Winner of Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry Innovation Award 2024
Our team is honoured to announce that Nanosene (Pty) Ltd was named University Spin-off Company of the Year at the inaugural Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry Academic Innovation Awards. Stellenbosch University officially notes that our CEO, Dr. Gestél Kuyler, “was awarded the 2024 CHEC (Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry Innovation) Award”, marking this win as a prestigious milestone for our company. We are proud that the rigorous research and dedication behind Nanosene’s polymer nanodisc technology have been recognised by both the Western Cape business community and academia.
The Innovation Awards Ceremony
The awards ceremony was hosted by MTN South Africa in partnership with the Cape Higher Education Consortium (CHEC). This inaugural Academic Innovation Awards event celebrated ten outstanding academic projects from local universities, highlighting innovations that drive economic growth in the Western Cape. Notably, Stellenbosch University innovators claimed five of the ten awards. In our category, Nanosene shared the University Spin-off Company of the Year award with fellow Stellenbosch spin-out TerraClim.
Our participation in this ceremony underscores the importance of academic entrepreneurship. The Cape Chamber noted that awardees would be evaluated on criteria such as market acceptance, peer recognition, novelty of innovation, and scale of industry impact. This encourages us to continue focusing on practical, innovative solutions and to scale our technology for real-world impact.
Gratitude and Future Outlook
In the words of our CEO: “This recognition marks a key milestone in our journey”. We are deeply grateful to the Cape Chamber, CHEC, MTN South Africa, and our university partners for this honour. We also congratulate our fellow awardees and look forward to collaborating across sectors. We remain committed to advancing our membrane research and mission, inspired by the confidence this award gives our small but dedicated team.
