Candace Eslick Wins Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2025

The Catalysis Institute is proud to celebrate Candace Eslick, who has been named the winner of the Falling Walls Lab Cape Town 2025 competition.

Her inspiring pitch, “Breaking the Wall of Clean Cooking in Africa,” addressed the urgent challenges of unsafe cooking practices that affect health, the environment, and gender equality across the continent. By presenting innovative solutions for clean and accessible cooking, Candace captivated the jury and emerged as the winner.

Candace’s award includes R15,000 in prize money and, importantly, a place in the Falling Walls Lab Global Finale in Berlin this November, where she will represent Cape Town among young innovators from around the world.

In her own words, Candace reflected on the moment:

“At the Falling Walls Cape Town Lab, I had just 3 minutes to present, and every minute counted. I introduced the development within GreenQUEST: gLFG – a synthetic yet sustainable alternative to fossil LPG and other polluting cooking fuels. After outlining its purpose, I demonstrated that we can not only make gLFG, but that it works. That moment earned me a winning place at the Cape Town Lab, and I’m honoured to be representing our region at the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin this November.

This opportunity is generously funded by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, and I’m deeply grateful for their support. It’s a privilege to be part of GreenQUEST, and I want to thank my supervisors, Jack Fletcher and Stephen Roberts from the Catalysis Institute, for their continued guidance and belief in me.”

The Falling Walls Lab provides a global platform for early-career researchers and entrepreneurs to share their breakthrough ideas in just three minutes. This year’s Cape Town Lab, supported by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation Africa, featured nine outstanding finalists tackling issues from food security to gender-based violence.Candace now joins this international network of innovators and will benefit from expert coaching, mentoring, and the chance to present her ideas to a global audience in Berlin.  We wish Candace every success as she prepares to take her vision for clean cooking in Africa to the world.