How the India-South Africa startup session is paving the way for cross-border innovation

Entrepreneurs, innovators and academics from India and South Africa gathered at Stellenbosch University on Friday to explore how stronger cross-border collaboration could unlock new opportunities for start-ups, drive innovation and help tackle challenges such as unemployment.

The Consulate General of India in Cape Town hosted an interactive session titled ‘Exploring India-South Africa Start-up Ecosystem’, which took place at Stellenbosch University on Friday.

Organised in partnership with Stellenbosch University, the event brought together entrepreneurs, start-ups, innovators, and professionals from both South Africa and India to explore opportunities for cross-border start-up collaboration.

Ruby Jaspreet, the Consul General of India, expressed great satisfaction with the success stories of the start-ups. She also shared her delight at seeing young people and entrepreneurs gather for the event.

Among the most engaging discussions was a dialogue featuring Professor Willem Fourie, Chair of Policy Innovation at Stellenbosch University’s School for Data Science and Computational Thinking, alongside Retief Louw.

Louw explained, “I chose the path of entrepreneurship out of a desire to address the everyday challenges we face.”

Louw also highlighted the country’s high unemployment rate and the urgent need for job creation, stating, “There is so much that can be done through start-ups and entrepreneurship to close that gap.”

Furthermore, he stressed that this partnership offers a platform for individuals to apply their skills effectively.

Additionally, he noted that leveraging AI as a tool enables people to accomplish a great deal.

He further emphasised a key lesson from India: universities should serve not merely as centres of knowledge, but as hubs for research and start-ups.

What began as a simple road trip across South Africa sparked a powerful business concept for Mr Sahil Saffriya, founder of Shiprazor—one of the fastest-scaling e-commerce logistics technology platforms in Africa.

“Drawing from my experience in India’s fast-growing e-commerce sector, I noticed that South African businesses faced major logistics challenges, including fragmented courier networks, poor tracking systems, and difficulties in scaling operations,” Saffriya explained.

To address these issues, he launched Shiprazor, a technology-driven logistics platform that enables retailers to streamline shipping, tracking, courier selection, and deliveries via a unified dashboard.

Offering key advice to aspiring entrepreneurs and innovators, he said, “Find a problem within your community or where you are and close that gap.”

Venture studio founder Amanpreet Singh is working to strengthen collaboration between India and South Africa. 

His vision centres on pairing Indian technical expertise and talent with local African entrepreneurship, market potential, and inclusive digital advancement.

He said: “Emerging start-ups are driving sustainable technology solutions to build a greener future.”

To conclude the session, Professor Deresh Ramjugernath thanked the consul general for an insightful discussion directly addressing the shared future of both nations.

He said: “Our duty extends beyond instruction and academic success; we must also cultivate an environment that empowers students to thrive outside academia.”

 IOL NEWS