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21 August 2019 | Story Thabo Kessah | Photo Thabo Kessah
Keafon Jumbam
Keafon Jumbam is gearing herself for the institutional Three Minute Thesis competition.

Keafon Jumbam is a PhD candidate whose research on food and foxes has won her the first prize of R8 000 in the recent Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences’ Postgraduate Flash Fact Competition. Her brief in the competition was to summarise her research in three minutes, using only one static slide.

“The competition started at departmental level on both campuses. The idea was that the best student in each department is then selected to go for the faculty-level competition on the Bloemfontein Campus. Summarising the entire research into three minutes is no easy feat, but a great way to gauge how well one has mastered your work,” she said.

Far-reaching research

“Thought-provoking presentations on research, ranging from technology to track academic progress, traditional medicine as alternatives to expensive prescriptions, and suggesting insects as food alternatives to curb hunger in this era of severe droughts and food shortages. The competition was tough, but it highlighted the level of research competitiveness on the Qwaqwa Campus. I hope that more students will join in such opportunities to build themselves up and to showcase our research output as Qwaqwa students,” added Jumbam from the Department of Zoology and Entomology.

Institutional finals

Her next challenge is the institutional competition to be held on 23 August 2019, which could qualify her for the national competition.


News Archive

Mercedes Benz invests in Tamie Mbombo’s company
2016-03-24

Description: Tamie Mbombo Tags: Tamie Mbombo

Tamie Mbombo means business: The Founder and CEO of Sollo Inc, the integrated marketing company endorsed recently by Mercedes Benz South Africa.
Photo:  Hannes Pieterse

A new Mercedes Benz 116 CDI Vito Tourer Pro, a financial injection of R85 000, and 12 months of media coverage by Mercedes Benz is what many Small to Medium Enterprises dream of. For Sollo Inc, that dream became a reality recently after the company won the Boost Your Business 2015 national competition.

In 2012, when Tamie Mbombo was an Investment and Management Banking student at the University of the Free State (UFS), he founded an integrated marketing company, and named it Sollo Inc. The company was launched at the IdeaStart Accelerator, a business incubator for UFS student entrepreneurs.

Four years later, on Friday 18 March 2016, Sollo Inc reached new heights when one of the world’s leading automobile manufacturers presented the Founder and CEO of Solo Inc with a Vito sponsorship at the Bloemfontein Campus.

In addition to serving corporates and the public sector, as part of its social enterprise aspect, Sollo Inc offers certain services free of charge to small businesses. “We capacitate start-ups with organisational skills and financial management as well as marketing education,” explained Mbombo.

Sollo Inc was selected as a winner based on the authentic story behind how Mbombo conducts business. “Mercedes Benz has invested quite a huge sum of money in print and digital media placements as platforms to give exposure to the story behind Sollo Inc,” said Adeesha Ramprith, Client Service Manager at Aqua Online,  Mercedes Benz’s digital marketing agency.

The IdeaStart Accelerator office has commended Mbombo as an example of how young entrepreneurs should keep their ears to the ground, and grab opportunities that might propel their businesses forward. “This is a great milestone for his business, mainly because of the challenges he has faced when it comes to mobility,” said Ayanda Makhanya, Student Entrepreneurship officer at IdeaStart Accelerator.

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