Falling Walls Lab CT 2024 Winner Sekelo Shude in Berlin in November 2024 - Falling Walls Lab Foundation. Although she finished as runner-up in Cape Town, that year the organisers were able to send two participants to Berlin, giving her the opportunity to compete at the global Falling Walls Science Summit. There, she emerged as the global runner-up. Upon her return, she worked with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom to help establish Falling Walls Harare, creating opportunities for the next generation of innovators in Zimbabwe.
Two years later, another innovator would take a very different idea to the global stage. In 2024, Sekelo Shude impressed audiences with a practical solution to plastic pollution, transforming discarded plastic waste into paving bricks. Inspired by challenges he witnessed growing up in Durban, his innovation demonstrated how local problems can inspire scalable solutions with both environmental and economic benefits.
Their ideas emerged from different fields. One focused on clean energy, the other on waste management. Yet both shared a common belief: that some of the world’s biggest challenges can be addressed through creativity, research and entrepreneurship.
Their journeys also demonstrate something else. World-changing ideas do not only emerge from elite laboratories or multinational corporations. They can begin in a university research project, a township workshop, a community initiative, or a determination to solve a problem close to home.
At a time when the world is grappling with challenges ranging from climate change and energy insecurity to food shortages, unemployment and rapid technological disruption, the need for fresh thinking has never been greater. Increasingly, the solutions to these challenges will come from individuals willing to question assumptions, challenge conventional wisdom and imagine new possibilities.
The question now is who will follow in their footsteps. With applications for Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2026 closing on 22 June, a final appeal is being made to students, researchers, entrepreneurs and innovators whose ideas could help shape a better future.
Inspired by the fall of the Berlin Wall, Falling Walls asks participants a simple but powerful question: Which wall will you break next?
The competition invites students, researchers, entrepreneurs and professionals from all disciplines to present a three-minute pitch on an innovative idea that addresses a significant challenge facing society. Whether the focus is climate change, healthcare, education, artificial intelligence, food security, democracy or economic opportunity, the objective remains the same: turning ideas into impact.
Supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, Falling Walls Lab Cape Town forms part of a global network spanning more than 70 countries. The winner will receive a cash prize and the opportunity to represent Cape Town at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin, joining some of the world’s most promising young innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs.
South Africa has no shortage of talent. Our universities, research institutions, startups and communities are filled with people developing innovative responses to local and global challenges. What is often lacking are platforms that allow these ideas to be seen, challenged and scaled.
The next breakthrough idea may already exist in a laboratory, a startup, a classroom or a community project. The question is whether its creator is ready to step forward.
Applications for Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2026 are now open. To apply, visit Falling Walls Cape Town. Applications close on 22 June 2026.
Share your ideas and be heard. Which wall will you break next? DM
Author: Kwezi Sogoni