INNOVATE™ South Africa

Data is the source of all learning, and nothing should get in the way of that. Data should be easy to access and explore. We spend too long working on our data instead of with our data. Data tells a story, and it’s our job to unearth and tell that...

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...

Gabi Lowe and Pippa Shaper are Certified Life Coaches – experts in creating and teaching Authentic Resilience. Their mission is to train people to learn the tools and skills of authentic resilience, to recover from difficulties; to equip them with strategies to endure and overcome life’s challenges with a sustainable...

Why are there so many books about Steve Jobs, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos in online book stores and libraries, but so few of the innovators redefining Africa? “All you have to do is Google an African innovator and almost nothing pops up,” says researcher Nnamdi Oranye, who is also...

King Price Insurance launched with a world-first innovation – premiums that automatically decrease monthly as cars depreciate in value – and hasn’t stopped since. When they opened their doors in 2012, South Africa’s conservative insurance industry didn’t think they’d last three months. But, a decade later, the R100 million start-up...

The concept of the Internet of Things and Big Data has always intrigued Ashveer and Nivashnee Ramparsad, a husband and wife team that are so passionate about the world of technology and data-driven business. As founders of Smartee, they saw the need to invest themselves into this vision. During his...

Global e-Talent Pty Ltd (GeT) is a young Sandton, Johannesburg-based talent search, placement, and onboarding firm. It partners with both private and public organisations, to meet their talent acquisition needs and that such talent is adequately integrated into their business. Behind the conventional recruitment agency, behind it sits a very...

In SA, despite the gains girls have made in access and efficiency markers of education, they still lag boys in quality of performance in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM). Even though, more girls than boys sat the Grade 12 examination in math and physical science, boys outperformed girls...

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...

The world is woke… going back to our roots. The new buzzword is #gogreen in terms of health and wellness.   And we’ve been fortunate and blessed with the opportunity of being a part of this new era, introducing and promoting Le Afrika sustainably sourced 100% natural products with their...

The Giant Flag is a world-first green innovation project that celebrates the spirit of South Africa, her land and her people, while bringing together job creation, climate change mitigation, clean energy and tourism. The Giant Flag will be made up of millions of coloured desert plants, agricultural tunnels, a tourism...

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...

We are living in an era where hybrid and multi-cloud business environments are on an increase, and this has put the spotlight on the critical role ISVs play. Now is the time for Independent Software Vendors to capitalise on the great opportunities presented to them through assisting consumers to efficiently...

FLOW IS DEMOCRATISING THE REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY’S ARCHAIC OPERATING MODEL FOR AGENTS, EMPOWERING THEM IN A DIGITAL WORLD AND GIVING BUYER, SELLER AND AGENT THE BENEFIT OF A BETTER, MORE TRANSPARENT AND COST-EFFECTIVE PROCESS. THE FACE OF TECHNOLOGY CAN STILL BE HUMAN – AND FLOW MAKES SURE THAT ESTATE AGENTS...

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...

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...

Technology is to the world as oxygen is to the blood. The world through its people and systems have become immersed in technology, in some form or other, by virtue of its enablement and efficiency. The path forward is predicated upon greater complexity due to converging technologies and an increased...

“Inno-gration”? For IntegerHotspot’s, true innovation, founded in full integration, has informed the approach and ethos since day one. And has afforded the agency an edge since before certain interpretations of “integration” infiltrated agency zeitgeist. THE INTEGRATION ARCHETYPEIntegerHotspot’s was founded in 1999 by advertising maverick, Di Wilson as Pod Communications. From...

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,...

Birthed from humble beginnings within the Eastern Cape, Dynamic Brands Manufacturing (Pty) Ltd began its journey when current CEO, John Kew, identified a unique gap in the dilutable dairy blend market. Like many great entrepreneurial minds before him, John believed in the power of ideas that at first may not...

We partner with entrepreneurs across Africa who are experts in their fields, supporting them in an enabling, energising collaborative environment. We have partnered with agencies that operate independently and have their own P&L, however, our philosophy is built on principles of seamless collaboration. As such our solutions are agnostic and...

INNOVATION IN THE PORT SECTOR Innovate to Compete Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), a division of Transnet SOC Ltd is responsible for the operations of 16 port terminals across seven of South Africa’s ports. More than 9,000 employees work diligently every day to ensure that containers, cars, bulk, and break-bulk cargo...

Mahlako a Phahla, founded by sisters Makole Mupita and Meta Mhlarhi, is named after our mother Mahlako to pay homage to her pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit in building a successful family business at a time when it was difficult for many black people to do so.   Mahlako is an...

Just over eight years ago the founder of YIEDI, Jayshree Naidoo and Jay Naidoo her business and life partner, sat across from a branding expert and outlined the vision for the company. They went on to describe a model that they had created, it was still drawn on a napkin...