Spin-off company MariHealth Solutions wins a Deep Tech award
South Africa’s innovation community came together on 9 December 2025, both in person at Cape Town’s Mount Nelson Hotel and online, to celebrate the announcement of the 2025 South African Startup Awards winners.
MariHealth Solutions was honoured with a Deep Tech Award. The company leverages rigorous scientific research, engineering excellence and advanced technologies, including hardware and biotech, to address complex, real-world challenges.
Now in its third year, the Awards have established themselves as South Africa’s premier platform for recognising outstanding early-stage technology ventures. This year’s programme attracted 221 entries in just five days, generated 4,121 verified public votes, and featured a strengthened panel of 28 expert judges alongside 44 finalists across 12 sector-specific categories.
About MariHealth Solutions
Born in 2021 out of UCT’s Molecular and Cell Biology department, MariHealth develops proteomics-driven diagnostics for aquaculture. Their flagship solution, a biomarker-based platform and analytical pipeline, measures the stress and metabolism of farmed aquatic species, enabling better decision-making in fish health management and nutrition.
Their breakthrough achievements include:
- Best University Spin-off Company Award at UCT’s inaugural Cape Chamber Innovation Awards (2025)
- SVG THRIVE Global Top 100 Innovators
- Winner of Ocean Innovation Africa Pitch (2024)
- Shortlisted in top global innovation contests: Science Venture Finalist (2022), Global Talent Week SDG14 Semi-finalist (2023) and NCE Seafood Innovation finalist (2024)
- Global Challenge Deep Tech Pioneers Semi-finalist 2024, powered by Hello Tomorrow
- Global Startup Awards Best AgriTech Regional Finalist 2024