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Innovative UFS students revolutionise campus convenience with CartZA

12 November 2025 | Story Onthatile Tikoe | Photo Supplied

In an inspiring display of innovation and collaboration, a group of University of the Free State (UFS) students have reimagined campus convenience through CartZA, a student-developed food delivery app that is transforming how students access meals and services. What began as a late-night idea during exam season has grown into one of the university’s proudest examples of student entrepreneurship.

From late-night hunger to a campus-wide solution

The idea for CartZA was born in November 2024, when Kenny Netshitanzwani, now Chief Operations Officer, and Tshepo Lencoe, now Chief Marketing Officer, found themselves waiting endlessly in queues at the Thakaneng Bridge during a late-night study session. “We waited nearly 40 minutes just to get food and thought, what if students could order in advance and collect without waiting?” recalls Netshitanzwani.

By December 2024, the two self-taught developers began building a website prototype from their homes. They tested the concept through an online poll that received an overwhelming 97% approval from 425 students. On 27 February 2025, they launched the website during Ms Winnie Sereeco’s entrepreneurship lecture, processing ten orders on the first day and more than a hundred by the end of the semester.

Their pitch attracted Lehlohonolo Molaba Duncan, now Chief Technology Officer – a BCom Finance student and systems architect who joined to develop the mobile app. Later, he introduced Richard Molefe, a BCom Honours in Finance student with strong corporate and leadership experience, who became Chief Executive Officer, completing the CartZA founding team.

Turning queues into clicks

By August 2025, the team had launched a fully functional app available on Google Play and the Apple App Store. Within weeks, it had surpassed 1 200 downloads, now exceeding 2 000. The app allows users to order ahead for collection or opt for delivery, with CartZA’s slogan, ‘Add to Cart and Cut the Queue,’ capturing its mission to simplify student life through technology and convenience.

Overcoming challenges and gaining recognition

The journey was not without challenges. The team self-funded the project through allowances and side hustles, even borrowing a fellow student’s MacBook, affectionately known as Comfort the Barber, to publish on Apple’s platform. Their breakthrough came when The Deli restaurant joined the platform, expanding access to more outlets.

Their innovation has since gained recognition across the province. CartZA was named among the Free State Top 10 in the Youth Innovation Challenge, hosted by the Young African Entrepreneurs Institute and Absa Bank, and will represent the province at the national finals in November. The team also received the Student Entrepreneurial Excellence Award at the 2025 Executive Director of Student Affairs (EDSA) Prestige Awards.

Beyond convenience, CartZA now employs 15 active student delivery partners and has 30 more registered on standby across Bloemfontein, empowering peers while reshaping campus life.

Looking ahead

With plans to expand to other universities, CartZA aims to become a nationwide lifestyle platform connecting students, service providers, and opportunities. “Our journey shows that innovation starts with identifying the needs around you,” says Molefe. “CartZA is proof that when students collaborate and persist, they can create meaningful change.”

News Archive

UFS Physics Research Chair receives more funding

2017-11-20

Prof Hendrik Swart, Senior Researcher Professor in the
Department of Physics at UFS.
Photo: Charl Devenish

A research project into low-energy lighting using phosphor materials for light emitting diodes (LEDs) at the Department of Physics at the University of the Free State (UFS) has received further recognition.

The South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChi) has awarded further funding for the Research Chair in Solid State Luminescent and Advanced Materials situated in the department. Prof Hendrik Swart, a Senior Research Professor in the Department of Physics, says this means that the Chair will carry on receiving funds from SARChi for another five years. The Initiative also awarded Prof Swart in 2012 for the research, which resulted in funding for equipment and among others, bursaries.

Better light emission in LED’s
The research focuses on better light emission of phosphor powers in LEDs. It is also looking into improving LED displays in flat screens. The research into solar cells has shown that phosphors can also increase their efficiency by increasing the range of light frequencies, which convert into electricity. It also entails that glow-in-the-dark coatings absorb light during the day and emit it at night.

Prof Swart says over the next five years the research will focus on developing and producing devices that emit better light using the substances already developed. “We need to make small devices to see if they are better than those we already have.” In practical terms, it means they want a farmer’s water pump that works with solar energy to work better with less energy input.”

Device that simulates sunlight
Prof Swart says the renewal of the Chair’s funding means the department can now get equipment to enhance its research such as a solar simulator. The solar simulator uses white LEDs whose intensity output and wavelengths can be tuned. The output is measured in number of suns. It enables researchers to work in a laboratory with a device that simulates sunlight.

According to Prof Swart the long-term benefit of the research will result in more environmentally friendly devices which use less energy, are brighter and give a wider viewing field.

About 10 postdoctoral researchers are working on the studies done by the Chair in collaboration with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

The Research Chair Initiative aims to improve the research capacity at public universities to produce high-quality postgraduate students, research and innovative outputs. The criterion for evaluating the department’s Chair includes aspects such as how much development has occurred over the past five years. The assessors look at features such as the number of students the research entity has trained and how many publications the research team has produced.

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