Stellenbosch University student and entrepreneur Amohetsoe Shale clinched the Top Student Womanpreneur Award at the seventh annual EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity on November 26, 2025. Her business, NAVU, which designs affordable, high-performing prosthetic knees, earned her R25,000 for the top title and a total of R135,000 across various EDHE competitions.
The Winning Innovation: NAVU
Shale, a full-time MEng Sc Biomedical Engineering student, founded NAVU based on her clinical experiences as an undergraduate at Walter Sisulu University (WSU). She was driven by the alarmingly poor quality of prosthetic knees available to transfemoral (above-knee) amputees in low-resource environments.
- The Device: NAVU’s winning product is an affordable, high-performing passive polycentric prosthetic knee. This device uses a polycentric (four-bar) linkage to provide amputees with a more stable, natural gait.
- Affordability Strategy: To drastically reduce costs, Shale and her team utilized Design for Manufacturing (DFM) principles and cleverly integrated off-the-shelf components, such as MTB bike shocks, to provide shock absorption and energy return at a fraction of the usual price.
- The Goal: NAVU aims to bridge the gap between high-cost commercial components and the urgent needs of clinics and amputees in underserved settings.
Total Prize Money Haul
Shale’s innovative work was recognized across multiple EDHE categories, securing a significant financial boost for NAVU:
| Award | Competition/Category | Prize Money |
| Top Student Womanpreneur | EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity | R25,000 |
| Runner-up | Academic Research Commercialisation | R10,000 |
| 4th Place | EDHE Absa Top Student Innovator of the Year | R100,000 |
| Total Winnings | R135,000 |
A Celebration of Resilience and Representation
Shale expressed deep gratitude for the validation, stating the win affirmed the hard work of the entire NAVU team and collaborators.
- Empowerment: She emphasized the importance of representation, quoting Toni Morrison: “If you have some power, then it is your job to empower somebody else.”
- Dismantling Barriers: She views the recognition as a triumph for female innovators, highlighting the growing influence of women in engineering and health technology, and the responsibility to mentor and support those who follow.
NAVU’s Five-Year Vision
The R135,000 prize money will be used to accelerate the venture, funding prototype refinement, bench testing, intellectual property protection, and preparation for regulatory submissions and pilot manufacturing.
- Future Goal: In five years, Shale hopes NAVU will be operating regional production facilities, supplying clinically validated prosthetic knees across sub-Saharan Africa, and building a network of trained local technicians.
- Cultural Vision: Ultimately, she wants young African amputees to “see themselves represented” wearing NAVU prosthetics, dismantling the systemic barriers that link mobility to wealth.
The EDHE programme, a collaboration between USAf and the DHET, supports students like Shale in becoming economically active through competitions and entrepreneurial support.
