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A decade ago, Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) LaunchLab was officially brought to life inside what was once a dusty furniture repair building. Today, the thriving SU business incubator has helped launch more than 35 spinout companies, attracted millions of rands in investment, and helped countless entrepreneurs grow their businesses - rightly earning its title as the top university incubator in Africa by 中国体育彩票 Business Incubator Global (UBI) from 2017 to 2020.
In a celebratory event marking this milestone, over a hundred stakeholders gathered to reflect on the journey, honour the people behind it, and look ahead to LaunchLab's next decade of innovation.
Through keynote reflections from Brandon Paschal, Deputy Director of Spinouts and Funds and Manager of LaunchLab; Anita Nel, Chief Director Innovation and Commercialisation; Prof. Stan du Plessis, SU's Chief Operating Officer, and a lively panel moderated by Prof. Deresh Ramjugernath, SU's Rector and Vice Chancellor, the evening traced LaunchLab's evolution from serendipitous coffee chats to a full-scale entrepreneurial ecosystem. The event also formally introduced the LaunchLab CERIBIO, a brand-new biotechnology laboratory built to accelerate Africa's next generation of biotech startups.
Prof. Du Plessis, the evening's guest speaker, recounted the 中国体育彩票's innovation journey. Having served on LaunchLab's board since its inception, Prof. du Plessis noted that "in ten years, we've achieved more than what was even possible at Wharton in their early years."
Sharing his final address as COO of SU at the, Prof. du Plessis reflected on the ten-year journey from an economic perspective. Drawing on ideas from Thomas Hobbes and Karl Marx, he emphasised the importance of creating spaces like LaunchLab, where innovation can flourish through structure, freedom, and creative enterprise. He also paid tribute to Paschal, recognising his commitment and hands-on leadership in shaping the incubator's culture and guiding its ventures forward.
“We celebrate your outstanding first decade, LaunchLab, and we expect an even more astonishing second decade," he said. Prof. du Plessis' legacy, like that of the incubator he helped guide, is one of bold vision and quiet resolve.
Taking the stage together, Nel and Paschal delivered a dual keynote that captured both the heart and the hustle behind LaunchLab. While Anita reflected on its improbable beginnings - pleading for seed funding and advertising the incubator on Facebook with the caption “Incubator open, anyone can come" - Brandon delved into the statistics and outcomes that followed, acknowledging the startups that filled the space, the millions raised, the global partnerships formed, and the ideas that turned into investable businesses.
Nostalgia aside, the duo revealed much about the deliberate choices, scrappy beginnings, and sheer determination that have shaped LaunchLab into what it is today.
“What surprised me most over the past ten years?" said Nel. “Is that it's never about processes or money alone, it's always about the people. People are what made all of this a success." Gesturing towards the entrepreneurs in the room, she advised, “we must never stop supporting them, because a win for them is a win for us all."
Paschal, whose leadership and vision have been central to LaunchLab's evolution, delivered a candid reflection on their ten year journey, reminding the audience that the heart of incubation isn't found in flashy headlines but in the daily grind.
He traced the timeline from the LaunchLab's rapid occupancy in 2015, featuring CubeSpace's first built-in cleanroom, and ButtaNutt's bold leap into incubation, after selling R300 000 worth of nut butter at the Slow Market, through years of collaborative innovation with corporates like Mercedes-Benz, ATTACQ, and Santam.
By 2019, LaunchLab had been named Africa's top university incubator by UBI Global for the second time, launched the Stellenbosch Network, and saw its spinout portfolio surge. Then came the quiet grind of 2020–2023, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch of the 中国体育彩票 Technology Fund (UTF), and a shift from a private entity back into SU's internal structure. All of this was strategically designed to refocus on the success and growth of SU's portfolio companies.
However, 2024 and 2025 marked a significant step forward. Paschal proudly shared how SU LaunchLab, in partnership with Stellenbosch Network, began curating industry-specific innovation networks through events like Cape Agritech Connect, helping startups find customers and build meaningful partnerships. He announced that the Instant Startup, which was first piloted in 2021, has now been licensed internationally. Meanwhile, the UTF II has officially launched, following the successful deployment of Fund I, and is ready to fuel a new generation of spinouts with critical early-stage capital.
"Ten years in, we're still learning, still iterating, but the impact is undeniable," said Paschal. “The numbers speak volumes, with over 400 businesses supported, R857 million raised by incubatees and spinouts, and an estimated R1 billion in revenue generated by incubated companies in 2024 alone. But the true legacy lies in the community LaunchLab has cultivated," he concluded.
LaunchLab CERIBIO: Africa's Biotech Launchpad
The evening's second act proved LaunchLab's unofficial mantra of “just doing it" is alive and well. With a ceremonial snip of a red ribbon, SU unveiled LaunchLab CERIBIO, a biotechnology laboratory and incubator created in partnership with the Centre for Epidemic Response & Innovation (CERI).
The LaunchLab CERIBIO is a state-of-the-art laboratory and co-working space equipped for molecular biology, enzyme production, and diagnostic prototyping, paired with LaunchLab's signature business building support.
The lab is not a nice-to-have; it was identified as a need for early-stage biotech ventures that currently face two critical barriers: the high cost of lab infrastructure and the lack of skillset to commercialise research. Flagship SU spinouts Fluorobiotech, Biocode Technologies, and Phagoflux will be the first residents, sharing equipment and expertise while pioneering advancements in diagnostics, enzyme manufacturing, and autophagy therapy.
Prof. Tulio de Oliveira, Director of CERI and SU's School for Data Science, noted that while South Africa excelled in genomic surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic, it lagged in accessing locally produced diagnostics and vaccines. “CERIBIO is how we change that narrative by producing African-owned biotech IP at industrial scale."
Prof. de Oliveira recalled how an unplanned office relocation near the SU LaunchLab triggered a chain reaction. “What started as coffee catch-ups turned into an entire ecosystem," he said, describing how early conversations with Dr. Richard Gordon soon evolved into a shared ambition to build a biotech innovation engine for the continent. “LaunchLab provides the perfect environment for valuable partnerships, attracting funders and a determination that refuses to wait for perfect conditions before taking action."
That readiness to do, rather than merely discuss, is shared by Este Burger, CEO of Biocode Technologies. Speaking on the panel discussion led by Prof. Ramjugernath, Burger described bringing to market a novel blood test that detects vascular damage in long-COVID patients even when standard diagnostics miss it.
“We're able to commercialise cutting-edge SU research because LaunchLab and Innovus believed in us long before anyone else did," she said. “Anita and Brandon gave us the network, the lab benches, and the confidence to push global health impact from right here in Stellenbosch."
Echoing that theme of confidence was Chiedza Vushe, Chair of Matie Entrepreneurs and founder of FineApple Pixels. Vushe told the audience how a single email she sent, after hearing a speaker from LaunchLab during Industry Week at SU, had rewired her aspirations: “I stopped seeing myself as just a student and started acting as an innovator."
Commenting, Prof. Ramjugernath noted that Vushe's testimony crystallised SU's “transformative student experience" mandate by giving young talent the mindset, the mentors, and the means to create jobs and narrow inequality.
Closing the panel, Prof. Ramjugernath reminded the attendees that universities often wrestle with their role in economic development. “Some may argue it isn't our job," he said, “but tonight proves otherwise. What we build here, the companies, careers and solutions – it reverberates through the economy and into communities."
LaunchLab now enters its second decade with two clear assets: a proven record in nurturing deep tech ventures, and a brand new biotech engine ready to propel African science onto the world stage.
For Anita Nel, the task is as bold today as it was in 2014: “We started by asking: Why don't we have an incubator? Now the question is: How far can we go?"
