INNOVATE™ South Africa

It all began with a visit to the Masiphumelele township in Cape Town, in 1999, when John and Carol Thompson from the US, were holidaying in South Africa, and ventured inside what was previously known as ‘’Site 5’’. Like most townships in South Africa, Masi (short for Masiphumelele) was established...

When Michelin star chef Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen first laid eyes on Boscia House, a one-hundred-year-old farmhouse situated at the beautiful Tswalu Kalahari in the Northern Cape, he saw the vastness of the region as a canvas on which to create something special. Worlds away from the beautiful waters...

Africa needs African solutions. Adversities unquestionably limit the potential of people, communities, and economies in Africa. However, where there are challenges, there are opportunities. HYBR proves scalable entrepreneurship is the answer for social change and impact in Africa.   HYBR is a unique social enterprise founded in Africa with the...

Boomplaats has been in the same family for over a century, nestled in the Maluti Mountains in the south-eastern Free State. This is South Africa’s only certified organic cattle, sheep, and pasture-raised pig farm. Regenerative farming isn’t a new agricultural method. This was the traditional farming way in previous centuries...

As industry leaders in the South African marketing landscape, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business has been producing some of the most creative thinkers in advertising, communications, and design for the past 28 years. Driven by a commitment to deliver industry-ready graduates who can meet complex problems and challenges...

Retail Capital was born in 2011 as an idea on a white napkin. Those drawings became the framework of what ended up being the first Merchant Cash Advance (MCA) product for businesses in South Africa. Driven by a deep passion to support the SME sector, Retail Capital has since innovated...

Intuitively Innovative Mediology is South Africa’s largest independent integrated media and digital marketing agency. Founded in a media-agency-sea-of-sameness, Mediology distinguished itself by harnessing the science of media planning, fusing it with insights and wrapping it around the big ideas that differentiate brands. Thereby enhancing brand stories and narratives by placing...

Established in 2010 as the incarnation of the South African venture capital division of ‘Here Be Dragons’ – a privately owned emerging market investment group founded by internet entrepreneur and cosmonaut Mark Shuttleworth. By leveraging knowledge, networks & funding, Knife Capital accelerates the international expansion of entrepreneurial businesses that achieved...

Where do brands and marketers look to understand middle-class consumers go to find actionable, realistic, useful data? That was the question the team at WhyFive Insights asked almost a decade ago when they launched a unique annual survey and data set called BrandMapp. “We were working in media at the...

What began as an unfurnished open space on the fourth floor of The Hudson Building in De Waterkant, Cape Town, with 13 people in 2010, is today a growing agency with over 250 talented, creative and diverse people, across a Cape Town and Johannesburg campus, and an agency that has...

Honest Chocolate was founded in 2010 by two friends Anthony Gird and Michael de Klerk. When they couldn’t find high quality, locally made chocolate on the retail shelf they decided to start making their own. When their friends couldn’t get enough of these homemade treats, Anthony and Michael realised there...

Hirsch’s has become a name synonymous with service and brand excellence over the years. They have grown into one of the most well-respected and trusted appliance and electronics retailers in the industry in South Africa, and it’s interesting to see how they got there. Allan and Margaret set up their first...

By leveraging the natural generosity inherent in maker culture, the project is able to unlock a new level of efficiency in skills transfer. Creating a safe environment where anyone can learn to use new technologies, where experienced professionals can share their knowledge and help the next generation. Makers” make things,...

Joe Public was established in Cape Town in 1998 by Gareth Leck and Pepe Marais. They opened the agency’s doors to the public with something completely new, Take-Away Advertising. This revolutionary model allowed hungry clients to order an ad off a menu with a price list, making Joe Public a...

Let’s start at the beginningBack in 2009, Programmatic ad buying was in its infancy locally, despite its success being celebrated internationally. This spurred on the birth of Mark1, a company that would go on to pioneer technology and data-driven media buying in the South African market. Fast forward to 2020,...

Bank Zero is a unique and powerful App-based bank with Zero fees and a patented secure card. It caters for both individuals and businesses. Digital, social and financial connectedness is a reality and it’s also a very human trait. Bank Zero supports this directly in its innovative design. By friending...

Building Resilience Builds CompetitivenessWesgro is the official tourism, trade, investment and film promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape. It serves as the first point of contact for foreign investors and local companies. In addition, this agency attracts and facilitates national and international investment, works to grow the...

Blythedale Coastal Estate is a catalytic development with a makeup of near 5,000 residential opportunities including 350 retirement opportunities, Mega Retail and Mega Beach Resort Hotel and Entertainment Developments. The Development is on prime real estate on the North Coast of KwaZulu Natal and will boast schools, sports and more...

Kindness is the only thing that mattersSouth Africa’s news feeds are filled with hard news, stories of murder, corruption, robberies, and failing state-owned enterprises. Is there a space for good news – and do South Africans have an appetite for it? Brent Lindeque founded the Good Things Guy on 1...

The hardy spekboom is considered a pioneer species within the Karoo thicket biome. This means that the plant itself can assist in the regeneration of the indigenous brush, with many other species benefitting from its shade and the nutrients it brings into the soil. As a succulent, spekboom is the...

“Nineteen years ago, Gary Harwood and I were assigned to a project in Lagos, Nigeria, by the large multinational for which we were working. On the evening of the first day of the project, we sat in the hotel bar enjoying an ice-cold local beer and wondered, what on Earth...

Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come, suggested Victor Hugo, French literary genius, in 1852. Capitec was – and is still – such an idea, but you might not have thought so at the time. At the beginning of the 21st century, the general consensus was...