Bright ideas to boost food security

Ingenious university students pitch their practical, tech-based solutions to support small-scale farmers, from precision agricultural tools to digital marketplaces, at the 2025 TCS Sustainathon. By Julia Evans

- By Julia Evans

UCT engineering and computer science students Phemelo Maile (pictured), Mnelisi Mabuza and Mahlomola Mohlomi took first prize at the 2025 TCS Sustainathon.

Ten teams of university students from all over South Africa gathered at Wits University earlier this month to compete in the 2025 Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Sustainathon.

Now in its fourth year locally, the competition challenges young people to design practical, tech-based solutions to social and environmental problems.

This year’s theme was sustainable agriculture and food security. Teams were tasked with tackling challenges such as helping township farmers get access to affordable tools, fighting child malnutrition and connecting small-scale growers to markets.

More than 400 registrations were received from students at 50 universities, and 10 finalist teams presented their solutions at the 2025 finale on 8 September. The first prize was R30,000, followed by R20,000 for second place and R15,000 for third. The other seven finalists each received R5,000.

“The jury selected the top three winners because they combined a strong problem-solution fit with disciplined scoping, end-to-end thinking and the purposeful use of technology,” said Sumanta Roy, president and regional head of TCS for the Middle East and Africa.