovators-bag-coveted-entrepreneurial-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"SU innovators bag coveted entrepreneurial awards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group has-global-padding is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"648\" data-attachment-id=\"63416\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/su-innovators-bag-coveted-entrepreneurial-awards\/tcchamber_30141\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,759\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"tcchamber_30141\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its inaugural Academic Innovation Awards earlier this month to celebrate the innovators who are driving economic growth in the Western Cape. The event, hosted by MTN South Africa, in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), recognised 10 standout academic innovators for their significant progress in 2024. Serving as a testament to its thriving innovation ecosystem, Stellenbosch University (SU) entrepreneurs walked away with five awards, with all five winners being incubatees of the SU LaunchLab, where they continue to receive entrepreneurial support to scale their respective ventures. Prof Eugene Cloete, CEO of CHEC, presented the awards to the SU students including Chiedza Vusche, Robin Truter and Alexandra Lutz, who received the University Student Innovation Award. The trio were also winners at the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education Regional Competition last year. Two SU spinout companies, Nanosene and Terraclim, were named&lt;br \/&gt;\nUniversity Spin Off Company of the Year, along with two other startups from different academic&lt;br \/&gt;\ninstitutions. The event serves as a precursor to the Chamber&amp;#8217;s Industry Awards in June.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its inaugural Academic Innovation Awards earlier this month to celebrate the innovators who are driving economic growth in the Western Cape. The event, hosted by MTN South Africa, in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), recognised 10 standout academic innovators for their significant progress in 2024. Serving as a testament to its thriving innovation ecosystem, Stellenbosch University (SU) entrepreneurs walked away with five awards, with all five winners being incubatees of the SU LaunchLab, where they continue to receive entrepreneurial support to scale their respective ventures. Prof Eugene Cloete, CEO of CHEC, presented the awards to the SU students including Chiedza Vusche, Robin Truter and Alexandra Lutz, who received the University Student Innovation Award. The trio were also winners at the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education Regional Competition last year. Two SU spinout companies, Nanosene and Terraclim, were named&lt;br \/&gt;\nUniversity Spin Off Company of the Year, along with two other startups from different academic&lt;br \/&gt;\ninstitutions. The event serves as a precursor to the Chamber&amp;#8217;s Industry Awards in June.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141-1024x648.jpg\" data-id=\"63416\" src=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141-1024x648.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-63416\" srcset=\"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141-1024x648.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141-300x190.jpg 300w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141-768x486.jpg 768w, https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/tcchamber_30141.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><br><br><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>The Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its inaugural Academic Innovation Awards earlier this month to celebrate the innovators who are driving economic growth in the Western Cape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The event, hosted by MTN South Africa, in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), recognised 10 standout academic innovators for their significant progress in 2024. Serving as a testament to its thriving innovation ecosystem, Stellenbosch University (SU) entrepreneurs walked away with five awards, with all five winners being incubatees of the SU LaunchLab, where they continue to receive entrepreneurial support to scale their respective ventures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prof Eugene Cloete, CEO of CHEC, presented the awards to the SU students including Chiedza Vusche, Robin Truter and Alexandra Lutz, who received the University Student Innovation Award. The trio were also winners at the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education Regional Competition last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Two SU spinout companies, Nanosene and Terraclim, were named<br>University Spin Off Company of the Year, along with two other startups from different academic<br>institutions. The event serves as a precursor to the Chamber&#8217;s Industry Awards in June.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Stellenbosch University&#8217;s (US) innovators bag coveted entrepreneurial awards.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"60","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozatygerburger":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post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Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry held its inaugural Academic Innovation Awards earlier this month to celebrate the innovators who are driving economic growth in the Western Cape. The event, hosted by MTN South Africa, in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC), recognised 10 standout academic innovators for their significant progress in 2024. Serving as a testament to its thriving innovation ecosystem, Stellenbosch University (SU) entrepreneurs walked away with five awards, with all five winners being incubatees of the SU LaunchLab, where they continue to receive entrepreneurial support to scale their respective ventures. Prof Eugene Cloete, CEO of CHEC, presented the awards to the SU students including Chiedza Vusche, Robin Truter and Alexandra Lutz, who received the University Student Innovation Award. The trio were also winners at the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education Regional Competition last year. Two SU spinout companies, Nanosene and Terraclim, were named \r\nUniversity Spin Off Company of the Year, along with two other startups from different academic \r\ninstitutions. The event serves as a precursor to the Chamber's Industry Awards in June.","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"","byline":"","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"SU innovators bag coveted entrepreneurial awards","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":["tcchamber_P1"],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[67],"tags":[7977,7975],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-63412","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-business","tag-innovation","tag-stellenbosch-university"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":268404,"url":"https:\/\/novanews.co.za\/eikestadnuus\/healthcare-innovation-challenge-seeks-ideas-to-transform-stellenbosch-communities\/","url_meta":{"origin":63412,"position":0},"title":"Healthcare innovation challenge seeks ideas to transform Stellenbosch communities","author":"Eikestadnuus","date":"30 October 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Stellenbosch's #Ideasforchange Challenge 2025: HealthTech Edition seeks healthcare innovations for accessible, affordable community solutions. 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