Township innovation earns student entrepreneur R100 000 boost

A Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) student and graduate has secured R100 000 in funding after leading his team to victory at Huawei Code4Mzansi. Their innovation, KasiBusket, won the People's Choice Award for its digital solution that helps spaza shops and small businesses participate in the digital economy while strengthening township economies.

From left, Huawei Technologies Deputy CEO Charles Cheng, KasiBusket developer Kgodiso Lebese, project leader Tshegofatso Morena and developer Tebogo Seopa. At just 20 years old, Tshegofatso Morena has added the title of award-winning entrepreneur to his growing list of achievements. The Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment (FEBE) student led his team to victory at the Huawei Code4Mzansi competition in May, where their innovation, KasiBusket, won the People's Choice Award and secured R100 000 in funding support.

Morena, Chief Executive Officer of DevRift, led the team behind KasiBusket together with developer Kgodiso Lebese, a Diploma in Computer Systems student at TUT and developer Tebogo Seopa, who is pursuing a BSc Honours in Computer Engineering at the University of the Witwatersrand.

The Huawei Code4Mzansi competition challenges students and emerging entrepreneurs to develop technology-driven solutions that address real-world problems. Participants pitch their innovations to industry experts while competing in categories that recognise innovation, business value and social impact.

Designed to support township economies, KasiBusket enables spaza shops and small businesses to participate in the digital economy. The platform connects customers, shop owners and delivery riders through a single ecosystem. Users can browse products from nearby spaza shops, place orders and receive deliveries, while businesses manage inventory, transactions and customer engagement digitally.

Huawei Technologies Deputy CEO Charles Cheng and KasiBusket leader, Tshegofatso Morena. Morena said the idea emerged from a familiar reality in many communities.

“The inspiration came from something we all grew up seeing, spaza shops that are deeply embedded in our communities but completely invisible to the digital economy.

“South Africa has more than 200 000 informal spaza shops and virtually none of them have a meaningful digital presence. We looked at that reality and asked why the corner spaza shop should be left out of the same digital revolution transforming retail everywhere else.”

The platform incorporates digital inventory management, logistics coordination and a dynamic credit system aimed at expanding economic participation for underserved communities.

According to Morena, KasiBusket reflects TUT’s vision of entrepreneuring the future together.

“TUT has always emphasised that education should produce people who create opportunities, not just pursue them. Building KasiBusket while studying at TUT felt like putting that principle into practice in real time,” he said.

Morena believes entrepreneurship plays an important role in addressing South Africa’s unemployment challenge.

Tshegofatso Morena with Minister of Small Business Development, Hon. Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. “The formal economy alone cannot absorb the number of young people entering the workforce each year. Entrepreneurship is one of the most realistic paths to creating opportunities at the scale required. Young entrepreneurs build solutions rooted in the realities of the communities they come from,” he said.

Morena said winning the People's Choice Award carried special significance because it reflected public confidence in the innovation.

“Winning the People's Choice Award meant that ordinary people, not just industry experts, looked at KasiBusket and chose us above everyone else. The funding is significant, but the validation that people believe in what we are building means even more.”

Morena said the team will use the R100 000 funding to strengthen platform development, enhance cloud infrastructure, complete key features and support pilot testing with spaza shop owners and community members ahead of launching.

The team’s innovation also attracted the attention of Small Business Development Minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, who expressed he interest to engage further with the project during the event.

Morena said strong communication and leadership skills contributed significantly to the team’s success.

20-year-old TUT graduate and student Tshegofatso Morena secured R100 000 in funding support for innovation, KasiBusket, at the People's Choice Awards held in May. “Our achievement highlights the importance of communication, leadership and presentation skills within innovation and engineering spaces. The success of our presentation was significantly influenced by my background in public speaking, which I have actively pursued for the past 13 years since the age of eight.”

Morena was among the youngest graduates from the Department of Electrical Engineering during TUT’s Autumn graduation ceremonies in May and is currently pursuing an Advanced Diploma in Electrical Engineering.

Looking ahead, the team aims to establish KasiBusket as a leading digital commerce platform for township economies across South Africa before expanding into other African markets.