EDHE and Mr Price Foundation presents

Waste Innovation Challenge 2026

Calling all university students and alumni, aged 18 – 35 interested in innovation around waste management. Find out more about the Waste Innovation Challenge, the application process, criteria and what to expect throughout the programme.

Introducing the Waste Innovation Challenge 2026!

Are you ready to turn plastic waste into purpose? Mr Price Foundation x EDHE Waste Innovation Challenge is now open for Expressions of Interest to university students, alumni and researchers between the age of 18 – 34 years, with South African identity number! We’re calling on South Africa’s most creative student innovators and recent graduates to design bold, sustainable business ideas that tackle our plastic waste crisis. With R245 000.00 in prize money, national exposure, and expert training and mentorship on offer, this is your chance to build a green business with real impact. Submit your Expression of Interest from 1 December 2025 and lead the change toward a cleaner, more circular economy. Join us on the 27th of January for an official information session to learn more about the programme and competition criteria. The top 20 innovations will be invited to attend an exclusive bootcamp and get an opportunity to pitch their innovations in a final showcase in front of a panel of judges and experts.

Spread the word — even during holidays!

As universities prepare to close for the summer, don’t miss this opportunity to inspire your students to act now. With EOIs open from 1 December, this challenge is an ideal end-of-year call to action for budding innovators and entrepreneurs.

About the Challenge

The Waste Innovation Challenge is a national competition that challenges South African university students, alumni and researchers to reimagine plastic waste as an engine for green entrepreneurship. Co-hosted by Universities South Africa (USAf)’s Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) programme and the Mr Price Foundation, this initiative is not just a competition, it’s a movement to transform our relationship with waste, unlock youth innovation, and accelerate eco-friendly, viable business ideas that can thrive in the real world.

Contact Details

While the EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity celebrates student entrepreneurship broadly, the Waste Innovation Challenge is laser-focused on environmental impact, particularly in plastic waste management, green technologies, and circular economy ventures.

What sets this challenge apart is its targeted theme of solving real environmental problems with commercial potential, a hands-on innovation pipeline from ideation to prototyping and demo pitching, support from a leading youth development foundation, and a strong emphasis on sustainability and tech-driven solutions.

South Africa produces over 122 million tons of waste annually, with plastic waste accounting for nearly 18%, yet only 10% is recycled. Waste is not just an environmental crisis, it’s an untapped business opportunity. By engaging youth to transform plastic waste into viable products, services, or technologies, this challenge tackles two of the biggest challenges we face: unemployment and environmental degradation.

  • Eligible applicants must be registered students, graduates (alumni) or researchers from the South Africa’s 26 public universities. Alumni must be able to provide proof of qualification and researchers either a valid student number or staff number.
  • Aged between 18 and 34 years.
  • No entries from private institutions or TVETs will be accepted.
  • Applicants should have a South African ID number.
  • Applicants should be based in South Africa.
  • Teams: the founding member and representative for the competition should meet all the criteria.
  • Entries are open to applicants with either registered or non-registered businesses.
  • Both ideas and operating business are invited to participate in the competition.
  • Applicants should be passionate about entrepreneurship, innovation, sustainability, design, or engineering and must be able to commit to the full programme. Applications can be submitted individually or in teams of up to four people. Importantly, you do not need a registered business to enter.
  • Submissions will be assessed based on innovation and creativity, feasibility and scalability, environmental impact, business viability, presentation quality, and social inclusion.

Your idea must use plastic waste as a core input, show a clear environmental benefit, be commercially viable within 12 – 18 months, and demonstrate real-world scalability.

Participants stand a chance to win from a prize pool of R245 000.00, including;

  • 1st place: R100 000.00
  • 2nd place: R75 000.00
  • 3rd place: R40 000.00
  • 4th place: R20 000.00
  • 5th place: R10 000.00

Additionally, participants will receive national exposure, mentorship, business development support, technical and sustainability training, and a platform to pitch to investors and partners.

Participants will benefit from workshops and mentorship on design thinking for green innovation, waste-to-value business modelling, circular economy principles, pitching & investor readiness, and product prototyping.

We are interested in product innovations like eco-bricks or upcycled furniture, tech solutions such as smart bins, service models including recycling-for-reward apps, and awareness tools to shift public behaviour on recycling.

This competition enables universities to promote entrepreneurship linked to the SDGs and ESG goals, showcase student-led innovation, attract corporate partners, and empower graduates to launch impactful enterprises.

What to Expect in the Information Session

  • An overview of the Challenge and its national impact

  • How to submit your Expression of Interest

  • Who is eligible to apply

  • Key programme dates and phases

  • What participants gain: training for 400 students, the Top 20 bootcamp, Demo Day pitches, and a share of R255,000 in prize funding

  • Live Q&A with the EDHE Programme Team

Activity Date Duration
Expressions of Interest open 1 December 2025 – 27 February 2026 3 months
Online briefing session 27 January 2026 1 day
National launch at a Durban University of Technology (closed event) 16 February 2026 1 day
Expressions of Interest closing 27 February 2026 1 day
Selection and shortlisting of workshop participants that meet the requirements and entry criteria. 2 – 6 March 2026 1 week
Online workshops for all shortlisted entrants. Participants will only be eligible to continue if attended at least 90% of the online training sessions. 16 March – 24 April 2026 6 weeks
Entries open for formal Proposal submissions for shortlisted participants. 1 – 29 May 2026 4 weeks
Shortlisting of the best Top 50 proposals. 1 – 12 June 2026 2 weeks
Shortlisting of the best Top 20 proposals. 15 – 19 June 2026 1 week
Announcement of top 20 on the EDHE website & social media platforms 29 June 2026 1 day
2-days bootcamp (formal communication will be shared) 6 – 7 October 2026 2 days
Final Showcase & pitching (national finals in Gauteng) – one representative per company. 25 November 2026 1 day
Announcement of the winners and awards (Gauteng) 27 November 2026 1 day