UIS students win $10,000 at Innovate Springfield startup business pitch competition

    SPRINGFIELD – A group of five University of Illinois Springfield students won $10,000 in seed funding for their startup business, TredBase, during a pitch competition hosted by Innovate Springfield on Oct. 28. The competition featured three entrepreneurial teams pitching innovative ideas.
    Kayode Ojedele, CEO and co-founder of TredBase, describes it as “a global edtech solution focused on streamlining tuition management for schools,” which aims to enhance financial transparency for K-12 institutions by automating fee management and integrating real-time data analytics.
    “We aim to provide schools and parents worldwide with a seamless and secure platform while reducing the pain points associated with school fees payments, manual reconciliation and transaction records tracking,” Ojedele said.
    He founded the company along with Rodney Ovbiye, Ayomide Onayemi, Olutunde Solabi and Ayobami Ayeni. The funding will allow the team to further develop the platform’s data analytics capabilities, helping schools gain insights into revenue and payment trends.
    “We’re focused on enhancing our user experience based on feedback from beta users, ensuring that TredBase continues to meet the needs of educational institutions worldwide,” he said.
    Reflecting on the win, Ojedele expressed gratitude for the opportunities given to him as a student member of Innovate Springfield, a UIS initiative that supports emerging businesses and entrepreneurial talent in the Springfield community.
    “Winning this funding validates the hard work our team has put into solving a real problem, and it energizes us to push forward with even more determination,” he said. “It’s an amazing opportunity to bring our vision to life and make a meaningful impact in the education sector.”
    Ben Hage, director of Innovate Springfield, applauded TredBase’s achievements and highlighted the organization’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship.
    “We are proud of what TredBase has accomplished,” Hage said. “They are a group of fantastic entrepreneurs that we’ve been privileged to work with in our ‘Startup Roadmap’ training program. Like the investment we’re making in these UIS entrepreneurs, we are in the planning phases to launch a new venture fund to invest in scalable early-stage startup businesses. We hope to plant seeds for our local economy by helping new businesses form. We believe that supporting these startups today means more jobs, more growth and a stronger local economy tomorrow.”
    The event also featured a keynote address by Mark Achler, venture capitalist and former senior vice president at Redbox, who shared insights from his own entrepreneurial journey.
    The $10,000 award is contingent on TredBase fulfilling all required terms and conditions.