This is according to Thys van der Walt, winner of the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Student Business Competition, as hosted by the bhive Enterprise Development Centre in Vanderbijlpark.
Thys, a third-year BCom entrepreneurship and business management student, won the annual competition with a business proposal pitch for vertical farming using an aquaponics approach. The latter refers to an innovative farming technique that combines aquaculture (raising fish) and hydroponics (the soil-less growing of plants) that grows fish and plants together in one integrated system. The fish waste provides an organic food source for the plants, and the plants naturally filter the water for the fish.
According to Thys it is important for future farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs to move towards modernising the way traditional farming practices are being applied.
His winning business pitch saw him walk away with R10 000 seed money for his entrepreneurial venture and a one year incubation from the bhive EDC. Other prizes include free business registration with CIPC, web design, domain registration, web hosting and print media advertising.
Runners-up
The second place went to Simangele Katsande, a BA communication student who just completed her studies. Her business idea centres on her acting as a mediator between university students and potential landlords. According to Simangele a mediator will make finding external accommodation easier for all parties involved and she envisions herself rendering a one-stop service to students and their parents/ guardians.
The third position went to Katleho Macala, a second-year BCom financial accounting student. Katleho proposed the development of an organic hydroponic food garden on the campus. Hydroponic gardening involves growing plants in a water-based, nutrient-rich solution. Since no soil is needed, the root system of the plants are supported using an inert medium such as clay pellets, moss or vermiculite.
More about the competition
The annual Student Business Competition champions entrepreneurship not only as a sustainable solution to economic growth, but also for job creation. According to Natanya Meyer, entrepreneur and lecturer in the School of Management Sciences, more and more graduates are making the paradigm shift from being job seekers to becoming job creators, and as a forward thinking university the NWU is working tirelessly to vest a culture of entrepreneurial ethos within its student community.
The competition boasted a full training programme consisting of workshops, network sessions and assessment tasks aimed at helping participants to build forth on their respective business ideas. Topics that were covered included: business idea generation, idea to concept workshops, applying a business model canvas workshop, networking etiquette and practical exposure in pitching business ideas.
Thys van der Walt, winner of the 2017 rendition of the Student Business Competition.
