Proud Unisa student Jessica Maleka, a young entrepreneur and founder of Pathfyndr VR, is the winner of the 2026 Venture Crawl International Pitch Competition. King’s College London leads the initiative with Unisa as a proud partner institution.

Jessica’s inspirational journey is a practical example of how innovation, when supported by the right ecosystem, can create a meaningful impact. Pathfyndr began in 2019 as a simple but deeply important mission. It was created to increase awareness of mental health care, particularly among young people. What started as an advocacy initiative, inspired by her own experience, soon revealed a larger opportunity to build solutions that not only raise awareness but also actively improve access to mental health support.

In 2021, this vision began to take shape as a business after she secured early validation by winning 500 CAD in pre-seed funding through the Jim Leech Mastercard Foundation Fellowship. This milestone marked the transition from idea to enterprise.

By 2023, Pathfyndr had officially established itself as an enterprise to watch within Africa’s growing innovation landscape. Jessica also made the Inside Education Top 100 Shining Stars 2025 list.

Building a solution for impact

Today, Pathfyndr has evolved far beyond a single solution into a multi-dimensional ecosystem comprising:

• Pathfyndr Academy: focused on skills development and training
• Pathfyndr Connect: leveraging VR and AI to enhance mental healthcare and learning outcomes

With funding support from the Mastercard Foundation, Pathfyndr established a fully equipped training centre in Germiston and became a QCTO-accredited skills provider. The academy now delivers programmes in Social Counselling, Early Childhood Development, End-User Computing, and Software Development.

The impact is already tangible:

• More than 60 students have been trained in digital skills
• A job seekers community of more than 1 000 members receives daily employment opportunities

Through Pathfyndr Connect, Jessica is pushing the boundaries of innovation by integrating virtual reality and artificial intelligence into mental health support systems. Participation in initiatives such as the Mental Health Data Prize Africa has further strengthened this work by providing access to critical datasets and expert networks across the continent.

Strengthening innovation through Unisa’s ecosystem

In 2025, Pathfyndr reached another major milestone by winning the Unisa Innovation Challenge. Through the Directorate of Innovation, Technology Transfer and Commercialisation (DITTC), and its start-up arm UniVentures, Jessica received mentorship and intellectual property strategy support to further refine and scale her innovation.

This support has been instrumental in positioning Pathfyndr VR as a globally relevant solution, culminating in its recognition at the Venture Crawl International Pitch Competition.

“The DITTC has been instrumental in helping us stand out from the rest,” says Maleka. “The bootcamp ensured that our pitches are stellar, our customer discovery is robust, and that we are well-positioned to differentiate ourselves in the market.”

Leadership beyond the venture

Maleka’s impact extends beyond her business. She currently serves as the National Director of the African Emerging Leaders Network in South Africa, where she mentors and manages 63 young leaders. In her role as Director of Partnerships, she actively sources funding and connects experts to expand the organisation’s reach.

Maleka has also built a strong digital presence, with over 14 000 followers across social media platforms, using her voice to advocate for mental health awareness, youth empowerment, and innovation.

A vision for the future

At its core, Pathfyndr VR is more than a technological solution; it is a movement toward inclusive and culturally relevant mental health care. By delivering immersive therapeutic support in users’ native languages, Maleka is addressing one of the most pressing and often overlooked challenges in healthcare across Africa.

Her journey reflects the power of combining innovation with empathy and technology with purpose.

As Unisa, through the DITTC, continues to nurture and scale high-impact innovations, Maleka stands as a shining example of what is possible when young innovators are empowered to lead, build, and transform society.

* By Matshego Njumbuxa, Communication and Marketing Specialist, DITTC