INNOVATE™ South Africa

Innovations of the World

INNOVATE™ South Africa

South Africa is a country rich with innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. INNOVATE™ South Africa is a showcase of all the innovators and thought leaders who are making a positive difference across the region, reinforcing South Africa’s position as a growing hub of innovation and entrepreneurship.

INNOVATE™ South Africa is a unique 350+ page premium coffee-table book featuring the top home-grown innovators and innovation enablers who are shifting the landscape across South Africa. INNOVATE™ South Africa is also available as an e-book and an online platform, representing a network with a common goal of ensuring the region’s top innovators connect and succeed. In the spirit of innovation, the book is embedded with augmented reality video, delivering true convergence of offline and online platforms, enabling the book to literally come alive in your hands, much like Harry Potter’s newspaper!

For further information please contact Anne Kirkpatrick: [email protected]

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Thought Leaders

Featured Innovators

Featured Innovators

GOOGLE

GOOGLE - LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

LAND OF OPPORTUNITY

Google’s mission is to organise the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful with a firm commitment to improving people’s lives with technology. Africa is a hub of innovation and innovative uses of technology. As a land of opportunity, Africans can shape and solve the challenges they face...

SHARKS RUGBY UNION

SHARKS RUGBY UNION- NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE

NOT JUST BLACK AND WHITE

Rugby isn’t the same as it was 20, or even 10, years ago. COVID-19 had also left a profound impact on sport. Such are the changes that the Sharks’ competition isn’t always facing them on the rugby pitch on Saturday afternoons. Instead, this team competes against other industries and entertainment...

HONEST CHOCOLATE

HONEST CHOCOLATE- DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK

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...

HOME OF MY OWN

HOME OF MY OWN-MANY SOUTH AFRICANS STRUGGLE FINANCIALLY BECAUSE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE VITAL ROLE HOMEOWNERSHIP PLAYS IN GETTING AHEAD FINANCIALLY

MANY SOUTH AFRICANS STRUGGLE FINANCIALLY BECAUSE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE VITAL ROLE HOMEOWNERSHIP PLAYS IN GETTING AHEAD FINANCIALLY

At Home of My Own, we are passionate about homeownership because:• It generates wealth for homeowners and their families• Creates a more stable home environment• Results in better educational and behavioral outcomes for children• Improves physical and mental health homeowners• Builds stronger and more engaged communities Our mission is to...

WESGRO

WESGRO-THE CAPE TRADE PORTAL

THE CAPE TRADE PORTAL

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...

FARM SANCTUARY SA

FARM SANCTUARY SA: PIGCASSO INSPIRING A KINDER

PIGCASSO INSPIRING A KINDER, MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD

A painting pig from Farm Sanctuary SA is hogging the limelight and inspiring animal lovers to make the connection between what they eat and the industries that they support.   When South African Joanne Lefson rescued a small piglet from a local industrialized hog facility in 2016, she knew this...

BOOMPLAATS

BOOMPLAATS -ORGANIC FARM REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

ORGANIC FARM REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

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...

BAZ ART

ART SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS -BAZ-ART CREATES PUBLIC INTERACTION THROUGH URBAN ART

Co-founders Alexandre Tilmans (Sales, Marketing and Financial Director) and Melissa Cucci (Operations and Art Director) started the company in 2016 with the vision to make South Africa a flagship and main actor in the public art and marketing sector....

HYBR

HYBR-INNOVATIONS FOR AFRICA

INNOVATIONS FOR AFRICA

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...

CREATING KLEIN JAN

CREATING KLEIN JAN - CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI

CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI

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...

SHOUT-IT-NOW

SHOUT-IT-NOW - TACKLING HIV THROUGH INNOVATIVE

TACKLING HIV THROUGH INNOVATIVE, TECH-ENABLED, COMMUNITY-BASED PROGRAMMING

Shout-It-Now (Shout) is an innovative social enterprise, empowering youth to own their sexuality. We concentrate on hard to reach communities; we go to the places where they are, provide services they want, in such a way that they choose to keep coming back. We are a local South African organisation...

DISCOVERY

DISCOVERY - CAN A COMPANY REALLY MAKE PEOPLE HEALTHIER?

CAN A COMPANY REALLY MAKE PEOPLE HEALTHIER?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were already a priority on the global health agenda, responsible for 70% of deaths at a significant and escalating cost to the international economy. The pandemic has magnified the importance of addressing lifestyle-related risk: global research demonstrates that more than 50% of COVID-19...

RESPEK NATURE

RESPEK NATURE-PLANTS SPEKBOOM

PLANTS SPEKBOOM, A CO2 CAPTURING INDIGENOUS SUCCULENT, ON TRACTS OF DENUDED LAND NEAR GRAAFF-REINET AND IN THE LARGER KAROO REGION OF SOUTH AFRICA. LAUNCHED IN AUGUST OF 2020, RESPEK IS A BLENDED DIGITAL AND BOTANICAL CARBON OFFSET PROGRAMME.

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...

THE FLAMING HEART OF NANDO’S

THE FLAMING HEART OF NANDO’S -WE ARE PROUD TO COUNT OURSELVES ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST LOVED EXPORTS

WE ARE PROUD TO COUNT OURSELVES ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST LOVED EXPORTS

The story of Nando’s is well-known to South Africans who grew up alongside us in our relatively new democracy. In 1987 two friends shared a meal at a humble Portuguese eatery in Rosettenville, Johannesburg. Here they were inspired by the taste of the African Bird’s Eye Chilli, a spice that...

RETROVIRAL

RETROVIRAL- That’s The Start Of The Journey

That’s The Start Of The Journey

  I heard an apt soundbite from Tim Ferris on a recent podcast: ‘Your network is your net worth’, and for anyone contemplating starting a business, ‘who you know’ is always greater than ‘what you know’. “My main focus in 2010 was to give myself three months and then if...

WHYFIVE INSIGHTS - BRANDMAPP

WHYFIVE INSIGHTS - BRANDMAPP- A WEALTH OF CONSUMER INSIGHTS

A WEALTH OF CONSUMER INSIGHTS

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...

OSCARS ARC

OSCARS ARC- DOG ADOPTION. INSPIRED ADOPTION RATES IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE LESS THAN 10%. WOOF PROJECT IS CHANGING THE STATUS QUO

DOG ADOPTION. INSPIRED ADOPTION RATES IN SOUTH AFRICA ARE LESS THAN 10%. WOOF PROJECT IS CHANGING THE STATUS QUO

WOOF Project is a dynamic ‘pop–up’ mobile dog adoption initiative by Oscars Arc, a NPO born to inspire dog adoption and to save dogs’ lives. It was founded by Joanne Lefson in honour of Oscar, the adopted dog with whom she travelled around the world, visiting 43 countries across 5...

XTENDEVENT

AFRICAN INNOVATION ENABLES BRAND SUCCESS WITH XTENDEVENT.COM

Traditional in person trade exhibitions have been historically expensive, effectively restricting participation of smaller businesses and start-ups....

CITI

CITI-TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO

TWENTY-TWO YEARS AGO, THE CAPE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CITI) SEEDED IT’S VISION OF A FUTURE FIT INCLUSIVE SOCIETY, IN THE WESTERN CAPE, THEN A PREDOMINANTLY AGRARIAN ECONOMY

Using Michael Porter’s cluster theory as a cornerstone of its strategy, CiTi designed interventions to grow, transform and enable a leading digital economy on the continent.   CiTi’s interventions have been acknowledged to have supported South Africa’s charge to the top of the inaugural fDi Africa “Tech Ecosystems of the...

ESPORTS AFRICA NEWS

ESPORTS AFRICA NEWS-Get Coverage Of The Hottest And Latest African Esports News Here!!!

Get coverage of the hottest and latest African esports news here!!!

OUR CULTUREAs an organization, our modus operandi is fashioned around the concept of the Adinkra symbol from Ghana, ‘Nkonsonkonson’ also known as Chain link. A symbol of unity and human relations. A reminder that in unity lies strength. Flows into the Ubuntu philosophy from southern Africa, where the word means...

IMIZIZI

IMIZIZI- Redefining People Management In Africa

Redefining People Management In Africa

We look after the engine of your business because your people are what makes a difference. We help our clients to improve their performance and accelerate their growth by having a holistic view of their business and finding unique solutions customised for their environment. We have outstanding People Management capabilities...

iTOUCH

FROM ZERO TO BILLION$

In a world where data has become the currency of our supposed future resulting in valuations of businesses from zero to billions within a relatively short while, you need to ask yourself this question; How am I benefitting from the data-sets I have in my business, if at all? And...

RECO

RECO-ONE DREAM

ONE DREAM, ONE APPLICATION, ONE VISION

Reco. Was founded in 2017 with only one dream, one application. one vision, and that is to create a tool to enhance and help financial advisors’ workflow. Our core vision expanding to providing solutions to complete the circle with, technology – Insurance and telecommunication to businesses and organisations.   The...

SNAPSCAN

SNAPSCAN- SIMPLIFYING PAYMENTS ONE SNAP AT A TIME

SIMPLIFYING PAYMENTS ONE SNAP AT A TIME

SnapScan is more than just a smartphone app. It’s a contactless, mobile payment solution that makes it easy and safe to pay and receive payments in a store, online, at home, and on the go.   Our storyFounded in 2013, SnapScan gained traction at markets and coffee shops in Stellenbosch....

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The Publisher

Debbie Ihlenfeldt

Debbie has extensive experience in the advertising and media industry with a strong emphasis on purpose-driven communication. Aside from working alongside many multi-nationals and homegrown South African organizations, she has also helped shape communications at various NGOs within the healthcare sector. Debbie has a wide network and is a master at coordinating messaging and aligning... click to read more

Anne Kirkpatrick

Anne has a rather unique ability to connect people and their projects.  For the last 30 years she has immersed herself in the business of recognition and, besides a slight detour to run a media monitoring company in the mid-nineties, has devoted much of her career to recognising and rewarding talented individuals and their remarkable... click to read more

The Publisher

Debbie Ihlenfeldt

Debbie has extensive experience in the advertising and media industry with a strong emphasis on purpose-driven communication. Aside from working alongside many multi-nationals and homegrown South African organizations, she has also helped shape communications at various NGOs within the healthcare sector. Debbie has a wide network and is a master at coordinating messaging and aligning... click to read more

Anne Kirkpatrick

Anne has a rather unique ability to connect people and their projects.  For the last 30 years she has immersed herself in the business of recognition and, besides a slight detour to run a media monitoring company in the mid-nineties, has devoted much of her career to recognising and rewarding talented individuals and their remarkable... click to read more

Other Ecosystems