On 02 October 2025, Stellenbosch University (SU) LaunchLab hosted its Countdown Demo Day in Stellenbosch with entrepreneurs and researchers pitching their technology-driven ventures to determine whether their innovative ideas have the potential of scaling up.
The event, full of energy and ambition, brought together potential customers and investors, as well as corporate partners, who were all eager to witness the next wave of breakthrough solutions.
Demo Day is the culmination of the Countdown Incubation Programme, a ten-week programme that equips emerging ideas with the tools to test, refine, and scale business ideas. It is designed to guide ventures with important early stages of development, such as practical insights, mentorship and exposure to the ecosystem.
In recognition of the value that Demo Day portrays, Brandon Paschal, Deputy Director: Spin-out Companies and Funds at SU LaunchLab said, “It is one of the most exciting days in our year. It is great seeing the new potential of companies that will be joining our portfolio soon. The growth of the teams to shift from communicating for the lab to communicating their commercial value, gives us confidence that these six new ventures will be successful in earning revenue and attracting funding.”
To attest the value that the SU LaunchLab brings to the entrepreneurship ecosystem, to date, the Incubation Programme has had successes of supporting more than 400 ventures, generated more than one billion rands in revenue and raised investments of R971 million.
Innovators in the spotlight for this round included:
- Drone Guys are developing a spray washing drone that is efficient in cleaning solar panels. They have proprietary drone technology to service environments that are deemed to be dangerous to people;
- NAVU Group is a prosthetics innovation startup building affordable, life-changing technologies for communities that need them most, especially rural markets in emerging economies;
- Oncolign is developing a system that provides affordable and accessible feedback to optimise chemotherapy response using the patient’s biopsy report;
- Q-Life through QCard is optimising quantum data management and protection, beginning with healthcare data;
- TB Biomarker, the first mobile rapid test to accelerate and streamline diagnosis of Tuberculosis; and
- The Waste Resource Optimisation and Scenario Evaluation (WROSE) which is developing a model that assists South African municipalities and the private sector in the development of Integrated Waste Management Planning with the aim of achieving zero waste targets and applying appropriate waste strategies.
Beyond the stage, the event fostered a networking environment, underscoring SU’s growing reputation where academia, entrepreneurship and industry converge. Each of these new ventures have their own path to commercialisation that they will pursue over the coming months.