Mr Price Foundation and USAf launch Waste Innovation Challenge for university students
Finalists to compete for R245,000 in prize funding and gain access to mentorship, training and national exposure in initiative to build green entrepreneurs in higher education
Five teams have been selected to take part in an intensive bootcamp, where they will further refine their innovations before presenting them at the EDHE National Finals in the final quarter of the year.
The Mr Price Foundation and Universities South Africa (USAf) launched the national Waste Innovation Challenge, an urgent call for university students and recent graduates to develop commercially viable solutions that address plastic waste.
A total of R245,000 in prize funding is up for grabs. The first-place team will receive R100,000, second place R75,000, third place R40,000, fourth place R20,000 and fifth place R10,000.
In addition to the funding, winning teams will benefit from mentorship, business development support, technical and sustainability training, as well as national exposure to partners and potential investors.
South Africa’s waste economy holds significant untapped potential. In 2023, the country recycled approximately 431,800 tonnes of plastic, yet only 27.5% of collected plastic material was processed into usable recycled materials, highlighting gaps
between collection, processing and value creation.¹
South Africa also generates more than 100 million tonnes of general waste annually, with the majority still landfilled or stockpiled.² Placing this work within higher education expands the role of universities as sites of innovation that translate learning into enterprise — and enterprise into livelihoods.
“Economic resilience grows when young people can turn real problems into viable businesses,” said Octavius Phukubye, Executive Director at the Mr Price Foundation. “This Challenge is designed to build green entrepreneurs. It connects opportunity to practical skills, credible pathways, and solutions that can scale in the real economy.”
“The Foundation’s role is to bring the ecosystem together,” Phukubye said. “We connect youth potential to capability, opportunity and enterprise. We back solutions that are rooted in local realities. We back solutions that can scale.”
Participation is open to students and recent graduates across South Africa’s 26 public universities. Up to 400 qualifying participants will receive training in waste-to-value business models, circular economy principles, product development and pitching.
From this cohort, 20 teams will be selected for an intensive bootcamp, before
finalists present their innovations at the EDHE National Finals in the final
quarter of the year.
How to enter:
Complete the Expression of Interest form on the EDHE website: www.edhe.co.za