“VUT Enactus students excelled at the IRIEP Global Regenerative Hackathon 2025, with four team members in winning teams and Nkosinathi Sibanda helping to lead one of the most regenerative business ideas.”
02 December 2025 | Story by: Qhawekazi Memani | Picture by: Supplied
4 minutes read time.
The Enactus Vaal University of Technology (VUT) team recently joined a global circle of young changemakers at the IRIEP Global Regenerative Hackathon 2025, an online gathering held from 17 to 21 November and hosted by the University of Exeter’s Business School Centre for Entrepreneurship. Staff involved in the programme described the hackathon as a transformative space that urged students to think beyond sustainability and embrace regenerative innovation, designing ventures that restore, renew and breathe life back into social and ecological systems.
Professor Johan van der Westhuizen, Associate Professor in the Department of Logistics, identified the Enactus VUT team for this opportunity due to their longstanding success in entrepreneurship projects and student-run businesses. “Our Enactus students have shown that they can turn ideas into viable businesses,” he reflected. “This hackathon gave them a chance to test those skills on a global stage.” Eleven students were initially selected to represent VUT, with six ultimately joining international teams that included peers from the United Kingdom, India, Ghana and Brazil. Working entirely online and often outside normal hours, they navigated time zones, shared research, exchanged ideas and co-created prototypes.
The programme blended keynote talks, mentoring sessions and intensive design sprints. Guided by Prof van der Westhuizen and mentor Mrs Onica Matsheke, a lecturer in Human Resources Management, students refined problem statements shaped around people, planet and prosperity. Using a “create, improve, reduce, connect” framework, they sculpted their venture ideas and built regenerative business models. “You could literally see their confidence grow from session to session,” Mrs Matsheke noted. Observers remarked on how the VUT participants shifted from abstract concepts to polished proposals with impact pathways and implementation plans, culminating in 10-minute pitches before an international panel of judges.
Mrs Matsheke confirmed that three of the winning teams included Enactus VUT students, marking a proud moment for the university on the global stage. Five VUT representatives were part of these victorious teams: brothers Mr Nkosinathi Sibanda and Mr Praise Sibanda, together with Mr Tlhagiso Segwagwa, Ms Neo Maluleka and Mr Liyakhanya Tyilo. “Our students didn’t just participate; they led,” she emphasised. In the team she mentored, Nkosinathi was said to have played a pivotal role in shaping what judges recognised as one of the most regenerative business ideas of the competition.
Reflecting on his journey, Nkosinathi described the hackathon as “a really great experience” that pushed him to think differently about sustainability and about creating solutions that genuinely make an impact. “It changed how I look at business, and now I’m thinking more about how every idea can give back to people and the planet, not just make a profit,” he said. His reflections captured the deeper significance of the event: a moment of personal and intellectual growth that reframed entrepreneurship as a tool for healing and restoring communities and ecosystems.
Staff involved noted that, beyond certificates and public recognition, the true value of the hackathon lay in the skills gained, the confidence strengthened, and the international networks established. The experience gave the students a renewed sense of purpose, equipping them to think boldly and act with intention in a world that increasingly demands regenerative leadership.
In her closing message, Mrs Matsheke encouraged students who were serious about entrepreneurship and innovation to consider joining the Enactus VUT team. “If you want to test your ideas, grow as a leader and think regeneratively, Enactus VUT Team is the place to be,” she said. For her, the achievements of Nkosinathi and Praise Sibanda, Tlhagiso Segwagwa and Liyakhanya Tyilo at the IRIEP Global Regenerative Hackathon 2025 demonstrated how the Enactus VUT programme nurtured innovators who could shape ventures that give more than they take, while positioning VUT as a contributor to the growing global regenerative movement.