Four University of the Free State (UFS) students have taken CartZA, a food-ordering app built to solve a problem they themselves lived with, to the national stage of student entrepreneurship. Recently, the CartZA team represented the UFS and Enactus UFS at the 2026 Enactus South Africa National Exposition, held at the Focus Rooms in Sandton, Johannesburg, where the venture advanced to the national semi-final round of the competition – one of a small number of teams selected from campuses across the country.

The team placed first in the Digital Transformation for Community Development Award, sponsored by MTN, and second in the Entrepreneurship and Business Solutions for Community Development Award, sponsored by Harmony.

The idea behind CartZA

The idea for CartZA was born in November 2024, when Kenny Netshitanzwani and Tshepo Lencoe found themselves waiting nearly 40 minutes for food at the Thakaneng Bridge during a late-night study session. By December 2024, the pair had begun building a website prototype from home, testing the concept with 425 students before launching it during Winnie Sereeco's entrepreneurship lecture on 27 February 2025.

The pitch soon attracted Lehlohonolo Duncan Molaba, a systems architect, who built the mobile app, and Richard Molefe, who came on board as Chief Executive Officer, completing the founding team: Molefe (CEO), Netshitanzwani (COO), Molaba (CTO), and Lencoe (CMO).

By August 2025, CartZA launched on Google Play and the Apple App Store under the slogan ‘Add to Cart and Cut the Queue’, surpassing 2 000 downloads soon after. The self-funded venture had already earned provincial recognition before the Enactus Expo, including a Top 10 finish in the Free State Youth Innovation Challenge and the Student Entrepreneurial Excellence Award at the 2025 EDSA Prestige Awards (read the team's earlier UFS feature here).

Support behind the success

For Chipo Matambo, Incubator Manager in the Office of the Dean: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, CartZA's growth reflects exactly what the UFS Business Incubator sets out to do: take a student idea from a mere vision to a functioning, competitive business.

“CartZA's journey is a wonderful example of what becomes possible when talented students are supported by an ecosystem that intentionally nurtures entrepreneurship. From the early stages of idea validation to business development support, mentorship, pitching opportunities, and networking, CartZA has accessed a range of entrepreneurship support services offered by the Business Incubator, which have strengthened its value proposition and business model.” The incubator supports student entrepreneurs beyond competitions, helping them build sustainable businesses that create meaningful economic and social impact.

A faculty invested in problem-solving, not just graduates

The Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences has cited CartZA as a case study of what experiential, real-world learning can look like when paired with formal education.

Prof Philippe Burger, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, says that the faculty and the incubator strive to empower students to realise their creative dreams through entrepreneurship and start-up creation that speak to solving the real-world problems that people and businesses experience. 

A win for the University of the Free State

University leadership has also welcomed CartZA's progress as a reflection of a broader institutional commitment to producing graduates who build, not just study.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies, congratulated the students and the leadership of the incubator, observing, “CartZA demonstrates what is possible when student ingenuity meets an enabling innovation ecosystem. What makes this recognition inspiring is that it emerged from students who identified a real problem in their daily lives and who applied creativity and technology to solve it. Entrepreneurship is not an extracurricular activity. It is an integral part of how we advance innovation, employability, and inclusive development at the UFS.”

In their own words

The founders, for their part, are keen to share the recognition rather than keep it. As they put it after the expo:

“These awards belong to every team member, mentor, partner, and student who believed in our vision from the very beginning. We are incredibly grateful to Enactus UFS, the UFS Business Incubator, our partners, and the entire Kovsie community for believing in what we are building. This recognition is not just a celebration of CartZA, but of what becomes possible when students are empowered to solve real problems through innovation.”

What is next

CartZA's founders are treating the Enactus result as a milestone rather than an endpoint. With plans to expand to other universities, the team aims to grow CartZA into a nationwide lifestyle platform connecting students, service providers, and opportunities – while continuing to draw on the UFS Business Incubator and Enactus UFS, the same support structures that help to turn student ideas into sustainable businesses across both the Bloemfontein and Qwaqwa Campuses.