Turning Ideas into Impact – Anita Nel on Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and SU’s Science Oscars Win
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In this episode of Lift Club, Caleb Daries and Mophethi Mabeba sit down with Anita Nel, Chief Director: Innovation and Commercialisation at Stellenbosch University, to unpack the story behind SU’s recent win at the 2025 NSTF/South32 Awards — often called the Oscars of South African Science.
Anita leads the Innovation and Commercialisation Unit, which brings together the Innovus Technology Transfer Office (TTO), LaunchLab, and University of Stellenbosch Enterprises (USE). Her team took home the Innovation Award: Corporate Organisation for launching over 30 startups, co-founding Africa’s first university-focused venture capital fund, and developing new tools to connect research with real-world market needs.
In the conversation, Anita shares what the NSTF/South32 win means for her team and South Africa’s innovation landscape, the journey of growing one of Africa’s leading university tech transfer ecosystems, and success stories from the SU innovation pipeline. She also offers insights on how students and researchers can turn their ideas into sustainable impact, and why entrepreneurship and science must work hand-in-hand for societal benefit.
Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a researcher with a breakthrough, or simply curious about how universities turn ideas into impact, this episode offers an inside look at innovation in action.
Anita leads the Innovation and Commercialisation Unit, which brings together the Innovus Technology Transfer Office (TTO), LaunchLab, and University of Stellenbosch Enterprises (USE). Her team took home the Innovation Award: Corporate Organisation for launching over 30 startups, co-founding Africa’s first university-focused venture capital fund, and developing new tools to connect research with real-world market needs.
In the conversation, Anita shares what the NSTF/South32 win means for her team and South Africa’s innovation landscape, the journey of growing one of Africa’s leading university tech transfer ecosystems, and success stories from the SU innovation pipeline. She also offers insights on how students and researchers can turn their ideas into sustainable impact, and why entrepreneurship and science must work hand-in-hand for societal benefit.
Whether you are an aspiring entrepreneur, a researcher with a breakthrough, or simply curious about how universities turn ideas into impact, this episode offers an inside look at innovation in action.
