INNOVATE™ South Africa by Sven Boermeester

VOLUME 1

™

SOUTH AFRICA InnovationsoftheWorld.com

IT IS IN YOUR HANDS, TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD FOR ALL WHO LIVE IN IT.” - NELSON MANDELA

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The “INNOVATE™ South Africa” Team would like to give a special thanks to all the participants and the following companies for their support and assistance in making this project a reality.

Meet the people that are building a better South Africa for tomorrow

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INNOVATE™ SOUTH AFRICA: A MULTIMEDIA EXPERIENCE AND MORE.

SVEN BOERMEESTER, FOUNDER/CEO, INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER

Sven Boermeester, Founder/CEO, International Group Publisher with Callie Van Graan, Global Village President

INNOVATE™ South Africa has been a long time coming. It is with great pride that we publish this inaugural edition in a country that is very close to all of our hearts. INNOVATE™ South Africa showcases the best of South Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, shining a light on the stories of success and determination that make South Africa’s landscape so unique.

This book is for all dreamers, creators, leaders, disruptive thinkers, movers, and shakers. It is for the open-minded folk who believe in and want to know more about the exciting changes and developments across the nation and want to play an active role in its growth and development. This inaugural edition of INNOVATE™ South Africa is just part of a growing global series. Now, on six continents and continuously expanding into new countries, industries, and cities, it has become a global movement – connecting minds, building communities, and innovating for good!

INNOVATE™ South Africa is far more than a tech-enabled publication; it is a multimedia experience centered around the deluxe hardcover coffeetable book you are now holding, including AR videos, an online web platform, and multilevel social media networking. The complete e-book will be viewed in the millions through the Innovationsoftheworld.com online library. Embedded in its pages, you will find augmented reality videos that accompany certain features, and when you use the free GLOBAL VILLAGE AR app, the world of the future will open up before your very eyes.

By experiencing INNOVATE™ South Africa, you are part of the Global Village network, and we are happy to have you. I trust you will join us as we continue the journey of the INNOVATE® series. Sven Boermeester Founder & CEO Global Village Publishing Inc.

This publication aims to celebrate those involved in the South African ecosystem and anyone contributing to enhancing the daily lives of South Africans through innovation. So many stories of positivity and success emanate from this region; we hope this publication inspires and multiplies the success and positivity shared between these covers.

Sue Rooney Anne Kirkpatrick COO | International Publishing Group Publisher Partner

Debbie Ihlenfeldt Business Development

Gia Bischofberger Production Director

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Peter Batistich Art & Design

Evan Rothman Writer

Justin Jones VP Digital

Anita Naidoo Cherylann Sawyer Web Development Contributor

THIS INAUGURAL EDITION OF INNOVATE™ SOUTH AFRICA IS NOT ONLY A CELEBRATION OF THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT AND POSITIVITY EMANATING FROM THE COUNTRY BUT A TRUE TESTAMENT TO THE NATION’S RESILIENCE

SUE ROONEY, COO & INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER

Despite all the challenges that this great nation has recently endured, the innovation community came together, shared their stories, and supported this project, and for that, we are enormously grateful. South Africa is a nation like no other, abundant with talent and opportunity; however, the true extent of the creativity, positivity, and drive to succeed became increasingly apparent as we navigated our way through this project. Engaging with the leaders of today, who are all working towards a better tomorrow, was inspiring and showed us all that the future of South Africa is in good hands. The common thread throughout all the stories featured in this publication is how these featured organisations and individuals are all innovating for good and ensuring that the daily lives of South Africans are enhanced.

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Every story within these pages was nominated or invited to participate based on its unique story of success. No matter how big or small, their contribution to the innovation ecosystem in South Africa has been noted, and collectively, they are moving the economic and social agenda forward. As a result, the time is right to tell the story of the innovators, start-ups, companies, organisations, and institutions coming together and positioning South Africa as a formidable hub of innovation on the continent and beyond. I hope you enjoy paging through this legacy publication and find its contents enlightening. Thank you to the incredible publishing team in South Africa who ensured this project became a reality, and thank you to all the participants who shared our vision to produce a publication showcasing the top innovators and innovation enablers in South Africa that we can be proud of.

INNOVATION MEANS DIFFERENT THINGS TO DIFFERENT PEOPLE ANNE KIRKPATRICK, PUBLISHING PARTNER – INNOVATE™ SOUTH AFRICA VOL.1

To some, it’s an annoying buzzword attributed to seemingly every new version of a product iteration, while to another, it’s a lifetimes work, making sure that an idea that serves all humankind is brought to life. Yet, for many of us, innovation is an imperative, a case of either sinking or swimming in the tides of change. This, for me, is what being South African is all about. Embracing change, imagining new possibilities, sharing ideas, listening to everyone’s diverse viewpoints, and creating the mechanisms that move this innovative nation forward. This book is testament to all the extraordinary South Africans who resonate with this point of view - all the organisations and people who bring new ideas to life. It’s your vision and tenacity that influence the way we experience our world. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has put their hand up, trusted us in sharing their stories, and contributed to the framing of how innovative we are as a nation. It is so gratifying to note that everyone is pulling in the same direction, whether through solo projects or joint ones, with partnerships forged through collaboration and the support of our government’s public-private partnership initiatives – one thing is certain - that with our collective imagination and determination to see that our ideas are realised, we will move this great nation forward.

I’ve been humbled by the encouragement, help and support of many of you in seeing this project come to life and while I hate just to single a few of you out, it would be remiss of me not to take this opportunity to specifically thank Patrick Krappie, Frans Maluleke, Jayshree Naidoo, Vuyisa Qabaka, Jean Scheltema, Kieno Kammies with his team at Innovation City and the BazArt urban artists whose public art scenes have transformed the chapters of this extraordinary publication. I would also like to thank Sven Boermeester, Callie Van Graan, and Sue Rooney for inviting me to be part of this wonderful initiative and for allowing me to lean on their crack team of Gia Bischofberger (Production Director), Evan Rothman (Wordsmith), Peter Batistich, (Design Ace) and last, but definitely not least Debbie Ihlenfeldt for being her incredible self – all instrumental in bringing this inaugural publication to life. I’ve got a feeling we have only just scratched the surface in defining our innovative nation and what the potential is for tomorrow. Flip through these pages, and I’m sure you’ll be as proud as I am to be part of this community. This has been an absolute privilege!

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CHAPTER ONE

THOUGHT LEADERS

228

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ADVERTISING & MEDIA AGENCIES

362

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWO

FUTURE CITIES & ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS

242

CHAPTER TWELVE

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132

TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE

WEB & APP DEVELOPMENT

BANKING, INSURANCE & WEALTH MANAGEMENT

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CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CONTENTS SPECIALIST AGENCIES

MEDIA & EVENTS

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES

TM GATEWAY TO AFRICA

Global Village Founder & CEO: Sven Boermeester Global Village President: Callie Van Graan Global Village COO: Sue Rooney Publishing Partner: Anne Kirkpatrick Business Development: Debbie Ihlenfeldt Production Director: Gia Bischofberger Art Direction & Design: Peter Batistich, Email: info@globalvillage.world Deep Fried Designs InnovationsoftheWorld.com Writer: Evan Rothman Globalvillagepublishinginc.com VP Digital: Justin Jones Web Development: Anita Naidoo Contributor: Cherylann Sawyer

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SPORT & WELLNESS

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LEADING THE ENERGY TRANSITION

ENERGY, GREENTECH, OIL & GAS

RETAIL, MANUFACTURING & AGRIBUSINESS

FOOD, TRAVEL & HOSPITALITY EDUCATION

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HEALTHCARE

TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN

REAL ESTATE

SOCIAL INNOVATION

CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER NINETEEN

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CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC...

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Make sure your back camera is pointing at the page. Click the Play button that appears onscreen and immerse yourself in the latest updated content with reference to that page. Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in ‘Innovate™ South Africa’ vol 1. Neither ‘Innovate™ South Africa’ nor Global Village assume any responsibility for errors, omissions, nor submissions by participators. All rights reserved: No part of this publication shall be reproduced, copied, transmitted, adapted or modified in any form or by any means. This publication shall not be stored in whole or in part in any form in any retrieval system.

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The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI). TIA promotes the development and exploitation of discoveries, inventions, and innovations to improve the quality of life for all South Africans by bridging the innovation chasm between research and commercialisation. In bridging the innovation chasm, TIA is an active funder, connector, facilitator, and enabler. The National Development Plan identifies science, technology, and innovation as primary drivers of economic growth, job creation and socio-economic reform. Central to this identification is the emphasis of the 2019 White Paper on Science, Technology, and Innovation on the themes of inclusivity, transformation, and partnerships. TIA provides financial and non-financial support for innovations in various sectors of the economy including, the bioeconomy (health, agriculture, industrial biotechnology, and indigenous knowledge systems), advanced manufacturing, energy, ICT, and natural resources (mining, water, and waste management). Through supporting innovation and the development of local intellectual property, South Africa can transform from a resource-based economy to a knowledge economy. Over the years, the agency has successfully supported the development and commercialisation of a range of technologies that address South Africa’s socio-economic challenges and, including technologies that enabled government to respond to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

KRISP PROVIDING SCIENTIFIC LEADERSHIP TO GOVERNMENT IN NAVIGATING THE GLOBAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC As South Africa and the world grappled with the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, science became the beacon the country looked to for guidance. TIA has invested in Technology Platforms that have been at the forefront of South Africa’s COVID-19 response. Among these was the KwaZulu Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP), a TIA Platform based at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN). KRISP is a cutting-edge genomics centre offering a range of DNA sequencing, precision medicine testing, bioinformatics services and technologies to academic, industrial and commercial users. The Platform used its sequencing and bioinformatics capabilities to help the country understand the evolution of the Covid-19 virus as part of the network for genomic surveillance laboratories. It was part of the group of international scientists that discovered that the 501Y. V2 variant of the Covid-19 virus has various mutations on its spike protein, that increase the efficacy of the virus to infect humans, potentially posing problems of vaccine escape. KRISP was globally recognised for its exceptional work in the tracking of the evolution of the Sars-Cov-2 virus and in understanding the nature and impact of the variants.

SAHPRA APPROVAL OF LOCALLY DEVELOPED COVID-19 ANTIGEN DETECTION KIT A key achievement for TIA was the authorisation by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) for two black-led local biotechnology companies Medical Diagnostech and CapeBio. Medical Diagnostech has already commenced industrial-scale manufacturing of the test kits at its Cape Town facilities. The test kit, which is the first antigen test kit made in Africa, costs $3 (between R30 to R35).

CapeBio was licensed to manufacture rapid COVID19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test kits. The test kit was co-developed by CapeBio and the CSIR. CapeBio has already commenced industrial-scale manufacturing of the test kits at its Centurion facilities. At full operational capacity, the company will be able to produce up to 5 000 kits a day. Locally developed and manufactured diagnostic tools or kits will enable import substitution and reduce the financial burden of managing the disease for the country. The ability to produce test kits locally, is testimony to the level of excellence in the NSI and an affirmation of the pivotal role of science and innovation in building a capable state.

R15M INVESTMENT TO BOOST SOUTH AFRICA’S ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENT MANUFACTURING CAPACITY TIA, in collaboration with the DSI, the North West University (NWU) and industry partners, launched the multimillion-rand API+ Cluster and laboratory in Pretoria. The API+ Cluster is aimed at driving technology development and commercialisation of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) manufacturing in South Africa. TIA invested R15 million towards the establishment of the API+ Cluster. The initiative will focus on the synthesis of small molecule APIs for human health. APIs are the biologically active components in a pharmaceutical drug which are formulated with other ingredients to make finished pharmaceutical products such as tablets and capsules. It costs South Africa R15 billion a year to import a vast majority of the APIs used to formulate medicines in local plants. This dependence has at times led to import and distribution problems.

The manufacture of APIs has been a priority for the South African government since the large-scale roll-out of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for those living with HIV and Aids, which constituted a huge part of government’s national health expenditure. Reliance on the importation of finished drugs or APIs not only burdens the country with a security of supply risk, but also results in a significant trade deficit for the pharmaceutical sector. The API+ Cluster initiative is part of the national Bio-economy Strategy. The strategy seeks to use South Africa’s biobased resources for the creation and growth of biotechnologybased industries and is critical to job creation, contribution to GDP, exports, building of industries, and addressing market failures.

DRIVING DIGITAL IDENTITY ORCHESTRATION FOR SEAMLESS ECOMMERCE The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the need for both the public and private sector to fasttrack and prioritise digital transformation in delivering services. Contactable, a Gauteng

based SMME, was funded and supported by TIA to develop a Digital Identity platform that can be used by companies for customer identification in e-commerce. The solution is safe, convenient, accurate, and efficient and replaces slow and tedious manual processes.

Contactable’s innovation, progress, and traction in the market has surpassed expectations and is well-positioned to be the leading Digital Identity Orchestration platform in South Africa, with greater potential to transform the African continent.

The Contactable platform is the largest Digital Identity Orchestration platform in the country. It is used extensively across corporate South Africa by financial services, automotive, telecommunications, insurance, retail, and real estate sectors for digital onboarding, e-KYC, self-RICA, and identity proofing requirements. e-KYC refers to electronic Know Your Customer, a procedure to identify and verify a customer’s identity electronically.

PELEBOX SMART LOCKER DEVICES IMPROVE ACCESS TO CHRONIC MEDICATION FOR PUBLIC HEALTHCARE

The AI-driven platform completes around 200,000 e-KYC’s every month, with more than 90% completed programmatically, with no client intervention, in under 90 seconds. The platform processes 25 to 30 million digital orchestration processes per month for operations requiring biometrics, data, onboarding, workflows, identity verification, and system integrations.

Technovera (Pty) Ltd has developed a-firstto-market, locally produced smart-locker self-service solution, the Pelebox, that enables the collection of chronic medication in under 2 minutes. The technology offers increased speed of medication delivery by automating the scheduling of medication collection thus eliminating queues in public clinics and hospitals. A health care administrator reserves a cubicle for the patient to collect medication, the medication is placed in the cubicle, and a onetime pin (OTP) is sent to the patient’s phone to collect medication. The Pelebox would

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also assist hospitals and clinics to effectively administer patient records without the need to manually re-register patients on collection of medication. The innovation is aligned to national social imperatives such as the National Health Department’s Central Chronic Medicines Dispensing and Distribution (CCMDD) programme which aims to provide public sector patients with alternative access to vital antiretroviral and other chronic medication. Pelebox improves access to chronic medication for patients dependent on public healthcare through internet-enabled smart-locker devices. The innovator, Neo Hutiri, founder of Technovera, was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) in 2014. While collecting his medication from a public clinic, his biggest challenge was the time spent waiting in long queues. Pelebox is an example of an innovation developed by an individual who is in touch with the realities and challenges faced by many communities in South Africa. Technovera is now in the process of expanding to other countries on the continent, with prospects of deploying the system at ten identified sites. This is in line with the vision of TIA to support technological innovation to improve the quality of life for all South Africans.

LOCAL SOFWARE ENGINEERING COMPANY MAKES STRIDES IN GLOBAL MINING OPERATIONS The Mining Industry is the backbone of the South African Economy generating R500 billion per annum and creating 500 000 direct and 2,5 million indirect jobs. Stone Three Digital, based in Somerset, Western Cape, is

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a pioneering product development company that developed bespoke enterprise software engineering solutions for industry leaders. TIA has supported the growth of this noteworthy company that is making significant impact in mining operational efficiencies. Stone Three Digital an industrial IoT company, developed a real-time Process Advisory Dashboard that makes use of non-contact sensors, advanced analytics, big data and deep process knowledge for sectors such as the minerals processing, sugar and pharmaceutical industries. They have developed advanced diagnostics for the mining industry. Their ground-breaking technology has been taken up by mining giants such as Anglo-American. The innovation has improved occupational health and safety of the mining environment by extracting advisories from video and other contextualised data. This will contribute to saving jobs and help to prevent mine fatalities. TIA has been instrumental in growing this South African global player from an annual turnover of R8m to over R100m per annum. The success of the Stone Three investment is evidence of TIA as an industry builder and market fixer, this in a sector that is a key contributor to the South African economy.

DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE INTERNET SOLUTION FOR TOWNSHIPS According to the World Bank, digital technologies are unlocking new pathways for rapid economic growth, innovation, job creation and access to services in Africa. Economic revival and rapid technological change go hand-in-hand, with emerging connectivity technologies helping South Africa tackle its socio-economic challenges. FibrePoynt (Pty) Ltd, a Gauteng-based start-up was funded by TIA to develop an alternative antenna-based high-speed fixed internet solution for low-income communities. This entails connecting low to middle income, periurban and township households to the internet at low cost. The FibrePoynt technology allows marginalised areas to access the internet and has created job opportunities. The system provides an alternative or supplementary to fibre to the

home (FTTH) underground or overhead cable technology in resource constrained areas. They can connect houses in low-income areas at a low cost for 10 megabytes per second unlimited internet. This is a massive step towards realising the improvement of the lives of South Africans, on various levels. The agency is well placed to support the state in delivering on key mandates that will transform, not only the economy but the lives of ordinary South Africans for the better. The future of the country’s citizens is secured through the continued coordinated interventions by TIA, Science Councils, Higher Education Institutions, government and the private sector. A better life for all is attainable, as promised by the constitution of South Africa.

Tel: +27 12 472 2700 Email: customerservice@tia.org.za

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CHAPTER ONE

THOUGHT LEADERS 12

MY HUMANITY IS BOUND UP IN YOURS, FOR WE CAN ONLY BE HUMAN TOGETHER.” - DESMOND TUTU

Title: “Robots and Us” for the International Public Art Festival 2020, Theme: Digitalisation, produced by Baz-Art and Pilpeled

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I BELIEVE THERE ARE A HANDFUL OF COGNITIVE ERRORS – WHICH IF CORRECTED – CAN RADICALLY TRANSFORM OUR PERFORMANCE, OUR IMPACT AS LEADERS AND INDIVIDUALS, AND OUR ENTIRE LIFE ADRIAN GORE, FOUNDER, DISCOVERY One of these cognitive errors is a failure to recognise the impact that outliers have in our increasingly interconnected world. Take for instance, the decision to create the Vitality programme. It is one outlier decision that had, and continues to have, an enormous impact on our entire business. A few years after we launched our insurance business, an initial conversation with a chain of gyms about cross-selling sparked an entirely different idea: What if we created a programme that rewarded people for doing healthy things? What if members who were part of this program could go to the gym for free? I still remember vividly the 10 minutes it took for that idea to take shape. The decision to implement it transformed our business. I use this example to illustrate the practical implication of our bias towards believing that we live in a world defined by a distribution around a stable average. In other words, we commonly believe that most events in the world follow a ‘normal’ Guassian or otherwise-known ‘bell’ curve, when this is not the case. We live in a largely Pareto world, where a small change in one variable is associated with a large change in another – and one individual or one decision can make an enormous difference. IQ is a good example of a Guassian distribution, given roughly 95% of the population have an IQ between 70 and 130 while an equal 2% have an extremely low IQ (under 70), or extremely high IQ (above 130). Pareto-type patterns (named after economist Vilfredo Pareto, who in the early 20th century observed that 20% of people in Italy owned 80% of the land) are all around us, in the frequency of words we use when we speak, the pattern of countries winning Olympic medals, and the fact that nearly all tweets are generated by a quarter of the most active Twitter users.

This bias impacts our ability to solve problems effectively – because the approach to affecting change in each scenario is different. In a Gaussian world, all elements within a system must shift for the entire construction to change, whereas in a Pareto world, a few key choices and decisions shift the entire system — for better or worse. The implication for leaders of this Pareto world that we live in, is that radical innovation with the ability to result in systemic and profound change starts with bold outlier decisions, and that’s therefore where they should focus their time and attention. Adrian Gore founded Discovery in South Africa in 1992 with a core purpose “to make people healthier and enhance and protect their lives”. Discovery is now a global financial services organisation renowned for the Vitality Shared-Value Insurance model, which incentivises behaviour change and integrates this into insurance and financial services pricing. Contact: Felicity Hudson Head of Reputation Discovery Group Email: felicityh@discovery.co.za

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IN A WORLD WHERE YOU CAN BE ANYTHING, BE KIND JAYSHREE NAIDOO, CEO, YIEDI

Just over two decades ago I sat in a university lecture hall, while pursuing an E-Commerce course and we were introduced to our guest speaker for the day, she worked at a large bank, just like me, but her title fascinated me, she was called a “futurist”. Her main task was to drive innovation activities and embed a culture of innovation. And it took me just a moment to realise this is something I wanted to focus my energy on.

Over the next few years I actively searched for opportunities that would allow me to influence and shape organisations through innovation which I was able to achieve. My quest to embrace innovation allowed me to meet some of the leading minds in the space and many of the individuals that played a role in creating the innovation ecosystem in South Africa as we know it today. I was born in Chatsworth, Durban, a township that was created for people of Indian descent. Growing up I had never heard the word innovation, it wasn’t something that we discussed or aspired to be part of. Over the years it became clearer that Innovation and Entrepreneurship has a symbiotic relationship, one that needed to be explored further with the focus it deserved. My first study in the space was as part of my MBA thesis, titled, “The Key Drivers of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at a Firm Level”. I re-launched my company YIEDI (Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Design Institute in 2018) to focus my efforts on growing entrepreneurs who had innovative technologies and products. It is my belief that organisations who place the entrepreneur at the centre of their development efforts have the opportunity to improve the innovation stack of the company. In order to benefit from Innovation, it has to be a strategic imperative. At YIEDI we continuously create new innovative programmes for our clients that are tailored to suit their requirements while ensuring growth and success of the entrepreneurs and staff that access the programmes they fund. We are a business that is run by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs. We have realised that while innovation does not always equal technology, in a country like ours there is still a need for innovative models to address some of the development challenges on food security, education, health and other areas of focus. Technology innovations have the potential to impact at a faster rate, however the majority of the population still do not have access to technology. As a country we need to focus both on developing the infrastructure, but also on developing the entrepreneur who will contribute to shifting the status quo. Tel: + 27 78 801 1702 Email: jayshreen@yiedi.co.za / info@yiedi.co.za @jayshnaidoo @yied_i jayshreenaidoo

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NGOS CONTAIN SOME OF SA’S GREATEST INNOVATORS ASHA PATEL, HEAD OF B2B MARKETING FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND HEAD OF MARKETING FOR SOUTH AFRICA, GOOGLE

Asha Patel is Google’s Head of B2B Marketing for SubSaharan Africa and Head of Marketing for South Africa. In her 11 years at Google, she’s held multiple positions leading global and regional brand relationships across the Finance, FMCG and Auto sectors. Asha is a passionate diversity advocate.

When it comes to innovation, society tends to lionise entrepreneurs taking companies from the startup phase to global household names. But some of South Africa’s greatest innovators are in the NGO space, working to do incredible things every day to make a profound difference in people’s lives. In my time at Google, I’ve witnessed this first hand. Google.org has committed over $20 million to organisations and people working to improve African lives, and disbursed more than 50 Google.org grants across Africa. The vast majority of these grants have gone to local nonprofits, with the aim of helping them find innovative solutions that empower the communities they operate in. One of the best examples of just how innovative NGOs can be is CodeX, which helps unemployed women learn software development skills to begin their professional journeys in the technology sector. In doing so, it doesn’t just set those women up in high-demand careers but also equips them with skills that could be vital to becoming entrepreneurs themselves in the future.

Whether they’re working on youth services, community engagement, job skilling, arts, or any one of dozens of other societal issues, so many areas of our country and continent would be worse off without the involvement of NGOs. But far from viewing them as doing staid but necessary work, we should see them for what they are: innovators that deserve to be celebrated.

Another NGO which embodies innovation is Gift of the Givers, which has helped thousands upon thousands of people around the world during times of crisis. Rapidly bringing expertise and resources together takes serious amounts of innovation.

asharanchhod

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FOR SMMEs, BEING VISIBLE CAN MAKE A MAJOR DIFFERENCE

DR. ALISTAIR MOKOENA, SOUTH AFRICA COUNTRY DIRECTOR, GOOGLE AND PROFESSOR OF PRACTICE AT NWU BUSINESS SCHOOL AND THE UJ BUSINESS SCHOOL

Small, medium, and micro-sized enterprises (SMMEs) across South Africa are key to unlocking a myriad of job opportunities through innovative thinking and products that seek to solve some of the country’s most pressing needs. But they also face numerous challenges, from funding to networks and access to markets. Perhaps the most underappreciated challenge they face, however, is visibility. At Google, we firmly believe that with the right support and opportunities, small businesses have the potential to become large enterprises. That’s why we’ve done our best to help small businesses address the challenges they face. A good example of this is our ‘Hustle Academy’ (g.co/hustleacademy). Launched as part of a partnership with the Department of Small Business Development, the academy aims to equip SMMEs with the tools they need to thrive. We also recently ran a competition where 10 small businesses whose offerings range from the arts to wellness, each won a starter kit containing tools to help build their businesses including a ‘Get your business online’ Google guide, a Yoco POS, Vodacom swag and an opportunity to win an inverter from FNB South Africa. But all that support can only go so far if those SMMEs aren’t visible to their potential customers. That’s why we’ve helped more than 6 million SMMEs throughout Africa to digitise through Google Business Profiles. Another tool improving SMME visibility across Africa is Market Finder, which helps entrepreneurs find opportunities in international markets. Our free Google Marketing Kit, meanwhile, helps entrepreneurs market themselves better. An example of how this kind of visibility can make a difference to SMMEs is South African lifestyle brand Tshepo Jeans. By using Market Finder, it was able to expand sales not only to the UK and US, where it suspected its products would be well received, but also to the Netherlands. It was also able to tailor its search ads to further increase its visibility in all three markets. It’s crucial that we support South African SMMEs and one of the best forms of support we can give them is visibility. Dr. Alistair Mokoena is the Google South Africa Country Director and Professor of Practice at NWU Business School and the UJ Business School. He is a servant leader who is driven to make an impact in society by improving lives and livelihoods. Alistair has helped build some of South Africa’s biggest brands and is passionate about bridging South Africa’s digital divide.

Dr. Alistair Mokoena

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ENGAGE WITH HEART. CONVERT WITH SMART

MIKE JOUBERT, FOUNDER, BILLYBO GROUP

first: ‘Why are we innovating, for whom and to what purpose? What inspires a person to make a particular decision or to change their behaviour?’ True innovation requires a better understanding of the physical and emotional pain-points, barriers and bottlenecks in a person’s life. This requires three basic fundamentals: 1. an insatiable curiosity to better understand people; 2. the discipline to create the macro and granular context around problems or opportunities and to define the ecosystem within which they exist; and 3. mastering the art of seamlessly curating and blending the necessary human insights and technology resources to solve the problem or to realise the opportunity. One of the best vehicles for human-centred innovation is through entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs are driven by a very specific risk-taking hunger to succeed against the odds. Successful ventures tend to address a real human need and then ‘commercially’ deliver a product or service that satisfies that need with much more agility, speed and relevance than bigger, risk-averse organisations. As a changemaker with over 35 years’ experience, I believe innovation is a critical tool to address a deeper human need to be better for a greater good. The culmination of a rewarding career has led me to creating the Billybo Group, a human-centred solutions collective. To help make a measurable contribution to a positive future for South Africa, it is my strong belief that the creation of new enterprise, and the entrepreneurial growth of businesses are fundamental to this future. Right now, South Africa is in the eye of a perfect storm where economic necessity, future-fit technologies and a healthy supply of smart entrepreneurs are converging. These entrepreneurs are hungry to drive creative disruption through street-smart innovation. Less so by importing global solutions, more so by driving solutions on a “need-to-have” rather than “nice-to-have” commercial basis.

We used to live in a global ‘push-economy’. Companies would manufacture products and offer services, then use creative marketing to ‘push, place and promote’ them into the hearts and minds of customers. Then the advent of social media in the late 2000s led to a new global ‘pull economy’. Now the power to choose products and services has literally shifted into the hands of customers in a mobile, always on world. People now ‘pull, personalise and choose’ the information needed to make brand decisions themselves. This shift has greatly democratised innovation to better serve the exponential growth of the individual’s purchasing power. It is comforting to know that, as humans, we are still largely reliant on community based ecosystems. We instinctively rely on those around us to inform, protect, advise and validate us. Communities move us forward, not just new technology. Understanding this human dynamic is a critical component for successful innovation. We must start by asking

Peter Drucker nailed it when he once said: “Innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship, the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth” That is why I believe that now is the time to back local creators, makers and entrepreneurs in South Africa with mentorship, investment and leadership development.

mnjoubert brandsrock

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CHANGING COURSES

KHENSANI NOBANDA, GROUP EXECUTIVE: GROUP MARKETING AND CORPORATE AFFAIRS, NEDBANK GROUP Brands have the potential to deliver tangible value to consumers – and more broadly to society – by being purpose-led and value-driven. South Africa is undeniably a land of opportunity and possibility. The issues we face are challenges and call-to-actions for innovators and innovation-enablers to provide the tools to overcome those trials. One of the biggest challenges we face as a nation is our high unemployment rate, with the youth (aged 15-34) most affected. This dark cloud hangs over us – but we have the power of the wind to change its direction. These times present opportunities for us to solve our country’s problems. I passionately believe the key to this is enabling entrepreneurship. For our economy to grow, it needs more entrepreneurs. South Africa (and by that I mean business, government and individuals with the means to) has a responsibility to invest more in our youth and communities to develop high impact platforms that change the course of our country. Inclusive economies, support programmes, and skills growth initiatives for communities play a vital role in changing the country’s direction. That’s why at Nedbank, we have a deliberate focus on equipping the youth with the skills and support that they require to find employment and even become employers. We support the youth in multiple ways. These include the Youth Employment Scheme (YES), Unlocked.me platform (where the youth can search for jobs, take courses and build CVs), and YouthX, a social media focused movement, where we’ve partnered with some of South Africa’s most accomplished youth change makers to give guidance and industry expertise along six sectors ranging from entertainment, fashion, technology, and business for this social media campaign. SMMEs make up the majority of businesses. These SMMEs often present opportunities that address societal and other needs required for such stimulus. SMMEs need an enabling environment underpinned by growth friendly policies and strong government support. It is not only in the form of innovation as far as products and services are concerned, but the all important role that entrepreneurship plays in job creation. We continue to live and operate in unprecedented times; this is our reality. Innovation lies at the centre of everything – and is the path to our success. South African government and businesses need to adopt an innovative mindset. It is the importance of innovation across all spheres of business, not only in the areas where you have a direct impact but holistically in your community.

Khensani Nobanda is the Group Executive for Marketing and Corporate Affairs at Nedbank Group. As both the executive in charge of marketing, and a member of the Nedbank Group executive leadership, she ensures the cohesive and consistent alignment between marketing messaging, brand positioning and business objectives across the group, while also providing strategic input into various Nedbank structures, committees, and partnerships. Khensani has a BCom from the University of the Witwatersrand, and an MBA from GIBS. She is a member of the board of Effie Awards South Africa, a regular member of the judging panel for the Loeries and Bookmarks Awards, and a sought after public speaker. Kensi has amassed several accolades in recognition of her contribution to the industry, including top honours as winner of the Loeries 2021 “Marketing Leadership & Innovation” award and the “Marketing Industry Leader of the Year” by AdFocus.

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INNOVATION DEMYSTIFIED – DON’T GET STUCK AT MERELY CREATING GOOD IDEAS

LUIS RODRIGUEZ, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ACCENTURE STRATEGY IN AFRICA

Demystifying innovation is trying to break it into what we see are the building blocks of getting from creating ideas to realising the value of innovation. There are three parts to it, and these are not necessarily sequential – ideating and shaping, designing and killing ideas and lastly scaling. Many organisations place emphasis on ideating and try as much as possible to fix ideating with the perception they’re going to get the value. They in turn spend very little time on shaping, design and killing ideas, as well as scaling. But does ideating alone pull through to make a business difference? Does it add value to solving the perceived and real challenges from businesses? If we look at each stage of innovation individually, we recognize the challenges that lead to organisations getting stuck on ideating. Here, we will focus on ideation and the right way to carry out the process.

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killing the innovative part of it. But not every project can be dealt with in the same way. Dealing with innovation, is different to dealing with a compliance or safety process that typically has been done many times before.

When you think about innovation and ideation, the most powerful ideas require combining concepts and combining skills to see their potential impact. However, if you put them together and you tweak them a bit, they can get to something else. For ideation to work better, you usually need to get people and skills that sit in different parts of the organisation to actually work together. Unfortunately, this is not usual and organisations are structured in such a way that unless leadership actually encourages people to get together to innovate, ideation commonly happens within siloes.

Killing ideas is usually seen in a negative light, instead of being recognised as avoiding problems later. Teams often kill an idea because a hypothesis does not work and those teams are then seen as failures and ultimately leave, even though they did the right thing and saved the organisation from wasting resources. The key to killing ideas properly is to focus on the future, instead of what has been done and invested so far. Rather let go of an idea if it proves that in the future it will not work, than hold on because a lot of time and resources have been spent on it. Lastly, organisations should learn to reward teams that kill ideas early enough and do it properly.

Steve Jobs spoke a lot about that, and how he would deliberately design buildings so that people from different parts of the organisation will actually meet at a coffee station to do that. This was to get the combinatorial effect of ideas and skills from people who sit in different parts of the organisation. If not, you are going to have ideas, but lack that added value of combining very different things.

Ultimately ideation is important. If you don’t have ideas, you cannot do anything, and if you don’t actually make it real, you also don’t get the value.

Beyond this, there is merit in investigating company culture, where the people actually have a higher perspective on where the business needs to go in order to see where their part fits into the bigger business picture. This can help overcome silo mentality since silo innovation stems from silo performance and silo delivery.

Some ideas are killed too early Based on perceptions, history, power battles, or governance – certain ideas are often killed too early. An organisation doesn’t know for sure that those ideas cannot work because they never advance to that stage. Yes, wrong ideas do exist, but some are good ideas that are killed for the wrong reasons. Ideas that are killed, are just based on the context and not so much the idea itself. Idea antibodies are the usual cause, pushing their own biases of why an idea is to be killed, often stemming from fear of being replaced by a new innovative process, being overtaken by a colleague for promotion, or having the mindset that a similar idea was already tried years ago and never worked. Very often it is the power battles and company politics, that determines the direction. Very good ideas can be killed in the process, not because of the idea, but actually who proposes the idea. That is why sponsorship of good ideas becomes so important. Killing ideas is necessary, but only once you’ve done enough to disprove it. This typically cannot happen in the first stages of ideation since it would be too early and you might be missing something amazing.

Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security. Combining unmatched experience and specialized skills across more than 40 industries, we offer Strategy and Consulting, Interactive, Technology and Operations services—all powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. Our 674,000 people deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity every day, serving clients in more than 120 countries. We embrace the power of change to create value and shared success for our clients, people, shareholders, partners, and communities. Visit us at www.accenture.com.

The smart way to kill ideas It is near impossible to answer every single question at the ideation stage, especially when you are dealing with something new that nobody else has done before. Innovation teams will find themselves jumping through the same hoops, trying to address something that should be bulletproof. At some point, they cannot answer certain questions, and this amazing idea is killed not because it lacks potential, but because it cannot answer to every single question.

Jonathan Mahapa Tel: +27 11 208 3947 Email: jonathan.mahapa@accenture.com

Think about an organisation that has plans to manufacture something. They are trying to design a process that has to be 100% risk approved, and that requires a series of steps in compliance and governance without

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GOOD BUSINESS - SILICON VALLEY LOVES UNICORNS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND AFRICA, WE NEED ZEBRAS NWABISA MAYEMA, STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP DIRECTOR, BRANSON CENTRE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP, SOUTH AFRICA

We as a society cannot decouple our prosperity from our development. What we can’t do is decouple our prosperity from the challenges that we face. Those two go hand-in-hand. We simply can’t be prosperous without tackling certain challenges. Business can be and is a force for good. And in South Africa, that’s very important. Purpose-led entrepreneurship holds the key to our development.

The Leap In a sense, I’m an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs. Inspiring a nation is only one aspect of enabling change in a country. Let us not be fooled in terms of thinking inspiration alone is enough. Let’s inspire people; show them what good looks like; get them excited. It’s no use bringing people into a room and saying, “Hey, this is how you write a business plan. This is what it looks like to be a successful entrepreneur. Look at Richard Branson. And, then wish them well.” We actually have to bring them into the room and then give them access to the tools, the resources, the expertise, the inspiration, and the fun - even the deceleration from time to time.

Screw it, Let’s Do it What are you going to do every day to make sure that you become good at what you’re doing? Once that’s achieved, can we regard these people as being enabled? We need to put these entrepreneurs in front of investors, make sure we’ve cultivated warm relationships for them so that those investors will listen to them. Support must be carried through to help them access markets. We must enable them. They need to know that they aren’t going to walk the journey alone and that we will bring them access to the things that they really, really need. There’s no more time for fandom inspirational webinars anymore.

Force for Good Tom Willows of Blank Page Media

Silicon Valley loves unicorns. In South Africa and Africa, we need zebras. Zebras graze together. They move together. They protect one another. And, of course, when they’re in a collection, they’re a dazzle. Business needs an embedded purpose. Once entrepreneurs have found that purpose, then they’ll truly start building their business and creating a social impact. Being an entrepreneur isn’t a sprint race. It takes a thousand days to build a business. It takes a thousand days to get your fundamentals right. It takes a thousand days to see significant growth and social impact.

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THE NEED FOR CONSTANT REINVENTION – “DO YOU CHANGE LIKE A BUTTERFLY OR A BULL?” DR. DOUG MATTHEUS, DOUG M. CONSULTANCY

I was horrified, when arranging a job shadowing opportunity for a friend of mine’s son a short while ago, and she remarked to me that the job I had lined up wasn’t a ‘real job’; it got me thinking, what did she have in mind with a ‘real job’ – an accountant, a lawyer, a doctor? Then I realised again how desperately we need to constantly reinvent – starting with our thinking, as this outdated, traditional and narrow view of the world (and in this case, a career) is dangerously myopic and seriously needs to change as we should purposely encourage and develop more self-starters in SA, more risk-takers, more entrepreneurs and innovators, more lofty dreamers and realistic doers… But guiding and allowing people the freedom to craft their own futures isn’t easy as it necessitates change and reinvention – and a lot of people resist this, for a range of reasons. There is such a large body of work on change but one of the best questions of self-examination that I heard is ‘do you change like a butterfly – slowly and completely transforming into a new shape’ or ‘like a bull – when you hear change, you charge?’. Innovation will not take place without some sort of Reinvention – a changing state, risking the unknown, constant movement, agility, adaptability and making sense of chaos. And in many cases, even change itself is changing!

drdoug@dougmconsultancy.com dr-doug-mattheus

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Reinvention is urgently needed in so many industries that are stuck in the ways of the past. Looking at the marketing discipline; is the curriculum teaching what is needed for the future, do marketers really understand the power of technology and its application (aside from the buzzwords), can they convincingly explain their ROI, and do they even deserve a seat as the discipline continues to lose functions to other areas of the business (customers, strategy, distribution, digital etc.). So, what

is marketing’s state of readiness to change and to reinvent – and stop blaming external factors like the iceberg (taken from the Titanic Syndrome that is an exercise to Anticipate, Design and Implement Change). In so doing, we need to look for the non-obvious opportunities, the constant questioning and seeking – to reinvent in both small, incremental ways as well as bigger, more fundamental ones. Change your perspective on the fact that change rarely happens, that things are mostly stable, that black swans are indeed very rare events - as ongoing and accelerating disruption is all around us and the best thing is to condition yourself and to constantly reinvent for the future you want to live in. In case you are wondering what job I was referring to at the beginning of this piece – it was to shadow highly-skilled staff at a truly innovative SA facility that manufactures, sells and races Dakar cars (featured later in this book); I wish that I had someone showing me these career options when I was 16.

Dr. Doug Mattheus is a former marketing executive, where over his 30-year career, he worked on some of SA’s most visible brands, and with his team, headed the marketing for SA’s fastest-growing brand in 2018 with a 48% year-on-year growth (Brand Finance). Today, he is a Business Consultant, Certified Reinvention Practitioner (one of only a few in SA), Authorised Blanchard Channel Partner, Co-host of The DOC & The GURU Podcast and Adjunct Marketing Professor at the Nelson Mandela University. Some of the examples and references used are with kind permission of Dr. Nadya Zhexembayeva and The Reinvention Academy.

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STOP BEING PRECIOUS ABOUT THE IDEA MICHAEL JORDAAN, CHAIRMAN, BANK ZERO Get into the market as quickly as possible and listen very carefully to your customers. Adjust the product/service quickly based on their feedback. Make your first customers very happy and you will be able to grow much faster. But get out the laboratory and into the arena, fast. No one is as smart as everyone. Diversity of opinions is crucial in the process of innovation, which can be messy. Sometimes the “no” voice is very important. At the same time, the team should be thinking about solutions, not just obstacles. A “can do” attitude is important on top of diversity and creativity. What I have learned about innovation from other leaders I have encountered: -

Take risks, make mistakes Only the paranoid survive Good ideas do not keep office hours The tone is set at the top Be the change

It would be easy to list a few well-known individuals or brands that stand out that have been inspirational, but the reality is that my approach is deliberately broad. I try and read widely and regularly. Not just business books but also biographies, history and fiction (including science fiction). This means that I can just as easily find an example in say Netflix’s culture statement as in a quote from Napoleon. In any event, the problems that each leader tries to solve are subtly different so instead of copying them it is better to understand the underlying principles. That gives one a far better foundation for decision-making. If you believe, as I do, that the secret of (business) life is to surround yourself with great people and then give them space to deliver, it does mean that sometimes they will disappoint you and themselves. It is the same with risk. If you don’t take enough calculated risks, you will underperform. But risks involve uncertainty and sometimes result in losses. The trick is stay the course, knowing that over time the greatest risk is taking no risks at all.

The best advice for someone with a good idea and no funding, I say funding is overrated and execution is underrated. There are often ways of starting very quickly with a small version of your idea and then building it over time, as customers pay for the product or service. If some capital is needed, find a way of saving. The best capital is your own capital. Also try friends and family before you try to go to banks or venture capitalists. Persuading friends and family is also a good test of your sales skills and all entrepreneurs need to be able to sell.

To motivate and inspire young people wanting to start a business, I start by persuading them how little they have to lose and how much they can learn from it, even if it fails. Young people have so much less to worry about: no kids to support, no large home loan. And starting a business gives so much more experience than starting to work for someone else or studying an MBA.

If I had to start my career over again, knowing what I know now, I would have tried harder to study abroad (I did try but could not get funding or a bursary) and I would have loved to be in some start-up hotspots, like Silicon Valley, or financial capitals, like London, earlier in my career. Still, I have been highly fortunate in my career, especially due to the great people I have met along the way.

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ON RATIONAL OPTIMISM

BRONWYN RUTH WILLIAMS, TREND TRANSLATOR: FUTURE FINANCE SPECIALIST, FLUX TRENDS From my perspective, one of the biggest challenges facing South Africa is a double-edged sword: our ability to cope, even in the midst of crisis and chaos. South Africans are good at dealing with crises. We’ve had practice. For as long as anyone alive can remember, South Africa has leapt from one knife edge to the next. From the 1960’s student protests to end of apartheid, to the AIDS crisis, to becoming the crime capital of the world, to surviving load shedding and the state capture debacle, South Africans have learned to live with and through chaos. We make a plan, we make do, and we carry on. This survival instinct has made South African businesses lean, agile and resilient. However, our survival strength in difficult conditions becomes our weakness when it leaves us complacent, defeatist and even accepting of a certain baseline of danger, dysfunction, crime, and corruption. Surviving through seemingly perpetual crises can leave us feeling like victims rather than actors in charge of our own destinies. It can lead us to accepting calamity passively rather than mustering up the courage to rally against wrongs, fight for our future, and fix the underlying problems. We need courageous leaders and builders now more than we ever have before to step up and design those solutions. Now is not the time for acceptance, now is the time for action. Our debt-and-scandal ridden government is not going to solve our problems (with what money?). Foreign aid is not going to come to the rescue (the rest of the world has its own problems to contend with). The economy is not going to re-start itself. No. Only proactive individual action can get us unstuck from the endless crisis-reaction cycle of the present now and onwards into future worth working towards. Now, this said, I and my colleagues at Flux Trends are hugely optimistic about the pragmatism - or rational optimism we have seen amounts the young people in South Africa we work with. There is a growing sense of personal responsibility among the upcoming generation who have realised that if they want the future fixed, not just papered-over, they will need to do the fixing themselves. Rational optimism is not just blind hope or passive Panglossian acceptance; it is positive action.

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IMAGINATION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KNOWLEDGE DR. SIZAKELE MARUTLULLE

I think it was the mighty Einstein who said ‘imagination is more important that knowledge’. Whilst he was not deriding education per se – I think he was advocating for an explosion of ideas – which (in my view) is the fuel that drives innovation. The ubiquity of the term ‘ innovation’ has under-scored the importance of this undertaking – which should not just be a marketing ploy or publicity stunt – but rather a deep discipline supported by everyday practice of creation, connection and conversing. As CMO of a well-regarded financial services brand, I was tasked with driving the creation of a shared identity between the global brand and the local brand. The local brand was stagnant, flat-footed and over-reliant on sponsorships. The challenges were both systemic and historical. Breakthrough was only possible once the teams acknowledged that only innovation (the connection of dots in unconventional ways for a useful and sustainable outcome) would help the banking brand resonate with end-users as well as gain some competitive distinctiveness. When innovation is done right, the results are compelling. • It is not a way of doing but a way of being and new way of seeing • It is premised upon an unyielding curiosity in humankind (any innovation that does not place humans at the centre - is an act in self-aggrandisement) • It transforms ecosystems - entire value chain needs to be reviewed and reformed • Innovation is the fuel that fires up the engine called brand which in turn advances business • Improves customer experience • It supports future-readiness ensuring that products and services are aligned to purpose and are sustainable (as in longterm based) • It enables brands to create emotional and rational stickiness in their target communities The growing conversation around the quintuple helix of innovation proves that innovation is a discipline which is intersectional in practice and long-range in thinking. When executed with clear and positive intention – innovation can impact and enrich the lived experiences of humans in the various spheres of industry, academia, government, environment and civil society.

@ZaSizakele Dr. Sizakele Marutlulle

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PAVING THE WAY TO GREENER ENERGY – THE FUTURE OF FUELS

CARSTEN REINCKE-COLLON, DIRECTOR OF FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES, AGGREKO Significant efforts are underway across the globe to decarbonise power generation to cut carbon emissions. With roughly 790 million people worldwide without access to electricity and producing dangerous emissions from cooking and heating with open fires, and an expected rise in electricity demand of 57% by 2050 according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, the decarbonisation of electricity production is becoming even more critical.

Bio-methanol and, in the longer-term green hydrogen, can also be used as a sustainable fuel source. These are clean-burning, carbon-neutral fuels that can cut greenhouse gas emissions by around 200%. While in its liquid state it is cheap to transport and store, there are still obstacles associated with its corrosive nature to overcome, such as the requirement of a dedicated engine or reformers and fuel cells to successfully convert it to electricity. Additionally, bio-methanol has less than half the energy density of diesel, which means that it is currently best suited for shortterm projects. For it to be viable in the longer-term, better storage facilities will be required for hydrogen.

Renewables play a key role in achieving decarbonisation, already accounting for 28% of global electricity generation. Their intermittent nature, however, means that they are not a viable option as a sole source of power, even with battery storage. Considering this, thermal or combustion power remains the most viable back-up to ensure consistent, reliable load availability, making it crucial to find alternatives to diesel.

We expect to see many of these existing technologies scaled up as infrastructure is developed and alternative fuels become more financially viable. This is particularly the case for HVO and biofuels and we foresee the development of virtual pipelines to deliver these new fuels to customers who are not connected to existing gas distribution infrastructure, providing a flexible, adaptable alternative gas distribution channel.

Future fuels comprise a myriad of fuel types and applications and include some that make efficient use of by-products from industrial processes. Several variables, such as power density, availability, and landed costs must however be considered, as well as the need to potentially adapt, upgrade or replace existing engines to be able to use these fuels. The availability of these fuels in certain geographic locations also plays a key role, along with affordability for the end-user. So, how does one determine whether a future fuel is a viable alternative to traditional thermal or combustion power? Several of the fuels referred to as ‘future fuels’ are already available today. These include existing alternative fuel sources, such as renewable diesel, biodiesel, and liquified natural gas. By-products from industrial processes can also be used, even though they are not strictly ‘future fuels’. These include biogas, or landfill gas, and associated petroleum gas or flare gas.

Looking ahead Ongoing research and development into new fuels will continue, and result in some exciting opportunities. Green hydrogen, for example, generates zero carbon emissions in its production or when used to generate electricity. Highly versatile, it can be transformed into electricity and synthetic gas, diesel, and hydrogen carriers such as methanol or ammonia. The challenge we face, however, is that it is expensive to produce due to a lack of production and storage infrastructure. It is, therefore, crucial that there is continued investment in improved hydrogen storage and transport facilities. This will further pave the way to produce power-fuels or e-fuels, which are renewable electricity-based fuel sources, which all require green hydrogen made from renewable energy. It is important to note that no single fuel will be a silver bullet as industries strive to reach Net-Zero. It requires the right balance of fuels and technologies, tailored to specific locations, sectors, and customer requirements. It requires integrated, digitally controlled, hybrid systems that provide low-carbon, low-cost, and highly efficient energy. As Aggreko, we continue to invest in developing new ways of generating power as part of our roadmap to decarbonisation. As infrastructure and production processes for these low-carbon fuels continue to improve, they will become more affordable, allowing us to incorporate the best of these to create the ideal fuel mix for our customers to meet their logistical and carbon-reduction needs as well as their budget.

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INCREASE YOUR CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE KIENO KAMMIES, CO-FOUNDER, INNOVATION CITY

I’m a capitalist with a social conscience. We should be trying to make a difference in other people’s lives so that they can also see the path ahead. Your future can only happen once you start living what you want to be. It is especially true in business as well. Build a team of people with the right attitude, the right aptitude to do it, and the company will progress from there. Steve Jobs said that to know where you are going is only possible by connecting the dots: You can’t connect the dots by looking forward, but only by looking backwards. You have to trust that the dots will connect in the future. My passion for entrepreneurship - and its social power - has been there forever. I love dealing with people, changing the way they relate to each other, putting the right processes in place, and helping to take their businesses further. It is about networking with people, building genuine relationships, and making the circle bigger. Once again, it’s also about connecting those dots later in life. I look at my experience to see how I can be a positive influence on people’s lives. How can I use my skills, platforms, and network to change people, give them a paradigm shift in the way they look at things or assist them. If we listen and experience, we can use that to our own benefit and help other people improve themselves. I have been in the media industry for 30 years. A lot of my talk radio discussions revolved around entrepreneurship and the economy. Here is where those dots are connecting: I’ve pivoted to building a platform with Stephan Ekbergh (founder and CEO of Travelstart), focusing on innovation and disruption to fast-track Cape Town’s digital ambitions of becoming Africa’s Silicon Valley. We can solve South Africa – and African – problems through collaboration and community with innovative tech. Innovation City Cape Town is an ecosystem of thought leaders and leading-edge ideas to make Cape Town a more innovative destination with increased digitalisation. It is an environment that fosters funders, start-ups, scale-ups, and corporates to create jobs and spread economic prosperity. The priority is creating collaboration and building community; it underpins innovation. A combined purpose to solve a particular challenge through collaboration leads to innovation and disruption. What is needed to drive change in people and societies? Open-mindedness and a willingness to collaborate. At Innovation City Cape Town, we look to embrace technologies such as blockchain and AI to drive this change with a focus on the needs of people. A quote from Mizuta Masahide (17th-century Japanese Samurai and poet) goes: “My barn having burned down, I can now see the moon.” This quote speaks about perspective: The difference between remaining on the ground or standing up each day to innovate. I choose to stand up.

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RESHAPING TRAVEL AND TECH STEPHAN EKBERGH, FOUNDER, TRAVELSTART

Travel is the most important industry in the world. It is the starter engine of the global economy; a silent peacekeeper and a lubricant for our lives. It is the starting point in making this planet a better place. Travel advances society by appreciating diversity, brings understanding between peoples and cultures, and allows us to better understand an urgent need for unity. My mission is to do better business than everyone else: When we do business with heart, we contribute to a better tomorrow for humankind. To accomplish that, we need to be smart, too. Business must be a force for good and drive change in societies by uplifting people and communities. As with business challenges and market changes, many of South Africa’s challenges can be overcome by innovation and disruption. Network-driven co-creation disrupts the status quo, and innovation develops and advances industries and societies. Here’s a real-world example: Travelstart is blessed with great colleagues that can turn things around even when facing adversity, as we did with COVID-19 restrictions in South Africa. We figured out a way to support our staff and how to survive as a company by co-creating solutions. We then turned our full attention to work on how to serve the tens of thousands of customers who could not get their money back from the airlines. We focused on ways to help people return to travel and business. While the South African government’s restrictions hit the travel industry hardest, we managed to turn our company around and assist in reviving the travel industry and the South African economy. I live by the creed: ‘If you don’t believe in miracles, you’re not being a realist.’ Those miracles are innovation and disruption. When building Travelstart in 1998, just about everything was a challenge: The industry was very young, and most things needed to be invented, from websites to payments, getting suppliers, and taking it to market. My creativity was overflowing during COVID-19’s restrictions. My team and I saw opportunities where we could improve our business to make it easier for people to return to travel - and make the user experience all the better. We are betting on ways to improve online payments. It is the greatest challenge for Travelstart and other online businesses. Travelstart customers can pay for online travel services using a variety of channels tailored to suit the needs of people in each country. In some countries, Travelstart uses mopeds to deliver tickets bought online and also collect payment at the customer’s door! I am always looking at where technology can be a differentiator for change.

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I BELIEVE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AND GREEN TRANSITION ARE TWO NON-NEGOTIABLE CATALYTIC TRENDS THAT WILL ENSURE COMPETITIVENESS AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH WRENELLE STANDER, CEO, WESGRO

As Wesgro CEO (Wesgro is the official Trade and Investment Promotion Agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape), I am committed to doing my part in making the Western Cape one of the world’s leading regional economies. We recognise that to succeed in a changing world, we will be benchmarked against global competitors. This will be a competition – for new markets, new investments, new skills, and technological advantage. I believe digital transformation and green transition are two non-negotiable catalytic trends that will ensure competitiveness and sustainable growth. The deepening of the tech and green value proposition is critical for destination competitiveness to capture its share of global investment focus. The Western Cape already has solid foundations for competitiveness in the new global economy. The Tech Economy is already transforming many industries in the Western Cape’s traditional sectors. The leaders are here. As Africa’s Tech Capital, Cape Town attracts world-leading tech giants like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and many more. Cape Town is also home to local and other global leaders like Naspers and Construct. In addition, we are increasingly seeing an emergence of thematic home grown, tech ecosystems. In the health tech space, we are seeing the emergence of companies with capabilities spanning the spectrum from scientific research to vaccine manufacturing. In the agri tech space we are seeing a convergence between agriculture and technology, resulting in increased adoption of smart and drone technologies, precision farming, and increased energy self-sufficiency. We are also seeing strong growth in fin tech companies and in the creative industries. Similarly, Cape Town’s status as a green economy hub is already attracting world-leading green industry giants like JUWI, Gestamp, Scatec. We recently welcomed US company, ArcVera Renewables. Interesting sub-sector opportunities are presenting including, however, not limited to - Green tech, utility scale renewable energy, small scale embedded generation, storage, lithium ion battery manufacturing, and electric mobility. The bottom line is that we’re moving into a new race for global economic relevance and there is no time to waste. Those who move into developing tech and green capabilities will be ready to take the lion’s share of investment focus. Western Cape companies are already solving global problems, and our service exports are increasing rapidly. I believe, we’re well on our way.

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MUSIC GAVE ME A NEW OPPORTUNITY IN LIFE, IT BECAME A VEHICLE TO DREAM OUTSIDE MY BOX AND FIRE ME UP TO BECOME A ROLE MODEL TO OTHER YOUNG PEOPLE IN MY COMMUNITY THAT COULD BE CAUGHT UP IN THE WRONG SIDE OF THINGS LIKE I WAS THULANI HEADMAN AKA FOSTA, FOUNDING MEMBER AND OPERATIONS MANAGER, BRIDGES FOR MUSIC

I grew up in a family of musicians and in a township like Langa that has been home to many legendary artists, but unfortunately for most of them, life was challenging and didn´t bring the rewards one would expect from a successful career. When I was in my late teens I got sentenced for a crime I had committed and it was there I reconnected with music. I enrolled in a music program called the Prison Broadcasting Network which was founded by Marius Boaden, who is now a good friend. There I told myself one day I would rebuild my life through music and would change my name to Fosta, which means in Xhosa “to make things happen”. When I was finally back to Langa, I started a record label under the name 021 with the aim of creating a platform for young up and coming artists. A few years later I met with Valentino Barrioseta who was thinking about connecting his international network of music stakeholders and artists to communities like Langa to bring more opportunities to local talent. So our visions kind of aligned, even coming from totally different backgrounds, we had the same vision of making a difference through music and we started working together hosting workshops with international and local artists to bridge the divide between the city and the township. Since then we hosted artists like Ed Sheeran, Bonobo, Skrillex and many more. Then we started building ¨Bridges for Music¨ for young talent from the communities to play internationally at festivals like Glastonbury in the Uk or Tomorrowland in Belgium having brought over 20 local artists overseas already. But we soon realised that wasn´t enough, there was a dire need for a solid creative education facility in the Cape flats that could create impact at scale, on a grass root level and on a more permanent basis. Often talent falls through the cracks of the traditional schooling system or just gets disillusioned by the environment we live in. So we decided to build the Bridges Academy, a state-of-the-art learning space, which was how we envisioned the dream school. An inspiring space with all the tools needed to thrive as a creative person, both personally and professionally. After some hard years of construction and many challenges, we managed to open doors and see our first students walking through the doors. I hope my journey can inspire others to turn their lives around no matter what adverse circumstances they go through and I’m looking forward to continuing growing this music and purpose-driven community.

Email: fosta@bridgesformusic.org connect@bridgesformusic.org

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SOUTH AFRICA AND ITS PEOPLE NEED A HAND UP, NOT A HAND DOWN ZIAAD SULEMAN, FORMER IBM AFRICA CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CURRENT EOH GROUP CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER

The innate desire to succeed and leave behind a positive legacy was the starting point of a longer path – a desire fuelled by the knowledge that there is no fall back. Success and a better tomorrow reside upon the shoulders of the carrier. The steps beyond the initial premise are enabled by a solutionist mindset cemented through the core principles of integrity, humility, a sound work ethic, sacrifice, reflection, good interpersonal relationships and most importantly considered application utilising knowledge and experience.

director of Charities Aid Foundation Southern Africa; a Exco member of an NPO initiative called DIG1T and nonexecutive chairman for Qode.

Reflection is such an important trait as it keeps one grounded whilst reminding one to do good beyond the self. My journey, both professionally and personally, was to remain dynamic without fear of change yet substantive in adding value.

These steps must be premised around inclusivity and scale. It is for this reason that I am energised about my work in the DWA, which converges market opportunity (both local and international) for skills with demand. Based on this, the positive impact on citizens’ lives is tremendous as the skills and work experience yielded, now not only paves the way for them to add value to themselves and their families, but rather broader society and the fiscus.

I was born in Vereeniging and raised in Lenasia - an Indian township established because of Apartheid. I was fortunate and privileged to attend some of the best educational institutions because of my parents’ personal sacrifice. I witnessed this sacrifice daily and this constantly reminds me of what was given up for me to navigate through life. My career journey began as a lawyer, then a consultant in establishing South Africa’s Second Fixed Line Operator, then my fantastic journey at IBM and now EOH. In addition to my professional career, I am energised and compelled to support a broader ecosystem, hence my broad involvement as: Chairperson of the Digital Economy for South Africa at BRICS; Chairperson of the PPGI (Public Private Growth Initiative) 4IR Presidential Initiative; my Exco appointment to the Presidential DWA (Digital Work Accelerator) Programme; non-executive

I am a strong proponent of good citizenship and of being an enabler. As I traverse the challenge of modern society, whether it be business, economics, education, politics or otherwise, I have realised that leaders have an intrinsic responsibility to create and then harness a progressive environment for now and the future.

This capacity base then translates eloquently into the PPGI domain of promoting a greater cohesion of public private partnerships, which in turn creates both capacity and a valuable skills base for international participation in BRICS and beyond. The consequence of these initiatives reduces unemployment, gives hope and purpose to our people, reduces the burden on the fiscus and most importantly builds critical digital skills upon which we can create economic stimulus together. Please join me and other leaders to lift others as we rise.

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SOUTH AFRICA IS READY TO COMPETE, WE JUST DON’T KNOW IT YET

KGOMOTSO LEKOLA, FOUNDER & GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, BT INDUSTRIAL GROUP We have to rethink our national strategy for growth, meaningful economic participation of blacks and job creation; it’s not just about funding and quality of education. I argue that South Africa is a sleeping giant ready to take on the world; we may just be waiting for the right moment to take our position. I’ll make my point through a personal story. There is a long-standing idea that South Africa lacks the skills and competencies to compete on the global stage, particularly in light of the criticisms levelled at our public education system, general incompetence and corruption. However, despite many of the terrible stories seen in the media, some events of 2020 at the start of the pandemic reinforced my beliefs. When the world went into lockdown, and global supply chains were disrupted, the price for essential items skyrocketed. With the rich countries seizing all they could to secure for the benefit of their citizens, South Africa bore the brunt of that situation. Our fate was not in our hands but in the hands of those who produced those products of which we were in such desperate need of. One of the critical products that drove the price of respiratory masks in the early days was the availability of medical-grade electrostatic polypropylene-based filters, which are at the heart of medical masks. In general, South Africa and the world had no production capacity or capability as we thought, and nearly all the filters in the world were being produced in the far east.

When the pandemic took its toll on the world, the price for these filters rose to 250 times the cost of the raw materials required to make them, and it meant that the world would pay an absolute premium to protect the lives of their essential workers and citizens. Like many, I had no idea of the filters or how to produce them. Our company had experience in the production of polyethene, our engineers understood the product and how to manage quality, but the medical sphere was foreign to us. In the context of South Africa, it is relevant to mention that our team is 99% black and many educated in the public system. During that time, the apparent price exploitation forced us to look into this issue of medical filters, and within a few weeks, the team had cracked it. We would produce from 100% locally sourced raw materials to ensure complete independence from imports. Not only did we get the production right, but the quality of our products also spoke for itself and our pricing well in line with global competitors. Within a few months, we had been approached by several European and American companies looking to diversify away from the east. Here we were, a 100% black-owned South African company with an employee base educated in the public system yet competing on the global scale in producing innovative and specialised medical products. Also, we were not alone in this mission; other South African companies followed suit in their spheres. There was a time when labour cost was the most significant competitive advantage the east had over the rest of the world; however, technological advancements have largely belied that truism. In the internet age, expert knowledge is available at the click of the button. Also, with computerised high throughput production equipment, any country with the appropriate strategic focus can build a substantial and competitive industrial sector based on manufacturing. Despite all our macro challenges, in my view at least, South Africa is ready to be more import independent; and in doing so, we will drive our

own industrial development. The opposite is that we continue to allow our industrial capacity to erode. We would then enter a downward spiral with smart technical people leaving for countries to get relevant work. Joblessness will increase, and we will become more dependent on foreign countries for essential goods and services. We have a long and proud national history of ingenuity and innovation, with many of our brethren having left our shores to take global leadership in some of the most forward-looking fields. This is the country that converted coal into fuel; undertook the world’s first heart transplant; ended apartheid; and gave birth to someone who is reshaping our thinking about cars, space and the future of humanity. We seem to have forgotten what we are capable of; perhaps we just need to rethink our national priorities and personal purchasing patterns.

bt-industrial BTIndustrial BTIndustrialSA

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INNOVATION DOESN’T COME JUST FROM GIVING PEOPLE INCENTIVES; IT COMES FROM CREATING ENVIRONMENTS WHERE THEIR IDEAS CAN CONNECT ANA CARRAPICHANO, CEO & FOUNDER, MEDIOLOGY

ideas can help a struggling community and transform it into an abundant and healthy environment.

INNOVATING SOUTH AFRICA OUT OF POVERTY Innovation is already being harnessed to address poverty and inequality. It’s already happening with many wonderful and inspirational concepts and programmes. For example, ThinkWIFI, who offers free uncapped internet connectivity to communities is driven by the goal of empowering people. Not only do they work with local people to find employment solutions, but also work with organisations to bring digital skills education to each community they serve. South African universities are engaging with the informal sector in marginalised communities to improve livelihoods through inclusive innovation. Through this, higher education, science, technology and economic development insights are gathered – and shared.

ENSURING EQUITABLE DIGITAL FUTURES FOR EVERYONE Innovation and technology go hand in hand. The digital revolution is here to stay and offers humanity wonderful progressive opportunities like never before.

MY PASSION FOR AFRICA The streets of South Africa have something about them… a unique rhythm that is the heartbeat of our rainbow nation. With great natural beauty, cultural diversity, incredible resilience – South Africa is a land filled with vitality, creativity and an entrepreneurial spirit.

A South African Digital Strategy is imperative to help create a world in which digitisation is an empowering force for the people and the planet as a whole.

I work and live in two extremes now: in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres. It gives me exposure to the vastness of the world, making me realise that South Africa – one of the most innovative countries in Africa has exceptional potential to accelerate transformation.

Digital technologies are driving new ways of working and thinking while opening-up unimaginable opportunities. For instance, digital finance facilitates cash transfers in underprivileged communities. Additionally, educational programmes are being offered to previously disadvantaged people to create a more equal future, as a direct result of digital technology.

However, South Africa faces the harsh reality of high unemployment and poverty rates despite having an abundance of goods and natural resources.

Uplifting our Youth is critical. We need to inspire them and give them opportunities which will create future leaders of innovation.

INNOVATION TO ACCELERATE TRANSFORMATION

OUR INFLUENCE AS THE COMMUNICATIONS INDUSTRY

Innovation is a key driver of economic and social development, but should be more effectively harnessed to address poverty and inequality. Innovative

To make a giant contribution to growth, industries need to collaborate and innovate together. The agile communications industry can ignite the right conversations with the right brands. Investment from the private sector is key in order to uplift our nation from its devastating economic climate. It is essential to empower our people to become the catalysts for change, effectively sustaining a culture of innovation.

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WITHOUT AN INFECTIOUS LOVE OF COMMUNICATIONS AND BOUNDLESS ENTHUSIASM FOR THE INDUSTRY, THERE’D BE NO SPACE FOR GROWTH AND INNOVATION BONISWA PEZISA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, MEDIOLOGY

Creativity, in the context of advertising and marketing, is and always has been a driving force for me. Being exposed to the power that brands can have on humanity and their collective behaviour has reinforced my ambition to always be a force-for-good, and leave a positive dent on the planet. Brands have the power to transform the oneness of society and it’s our responsibility as marketers and advertisers to create a cohesive, sustainable and mutually beneficial relationship between the people, the planet and the products we consume. I strive to leave a legacy everyday; a legacy of work that makes a difference, a legacy of inspiration for the younger generation and a legacy for humanity, ensuring my work contributes to the health and prosperity of our communities, our country, and the world at large. My decision to move from a creative agency to a media agency reflects my deeper commitment to grow my expertise in enabling creativity to thrive.

MEANINGFUL MARKETING Marketing requires a deep understanding and respect for clients and challenges: work hard to retain market share and run fast to obtain marginal growth. Helping clients seize the opportunities in this ever-changing and complex landscape means creating meaningful interactions for their brands. In the industry, we are the face of the brand’s marketing and an extension of our clients’ departments. We should always give out our best. I love that we can influence how things can be done to benefit our clients. From that, a creativecentric, brand-first approach is the only path with which to carry clients into the future successfully. Giving back leads to growth. I have a transformative coach leadership style for the development and leadership of teams. Working with inspirational people is the biggest thrill of my life; I’m pushed and challenged to strive continuously for better and grander heights.

ENABLING INNOVATION The opportunity to work side-by-side with creators, inspirers and innovators who continuously look for new ways to give brands deeper and transformative meaning to truly change, engage and affect people’s lives brings awesome joy for me. Being more agile – as a business and industry at large – means being deeply connected with our culture and creativity. South Africa continues to shine through in the kind of work we develop. For customers and clients alike, the lines are blurred completely. Our role is to provide solutions to business problems using every communication tool in our arsenal. I have had the enormous privilege of working - and continuing to work - with incredible thinkers, creators, and marketers and that is a blessing I relish daily. Being invested in work that influences culture is very important to me and aligns with my continued ambition to leave a positive legacy. Mediology

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CONTEXT SETS BRAND STORIES APART

MPUME NGOBESE, CO-MANAGING DIRECTOR, JOE PUBLIC JOHANNESBURG With digital media usage higher than ever, more than 38 million people in South Africa are active on the internet, and 27-million consume social media content by liking, sharing, posting and commenting on everything from politics and the pandemic, to funnies and pictures of ‘fur babies’. Consumers have so many platforms and content at their fingertips that marketers need to stand out to be heard. Not merely to create a buzz around a brand, or by bombarding consumers with messaging, but by telling stories that solve real problems and activate growth – and with meaning that delivers the ROI that the client deserves. Growth has a ripple effect: it affects the growth of clients, which ultimately contributes towards the growth of the country.

What’s the message? A current trend in marketing is fast dethroning content marketing, driven by the glut of messaging that does not relate to audiences: context marketing. It aims to deliver the right message, to the right audience, at the right moment.Some stories are so content-heavy or filled with marketing gumf that they leave the audience feeling overloaded and wondering, “so what”?

It’s said, “content is king”, but without context, content simply adds to the ‘noise’.

The truth is, context, not content, sets a brand story apart because it tells the audience what the information means, why they should care and what purpose or goal it serves. Whether it is to educate, answer a question, elicit a laugh or tell a familiar story in a novel way, context, not content, drives engagement. Well told and rooted in context, even the most mundane stories will grab an audience’s attention: Take for example the runaway success of 23-year-old Grace Wells, who turned her hobby of creating fake adverts into a career, producing ads for big-name brands in the US. Wells, who started out on TikTok in April last year during quarantine to hone her videographic skills and possibly find an appreciative audience, launched a series of fake adverts called ‘Making Epic Commercials For Random Objects’ which made even the most ordinary products – dirt, loo paper and a single maize kernel – seem appealing. The TikTok sensation’s 15-second series, which could be mistaken for real adverts, has become a massive hit on TikTok, with 1,3 million followers and 55 million views. Soon, brands approached her to create real ads. How did these ‘ads’ become so popular? Context: Wells’ behind-the-scenes narrative accompanies each piece of work. She told AdWeek,

“If I were just to post these commercials without any context, I don’t think any of them would perform as well. “The key ingredient to all of this is showing my process. Having that kind of narrative and glimpse into your life and who you are as a person, opposed to just what you’re making, is really important.” How does a storyteller take content and imbue a deeper meaning? And how does a story stimulate growth?

Telling a familiar brand story South Africa’s secrets and lies have been exposed for the world to see – the fallout of the Arms Deal, embarrassing confessions at the State Capture Commission and those wasted Zupta years. But there’s one secret that South Africans don’t like to talk about and that is their dismal poor savings culture. If I had to take a leaf out of our own agency’s work, we explored the country’s poor savings culture, turning the taboo around money savings issue into one of the most talked about in the country. So, we created a South African first: a campaign for Nedbank disguised as a movie trailer, an unbranded movie about ordinary people and their money secrets. ‘More taboo than sex’, the film encouraged South Africa to talk about money and was a wake-up call for a country plagued by poor cash flow management, some of the highest debt levels in the world, inadequate retirement planning, and corrupt investment schemes. The ‘Secrets’ campaign trended organically, with an accumulative 79 million views. It trended on social media within an hour of its launch, attracted 89 million campaign impressions, and a top ranking for Nedbank in the 2019 Brands Eye Banking Sentiment Index. Traditional, interruptive advertising strategies that allow brands to push their products or services to a large and undefined audience, no longer cuts it. Consumers are inundated with messages without any meaning. To stand out in a crowded content space, marketers need to set themselves apart by telling stories that stand apart. To add value in a space dominated by so much clutter, provide context for content to make it worth a view, a like or a comment. Because the golden rule of writing remains, to show and not to tell.

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SOLVING THE DIGITAL SKILLS GAP IN SOUTH AFRICA REQUIRES BROAD SCALE COLLABORATION PIETER DE VILLIERS, CO-FOUNDER & CEO, CLICKATELL AND CHAIRMAN OF SIMODISA

Whilst the majority of public sector efforts and incentives are aimed at job creation within South Africa, high growth technology entrepreneurs will be quick to point out that the skills gap is a bigger issue than the jobs gap. As a result, several high growth entrepreneurs and technology leaders across several sectors have engaged with the digital skills ecosystem via the SiMODiSA TechXit Collective. We have done this in order to better understand the challenges and opportunities faced by South Africans, with a view to unlock the full potential of our youth and the creation of a vibrant digital sector. The TechXit digital skills initiative is aimed at both positively addressing identified shortcomings in the South African digital skills ecosystem (throughout the value chain), as well as at delivering new forms of value created through the development of digital skills. This newly created value will benefit both employers as well as the people of South Africa. It is my opinion that the digital skills training and development of South Africa’s youth is a bigger opportunity for our country than agriculture and mining ever was. Not only will we be able to fill hundreds of thousands of existing digital skills jobs, but there is an opportunity to create more than a million additional digital workers by re-shoring billions of rands worth of jobs currently being offshored. And, if we do this right, we will be able to attract significant foreign direct investment through in-shoring the digital capabilities we create. This is especially important since there are more than 11 million digital skills required globally as of March 2022. To become a medium- to high-growth economy, South Africa needs to advance the development of digital skills at an unprecedented level, particularly for low-skilled workers who will otherwise bear the brunt of job vulnerability as a result of the automation of administrative and technical work. The TechXit programme and framework aims to close the current and future gap between the supply and demand for ICT/ digital skills. The TechXit initiative’s purpose is to unlock the full potential for South Africa’s youth in a rapidly changing world, contributing to a thriving society. We see partnerships and a digital ecosystem approach as essential to enable businesses to innovate, scale and grow successfully, with the skills they need to compete globally. TechXit’s mission is to provide a job creation framework consisting of digital skills capacity building programmes that will lead to the placement of a million digital skills related jobs in South Africa over the next ten years or less. We believe this will fuel South Africa’s economic growth through a ‘win, win’ private and public sector partnership that has been estimated to have a potential of more than R300 billion per annum.

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ANY BUSINESS THAT CAN ATTRACT THE BEST, KEEP THEM THE LONGEST, AND GET THE BEST OUT OF THE REST, IS MOST LIKELY TO STAY A FRONT-RUNNER IN WHATEVER THEIR INDUSTRY! PADDY UPTON Paddy brings over 25-years of experience working with high-performing teams in business and sport, across multiple industries and on five continents. Imagine you’re a team leader and you overhear one of your team speaking to their friends at a party. They’re saying something like, ‘‘I love the place I work. I can be myself, and feel supported and encouraged to do my best work.” To which the reply is, “no wonder you don’t want to leave. I’m going to try get a gig there too.” It’s creating this type of environment that fascinates me. Barely two decades into the knowledge-age, many are still grappling with creating genuinely highperformance environments; ones where engaged team members feel valued, safe to show up as themselves and to produce their best work. A big culprit is being too slow to migrate from industrial age leadership and management practices to those required in current times. Covid, hybrid working environments and the existential ‘what do I really want from work?’ crisis has further exacerbated this challenge.

Here is some of what could contribute towards the above conversation happening in your business. • • • • •

Less instructing, more harnessing of the collective intelligence that sits within your team Less prescribing of roles, more asking what people are good at and feel inspired to do Fewer rules, more open-minded common-sense Less authoritarianism, more leading by serving the people who are serving the business Less egoic, more self-aware leaders

Finally, my aim with clients (which I offer so you can take some or all of it for yourself), is that when people reach the end of their career and look back, they consider this short time with me as the best experience of their entire career. I may never achieve this, but I won’t stop seeking innovative ways to ensure they have a fantastic experience. Paddy wears various hats in the high-performance space, as a leadership coach in business and sport, a head coach in professional cricket, mental coach to elite athletes, speaker, professor and best-selling author. He helped lead the Indian cricket team to World Cup victory, and both the Indian and the South African cricket teams to the World No. 1 Test ranking.

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IN ORDER TO BE INNOVATIVE, YOU MUST BE TRANSFORMATIONAL DI WILSON, CEO, INTEGER/HOTSPOT

I have always connected with people. I love their inherent curiosity; I love the idea of collective thought, and I thrive on the energy I get from engaging with people across all facets of life. From my early days at Grey Advertising, through my founding role at Pod Communications, and now as CEO of Integer/Hotspot, my love for people has not waivered, but how we engage with them has. I’ve watched as society has evolved and how business and technology have evolved alongside it. I firmly believe that in order to be innovative, you must be transformational and Integer/Hotspot’s growth, against the backdrop of an ever-changing society in South Africa, with a continued focus on engagement and result-driven communication solutions, is a key reason why we are continually recognized both locally and internationally as a leading commerce agency. Understanding consumers and their shopper-based behaviours are at the forefront of what we do; however, the recent Covid-19 pandemic showed us just how quickly established norms can become a thing of the past. It demonstrated the need to adapt to new realities and to reengage in meaningful ways. As an agency, we shifted our approach almost overnight to address the changing needs of consumers and ensure that we represented our clients as best we could. E-commerce took a giant leap forward, and we made sure we shifted to address this. Through perpetual innovation and reinvention, agencies like Integer/Hotspot were one of the few to hold their heads above the murky lockdown waters. You have to be proactive and always think one step ahead. Integer/Hotspot has always actively sought out new partners, channels, and tech opportunities. And I believe this allowed us not only to survive lockdown but to flourish within it. As harsh pandemic restrictions saw an end to physical consumer engagement, brand teams cut back on marketing spend, Integer/Hotspot, however, picked up four new clients and shot six new TVCs. Our success in these challenging times can not only be attributed to our agility in matching consumer needs but to our people. I have always maintained that people are the most important part of any organisation – they are our lifeblood, and we recognize them for their incredible talents and contributions they make. Testament to our focus on people is the fact that our management team has been in place for almost a quarter of a century! How many agencies can claim that? ‘You can’t rest easy in this space; it is constantly changing, and I believe it is imperative that our rate of transformation continues at a steady pace. One of the joys of living in these interesting times is that no two days are the same. Growth, innovation, evolution – call it what you like – is happening in real-time and shifting our approach to address this makes me excited for every challenge that comes my way.

INTEGER/HOTSPOT 6 Wessels Road, Rivonia, Sandton, 2128, Johannesburg, South Africa Contact: Di Wilson +27 83 676 1822

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SMART MOBILITY FOR SUSTAINABILITY

SASHEEN RAJKUMAR, PROJECT ENGINEER, SANRAL INNOVATION HUB As a key driver of Africa’s knowledge economy, SANRAL had the opportunity to contribute to the African Smart Cities Summit, where Sasheen Rajkumar, an Engineer in SANRAL’s Eastern Region (KZN) led the discussion on Smart Mobility for Sustainability. Sasheen, a millennial, is passionate about inspiring people and creating societal value, by harnessing the power of technology and innovation when developing solutions that will shape the future of our world. As a driver of innovation, Sasheen advocates for the democratising of mobility for everyone, while supporting electric, connected, autonomous and sustainable mobility. Leading with an analysis of the fictitious city of Wakanda, as depicted in the award-winning Marvel movie The Black Panther, Sasheen drew thought provoking parallels between the application of natural resources in the movie, and Africa’s own mineral-rich resources which should and could be far more optimally utilised than simply exporting these raw materials for the first world to exploit.

Did you know? More than 50% of the world’s Cobolt reserves and rich deposits of Nickel and Lithium are found in Africa? These are all key minerals in the production of lithium-ion batteries, used in smart phones, laptops and electric vehicles. Over 95% of Platinum and 39% of Palladium are found in Africa, and mostly in South Africa. These two metals are mostly used in the auto industry, in the production of catalytic converters and the future use of these metals is in Hydrogen fuel cell technology which will be used to produce fuel cell vehicles. But Africa exports most of its minerals as raw materials, only for other countries to refine it and manufacture high value items like electric vehicles, that will ultimately be sold back to Africa at outrageous prices, placing it firmly beyond the grip of the average person. The point? If Africa could start to refine its own minerals and resources and manufacture the end product, this continent could just become the proverbial “Wakanda” and we could see more electric vehicles and fuel cell cars on African roads, sooner than in the rest of the world. This could fundamentally change the face of mobility in Africa. The electric mobility revolution, built for Africa, by Africa.

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AFRICA’S POTENTIAL ECONOMIC GROWTH REMAINS HAMPERED BY INEQUALITY BETWEEN COUNTRIES AND INEQUALITY WITHIN COUNTRIES. THIS HAS BECOME EVEN MORE APPARENT DURING THE PANDEMIC WHICH HAS AMPLIFIED PRE-EXISTING VULNERABILITIES ACROSS THE REGION IAN MERRINGTON, CEO, THE CAPE INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE (CITI) AND THE BANDWIDTH BARN

Covid 19 has had a particularly harsh impact on the region’s most vulnerable citizens. Access to vaccines and the ability to deliver these to individuals faces infrastructural and logistical constraints in less developed countries. As the global economy adopted the digital value chain at an exponential pace during lockdown, many in Africa fell even further behind. However, looking ahead, the potential for the continent remains undiminished. Half of the world’s population growth over the next three decades will take place in sub-Saharan Africa! To quote the IMF “This represents the region’s single greatest challenge, but it also represents perhaps its greatest opportunity: it embodies a growing pool of human talent and ingenuity, with a billion more individuals all interacting and seeking new ways to better themselves and their communities. Not only does Sub-Saharan Africa have the world’s most promising renewable energy potential, it also has vast stores of innovative and resilient individuals with enormous potential to accelerate economic growth. However, for this to be unlocked, full participation in the digital economy becomes essential for Africa. Employment and economic prosperity cannot be driven by corporations and big business alone. Much of the continent’s economic growth will evolve from small business and entrepreneurs. For 21 years, CiTi has been refining and improving on its entrepreneurial support programmes. We believe that generic business incubation, digital enablement of SMME’s (particularly in the informal sector), specialised incubation and acceleration are an essential and powerful part of CiTi’s ability to positively impact economic growth and employment. We will continue to identify and seed technology clusters, which can make an impact over the next five years while becoming truly transformative over the next twenty years. We will bring our proven capability and expertise to bear on the areas of BioTech, EdTech, digital skills, energy, food and water security and Web3, through specialised catalytic interventions which create ecosystems to support cities across the continent. Bio: Ian Merrington is CEO of The Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative and The Bandwidth Barn and is also a Director of Injini, Africa’s first EdTech Accelerator and Chairperson of BioCiTi.

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A CANDLE LOSES NOTHING BY LIGHTING ANOTHER CANDLE. WE SHOULD ALL BE CANDLES AND USE OUR FLAMES TO LIGHT AS MANY AS WE CAN MIKE ABEL, FOUNDING PARTNER: CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, M&C SAATCHI GROUP SOUTH AFRICA

Innovation for innovation sake has absolutely no purpose. It requires direction. It needs to convey a message, inspire curiosity, drive real change, shape the future, and influence action. It must have meaning. Combine this with entrepreneurship, and suddenly the world moves forward. Innovation thrives when curious and imaginative people ask the right questions and are able to anticipate what may not currently be there, but is likely to unlock opportunity or solve a problem. I find the limitless possibility of the Metaverse to be the epitome of innovation. The seamless interplay between our digital lives and our physical lives is wildly exciting. I seldom find myself satisfied with the status quo. I draw inspiration from observing human behaviour and then solving basic human problems by unlocking solutions. The M&C Saatchi Abel Street Store is one of the greatest examples of this. The Street Store, a not for profit movement created and run by the agency, is the world’s first rent-free, premises-free, free pop-up clothing store for the homeless. It has to date clothed over 500,000 homeless people around the world. This is the kind of disruptive and innovative thinking that can change the world. In terms of business, innovative thinking was crucial in starting an agency during a recession in an over-traded industry with powerful and established competitors. Many believed the odds were stacked against us. But we had a big bold dream which was never to be a landing strip to land small planes, but rather to bring to life a different, top heavy model made up of senior and experienced contributors that clients wanted to collaborate, create and build enduring partnerships with. But it took two years to build that international airport where we could land the A380’s that I envisioned, so we had to tether ourselves to the mast and ride the storm with the belief that the only option would be to come out on the other side in one piece. As a society we have the responsibility to harness the collective power of curiosity and imagination to find the solution for what is unquestionably South Africa’s largest challenge – unemployment. We can no longer look towards government for solutions, but must rather shift our focus because the only way forward is through economic growth. This will be driven by the people who have great ideas. If people are brilliant then we must get behind them, socially and economically. A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle. We should all be candles and use our flames to light as many as we can. The flint that ignites those flames? Innovation.

@abelmike Mike Abel

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THE MULTIPLIER OF SUCCESS ON INNOVATION, JOB CREATION, AND ECONOMIC GROWTH CANNOT BE UNDERESTIMATED KEET VAN ZYL, CO-FOUNDER, KNIFE CAPITAL

Adversity is a pressure cooker that fosters innovation. This is a philosophy that was entrenched in my formative years. Having had some heavy, lifequestioning challenges thrown my way very early, I had to adapt and adjust, and this learning has set me in good stead. It’s also given me a great deal of perspective, which I believe is essential to being a well-rounded person giving their best both professionally and personally. I approach every day with a positive outlook, having fun, celebrating the small wins, and not letting life weigh too heavily on me. Upon reflection, it’s clear that dealing with adversity can be a blessing and can change the narrative of your life. I’m a self-motivator, a calculated risk-taker and skilfully lucky, three traits which have been invaluable for my career to date. South Africa has numerous challenges, but opportunity lies around every corner. The abundance of ideas that need execution, dreams that need direction, and concepts that need nurturing never cease to amaze me. This is a country with a heartbeat, and I’m fortunate that I can lend a hand in creating success. Giving legitimacy to Venture Capital in Africa is paramount and can only be done by amplifying sustained commercial success stories. The multiplier of success on innovation, job creation, and economic growth cannot be underestimated. The Venture Capital industry is at an exciting juncture, especially in Africa. Automation of investment processes and decentralisation of capital give more people access to the asset class as investors. The number of corporates investing in start-ups is increasing, and more VC firms are co-investing to combine not only capital but also knowledge and networks. This increase in investment activity is hugely positive for entrepreneurs across the continent. As these entrepreneurs build their wealth through exits or just building sustainable, profitable businesses, they re-invest time and money into the ecosystem. Investing in early-stage businesses is relatively easy compared to unlocking value and making a return on those investments through profitable exits. To this point, we, as Knife Capital, continue to blend knowledge, networks, and funding with high-growth entrepreneurs. Nothing ventured, nothing gained! Seeing local entrepreneurs succeed makes it all worthwhile. The road to success is paved with adversity, and I know the sheer grit and determination that is required in these tough times. Venture Capital has a vital role to play as a tool to fuel entrepreneurship and make the path to success more navigable. These are challenging times, but these are exciting times indeed. In the words of Pablo Picasso, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” @KeetvZ Email: keet@knifecap.com

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START WITH NOT KNOWING WHAT YOU’RE DOING KIRSTY BISSET, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HAVEYOUHEARD DURBAN

I’m a serial tech entrepreneur with eight (8) businesses under my belt – one (1) of which I still own, two (2) of which have been successfully sold, one (1) which has failed, and four (4) in which I hold shares. With recognition from the likes of Fast Company, Destiny Magazine and Fairlady Magazine, I thrive to build brands and businesses globally. To work towards success, I always ask ‘When was the last time you felt comfortable?’ Feeling too comfortable in your job or in your relationship brings with it a bit of a negative connotation. From a psychological standpoint, your comfort zone is nothing more than an artificial mental boundary within which you maintain a sense of security and out of which you can experience great discomfort. From a personal standpoint, your comfort zone is the place in which very little personal development occurs. Our mammalian brains will instinctively choose safety and self-preservation. So how do we move into feeling comfortable with discomfort? Start with not knowing what you’re doing. You read right. Often discomfort is forced upon you, it’s not something you sit back and go ‘Hey, universe… Hit me up with some discomfort there, I’m ready.’ No. Most of the time, you don’t choose discomfort, discomfort chooses you. In my case, entrepreneurship was not something that I chased. It came to me as a result of unemployment. I had never worked in an agency before and there I was starting my own. You see, discomfort has always been the right thing to do, it’s just been given a bad rap. We’re sold comfort as the easy solution. We’re sold comfort as the right solution. Retire comfortably. Find a comfortable job. But all of these are external. The job. The lifestyle. Macroeconomics. And it makes you feel out of control of your own future. So look inward. Look in to you. Look into your business. When it comes down to it – it’s not often external events that cause failure, but the internal environment that makes you drown or get eaten.

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CURIOUSLY EXPLORE, OBSERVE, CREATE, AND INNOVATE WITH THE ‘FEAR OF MISSING OUT’- FOMO MORNE J VENTER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, RECO.

“Invention is the most important product of man’s creative brain. The ultimate purpose is the complete mastery of mind over the material world, the harnessing of human nature to human needs.”— Nikola Tesla “Our mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humour, and some style.”

reco.

— Maya Angelou

Two of my most favorite quotes. I can honestly say that I thrive on positivity. We all need reminding and who better than accomplished people to learn from. I read so much in their wise words, there is a lot of life and hardship behind it I believe! One of our applications have a noticeboard that communicate inspirational and positive quotes from time to time. My journey as an entrepreneur started out in the restaurant industry. I am happily left with a passion for cooking because of that path I chose. After exiting the restaurant business, I entered the financial services industry back in 1996 where I am thankfully still involved in. I have been blessed to meet and work with some amazing individuals within this industry. Reco. was founded in 2017 with the core focus of developing an application centered around the financial advisor. Technology, telecommunication, and insurance is the foundation of our business and integrating it all through INNOVATION. Creating and innovating solutions has been the driving force in our business realizing our dreams and visions. Your innovation vision statement sets the way for innovative ideas and strategic plans. Your company’s innovation vision takes you from its present state to a brighter future. We are living in extradentary times, where we have and will bear witness to some spectacular inventions, what you need to decide is if where you will find yourself in all of this. Will you just merely be a spectator or user of these inventions or will you be part of the magical energy of invention – Digital transformation, AI and automation technology are key components necessary that will determine how well you will be able to adapt within your industry going forward. Quantum Blockchain will become the future of the Economy through its immutable trust and compute operability it will eradicate corruption and bring prosperity to all people Partnering with the right people that challenge and stretch your thinking is pivotal to becoming more! Do not be influenced by negative critics. I am very lucky that I am allergic to negativity, so I must avoid it at all costs. Even well-meaning people can derail you if you allow it. Take a deep breath and release all that you have been holding onto. Follow your intentions closely and you will complete what is needed for new doors to open fully. Let your invention fire burn bright inside of you. Do not be afraid to let the fire out for the world to benefit from - MJV

TELLECOMMUNICATION _ MTN business mobile network provider solutions partner - Vendor number 671689. Next360 mobile network provider partner - Authorization Code - A747 INSURANCE _Recosure Bluestar Tel: +27 12 443 6551 Email: info@recomobile.co.za

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I FEEL THERE’S STILL A MUCH BETTER WORLD FOR EVERYONE WAITING, IF WE SOLVE BIG PROBLEMS WITH BETTER TECHNOLOGY

stands out, I have enough to finish the rest of the book, but will rather save the paper. As a company we have a lot of firsts in industry in our region, but we are still out there chasing our vision daily. A problem without a solution is what inspires me to work on a project for a long period before seeing any reward.

STEVE PINTO, CEO, NEW REALITY & CTRL ROBOTICS

As for the biggest challenges I have faced, anyone who has ever run a startup will say there is a new challenge every day. When you start anything there is always the unknown, the risk and desire to find out. It’s our natural curiosity. So we’ve struggled so much, with so many things. The next challenge will always be bigger than the last, and we like it that way. Our method for all of our challenges is simple, we get the best people we have in a room, discuss and plan. Break up the tasks into the smallest parts, divide them up and get the job done.

“Empty your mind. Be formless, shapeless, like water” — Bruce Lee My Perspective on Innovation Innovation is not as hard as it seems. Have an open mind, surround yourself with the best people and take on big problems with well tested ideas. That’s pretty much it. Don’t be scared to “innovate” (break things, fix them, learn, share, try, fail, try again), and embrace it.

Jobs are changing and evolving faster than anyones expected and humanity needs to embrace technology in order to accelerate towards the betterment of society. People need more tools to up-skill themselves out of poverty and away from the jobs that robots will eventually take over. My vision is to create the tools to up-skill humanity faster and cheaper through VR, and for CTRL to make the physical automation revolution fairer for everyone involved.

Advice & Best Practices Be ready to work hard and dedicate a lot of time to your journey. Only people who stop trying truly fail. So on your way to the top know the road is long, it’s hard, and obviously it’s not easy. If it was easy everyone would do it, but remember the view from the top is better than the picture you send to the bottom.

I have been an entrepreneur since the age of 16, I’ve only ever had one real job in my life, and for a very short amount of time. For the past 13 years I’ve been a serial entrepreneur, until 8 years ago I aligned my attention and focus into technology. I’ve always tried to learn as much as I could about each industry I found myself in, and constantly leverage tech to make businesses better. I feel there’s still a better world for everyone in the future, if we solve big problems with better technology.

The Future of Innovation We need a world that isn’t scared of technology. We need to build tech that’s truly useful and beneficial to society. There are many things that we could improve on for the benefit of human kind. I see a world where people have access to any learning they want regardless of their income level, and a world where people do the jobs they want to and not what they need to for money. Bad jobs should be done by machines and people should have the ability to choose anything they want to do in society.

Connectivity and speed are the catalyst for rapid growth in the industry right now. I believe that 5G and improved networks will rapidly improve all communications based system, giving us access to greater computing power in the cloud.

stevenpinto7

ctrlrobotics.com newreality.co.za

I think life and the person you are is a collection of many memories that shape you as a person. I don’t have a particular moment or memory that

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UNDERSTANDING DIFFERENTIATION

HEIDI BRAUER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, HOLLARD INSURANCE There’s an age-old adage that goes, “there is nothing new under the sun.”. That sentiment’s half-true: humanity’s creativity is actually awe-inspiring. What does this creativity look like? The answer, for me, is differentiation. I use the metaphor of baking a cake: all cakes start the same and are made the same way, using similar ingredients. But when a cake has layers - your products, how you deal with customers, how you interact with your partners, your culture and purpose, your heart and soul, then the cake can be beautifully differentiated. People will ask you, “Why’s this cake so delicious? Why is it nicer than other cakes?”. That’s differentiation. Of course, baking such a cake is only possible when your relationship with your creative agency is based on honesty and trust. There can be no tolerance of mediocrity – nor any wastage. You need a strong culture of partnership, one in which there’s a sense that everyone in the relationship wins. The closer you are, the more you engage, the richer the ideas generated. It’s also proven that business (and humanity) is better when we’re purpose-driven and purpose-led. Returning to the cake metaphor: the base layer for any differentiated cake must be Purpose. As an example, we start with a base layer that recognises our business as a force for good – anything we do must enable more people to create and secure a better future. Real differentiation happens when you combine these layers of relationship, culture and purpose. A real-world example is the Hollard’s “Big Ads for Small Business” initiative (https://www. hollard.co.za/bigads) where we responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by boosting small businesses, partnering with 12 such businesses across South Africa to give 85-percent of our advertising space to them. We truly engaged with these businesses – our partners – getting to know them and make them part of our lives before sharing their stories. Although we only , we achieved More importantly, our campaign created a profound knock-on effect, which resulted in better businesses, contributed to better communities, and ultimately, created better futures. Inspiration is everywhere - if you open your eyes, your heart will open. If your heart is open, you will find a way to differentiate and create more human connections that make the world a better place.

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REIMAGINING BANKING TAURIQ KERAAN, CEO, TYMEBANK

One of the questions I’m often asked as TymeBank CEO is “How can digital banks enable people to improve their financial wellbeing?” In other words, how can we remake the banking system, so it works for the people we serve, and not just for banks?

Although a digital bank like TymeBank, which has over 4,5 million customers, is built on digital infrastructure, the interoperability of our systems allows customers to deposit and withdraw cash at over 14 000 retail-partner till points nationally and also allows them to open a bank account and obtain a live debit card in a paperless, five-minute onboarding process.

In my experience there are three impactful things digital banks can do to improve the banking experience and encourage better financial practices.

Emerging economies and certain segments in developed markets need these ubiquitous cash handling points to allow people to interface between the physical and digital world in a way that’s frictionless, convenient, and low cost.

Firstly, we can empower customers through education, by lowering and being transparent with fees and by providing user-friendly digital interfaces. Secondly, we can encourage beneficial behaviours such as saving and responsible borrowing. Finally, we can help bridge the physical/digital divide.

Digital banks are well placed to offer a better experience for customers at every stage of the financial journey, from access to prosperity. It’s time we reimagined financial services from the ground up.

Most digital banks are well positioned to do the first two, while a few are paradoxically better prepared than legacy banks to play a role in the third.

TymeBank CEO Tauriq Keraan was a key member of the team that led to Tyme’s inception in 2012 and played a critical role in the launch of TymeBank in 2019. Under his leadership, South Africa’s first digital bank has become one of the fastest growing in the world. A qualified mechanical engineer, Tauriq obtained his MSc (Eng) from the University of Cape Town. He has spent 13 years building and scaling digital banking businesses in South Africa.

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B R A N D A L I S M IS CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS OF YOUR BUSINESS BEYOND 2021 MIKE SHARMAN, RETROVIRAL

At the start of 2020, Bushfire Brandalism was executed at the bus shelters of Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane suburbs, in response to the Australian government’s handling of the bushfire crisis. ‘It’s amazing what you can get away with in a hi-vis vest.’ Scott Marsh, an artist from Sydney and one of 41 to participate in this campaign, chuckled that his hi-vis vest was a ‘cloak of invisibility’, while applying a portrait of Scott Morrison that had the words ‘climate denial’ etched into the Prime Minister’s forehead. Posters with a melting Caramello Koala, pleading ‘Save an Aussie icon’, and Blinky Bill running from a terminal wall of flames, leveraged locally relevant iconography to create rubber-necking moments to engage passersby to magnify the key message that ‘climate change is a reality’. Considering the recency and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on all of us, Brandalism has been the most prevalent among organisations who have deconstructed their traditional slogans for the sake of encouraging lockdown (in)activity. Nike is known for producing remarkable work, but it played out of its proverbial boots with the copy on this social media poster: Every brand has its genesis as a challenger. IF YOU EVER DREAMED OF PLAYING FOR MILLIONS AROUND THE WORLD, NOW IS YOUR CHANCE, Play inside, play for the world.

Forbes details how a business lifecycle evolves from startup, to growth; it then progresses to its maturity phase, and finally, is faced with the crossroads labeled ‘renewal’ or ‘decline’.

Jeep reconfigured its trademark circles and vertical lines’ grille (OIIIIIIIO) by using utilitarian objects such as birds’ eye view coffee cup shots, wireless charging pads, and a variety of household remotes to drive its updated #TheGreatIndoors positioning.

B R A N D A L I S M is a phrase that was first coined in 2012 where street artists - led by an unknown Scotsman, Robert Montgomery in the black of night - hijacked billboards by plastering B&W typographic poetry over your standard ‘buy-buy-buy-call-to-action’ outdoor media.

Conversely, McDonald’s Brazil didn’t quite manage to read the room. It received its fair share of social media shade when it initiated a ‘supersize lapse in judgement’. Each one of its two arches - that form the globally, recognisable ‘M’ logo - was spaced apart as a Golden Arches social distancing stunt.

These actions tapped into the authority-versus-anarchy zeitgeist, it became a call to arms for street artists, graffiti craftsmen, and vandals alike, and established a cult - albeit illegal - following across the UK, US and Australia.

Clearly, not all brands can or should vacillate between profiteering and a perceived purpose.

26 ‘artists’, including Montgomery, brandalised 35 outdoor locations across Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol and London as an opposition statement to advertising and its ‘destructive impact’ on issues such as body image, consumerism and debt.

What are your business objectives, what is your manifesto (a greater, more granular and profound approach than ‘purpose’) and how do you intend on impacting your personal - as opposed to public - relations?

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BRANDING AND MARKETING ARE STRATEGIC BUSINESS DISCIPLINES. THE BEST THING WE CAN DO AS AN INDUSTRY IS TO STOP SELLING CREATIVITY FOR CREATIVITY’S SAKE – TO BE ROCK STARS AND GLAMOROUS. IT’S TIME WE STEPPED UP AND GAVE MARKETING THE STRATEGIC RECOGNITION IT DESERVES TO ENSURE ITS POSITIVE BUSINESS AND STAKEHOLDER IMPACT DR. SEAN MCCOY, FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HKLM GROUP

Marketing and business. These two disciplines do not live in separate worlds. Rather, they are inextricably linked. A solid branding and marketing strategy is actually a solid business strategy, because you cannot have business success without the clearly defined communications roadmap of a robust marketing plan. This understanding informs my personal vision of ensuring that marketing matters in business, to help the broader business fraternity see the power of marketing as a discipline that is integral to business strategy and positive business results. As a founder and executive director of Africa’s leading strategic branding agency, HKLM, I have a deep-seated passion for marketing and business, and the sweet spot where these two disciplines meet. I use my role to constantly educate clients about the true business function of marketing. I’m equally passionate about the next generation of marketers, and would love nothing more than to see these marketers emerging from institutions, and those rising up the ranks, cementing the strategic role of marketing in big business. I want to pay it forward in this regard, and increasingly have one foot in the world of HKLM and another foot in academia, trying to give back. I’m involved with a range of business schools where I research, lecture, moderate and supervise, all in an effort to maintain the golden thread of the strategic importance of marketing along the entire breadth of the marketing value chain. I am inspired by excellence in all its forms, and have great admiration for people who raise the bar in their field; people who are passionate about their craft and deliver great work as a result of it. This is exactly what we as HKLM strive to achieve for our clients across the continent, as we deliver strategic, innovative branding solutions inspired by Africa and her people. DR. SEAN MCCOY Tel: +27 82 558 5080 Email: smccoy@hklmgroup.com

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INNOVATION IN EDUCATIONAL ENTREPRENEURISM HAS THE POWER TO UNLOCK INFINITE OPPORTUNITY

JOSEPHINE BUYS, FOUNDING CEO, INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU (IAB SA) AND DIGITAL MEDIA LITERACY ADVOCATE As a media and marketing pioneer, throughout my career I have been at the forefront of lightning speed change in the advertising and media landscape, from representing several top newspaper and magazine publishers, as they migrated online, to co-founding CEO of the first and only Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB SA) in Africa. As a co-founder of the initiative to have ‘universal access to the internet’ considered and declared ‘a basic human right’ in collaboration with the SA Human Rights Council, I have developed a passion for online education and training for the youth in South Africa (and across the globe), to give them hope and opportunity in the 4IR. GenZ has become the largest generation (since millennials and baby boomers respectively), and they have unprecedented access to just about anything online and with that, there is a pressing need to teach youth to use tech for good and educate them about navigating their digital footprint, to question who they want to/will be online, their reputation etc. For this they need to develop DQ, digital citizenship which ensures responsible technology usage; essential to helping students achieve and understand digital literacy, as well as ensuring cyberbullying prevention, online safety, digital health, etc. Given the blended models of education which emerged during the closed borders of the pandemic, it’s clear that business models of education need to adapt as students gravitate towards the flexibility of anytime, anywhere vs the traditional student faculty model. We can now expand the reach of access to education to the very people who are going to build our economy and become our future leaders. However, the social and emotional challenges that emerge from misuse of technology change faster than teachers or parents can manage, and we need to educate our students about the ever-changing risks associated with technology. While institutions of education are trying their best to keep up, I believe the private sector needs to support their endeavours. This is why I’m a digital media literacy advocate for programs that empower students to minimise their risk online by teaching them about online privacy (settings), cyber security, and bullying. Targeting tight niches of age groups building trust and triggering different thinking at each stage of their digital footprint enables them to better understand what the real online threats and dangers are. With that understanding, learners (parents and teachers) are able to make better and more informed choices to ensure their online safety and security, while being mindful of the mental health challenges (and opportunities), as we move into the era of the metaverse. jozib_sa jozib josephinebuys

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INNOVATION THROUGH B2B ACCELERATION TERRENCE GOOSEN, XTENDEVENT.COM

As a Marketing and Digital Marketing Innovator, Strategist and Brand Builder focused largely on marketing intelligence, best practices and deliverables making use of the full marketing and digital marketing ecosystem, combined with marketing technologies and core business and industry/vertical understanding, has resulted in stronger delivery and benefits of managed integrated digital ecosystems. My career has seen me hold positions on both sides of the proverbial marketing-digital-marketing coin, playing as brand/marketing head, CEO, founder and co-founder as well as serving in the capacity of head of division for some of Africa’s largest and most accoladed media, telecoms, advertising and marketing agencies, and start-ups as well as my own collaborative fashion brand (Key Diamante Atelier) uplifting many talented South Africans – and sharing their stories of rising to business success through B2B collaboration. Having seen hundreds of successful campaigns, driving growth across various industries, I can only say I want to experience more. With a passion for business connectivity and driving the future forward, my entrepreneurial spirit and a brain that never likes to stand still, I firmly believe in “let’s learn, let’s build, let’s dominate”. I’ve always been a massive supporter of innovative technologies and simplistic and efficient ways of getting things done, better, smoother, faster, and stronger. Africa, our home – is an incredible open opportunity for rapid adaptation, embracing all the benefits and business acceleration these tools, minds and possibilities have to offer. Having spent a substantial amount of time shaping change and evolution in the hospitality, banking and FSP sectors among others – I have proudly contributed to the evolution of these spaces. One specific passion area I am moving my focus to, is the B2B space. When one looks into the B2C space one can see brilliant marketing and business legends scattered everywhere. Coopetition arrangements, collaboration, marketplaces, support entities – you name it. I believe it’s time the B2B space feels the same and I’m delighted to partner with Xtendevent and B2B Warriors to make this dream a reality. The next part of my journey is going to be extremely exciting, and a game-changer we can all be proud of. Making use of the data we have at our fingertips and our combined wealth of knowledge understanding the challenges each industry vertical faces, and the gaps and opportunities they have to them. Connecting these dots and these industry leaders are going to be a game-changer. When great minds get together, great things happen. I know we’re all excited to help grow the B2B space – I look forward to the future. B2B success, here we come! Terrence Goosen Tel: +27 72 717 2805 Email: terry@b2bwarriors.com Xtendevent xtendtradeshow

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WITHOUT SOUTH AFRICA, CG TECH WOULD NOT EXIST! JASON ENGLISH, CHIEF ECOSYSTEM OFFICER, CG TECH

Governments worldwide are stepping up and playing a crucial role in enabling innovation in their parts of the world. Our leaders can and should do as much as possible to help small businesses, start ups and innovators succeed. These entrepreneurs are the life blood of our future economy. South Africa has historically had the worlds eyes upon us for political strife and in turn fearing investment, yet underneath the shadows of the political challenges, is actually a country that was home to a variety of global leaders who built world class companies. Tesla, Space X, Paypal, Spar, Investec Bank, Liberty Life, Sasol, BHP Billiton, Monster Energy, Pam Golding, De Beers, Atlantis, One & Only, Nandos are just some of the giant names spread across the globe. Trevor Noah, Black Coffee, and Charlise Theron are also names synonymous with global icon status and whilst many people around the world won’t necessarily associate South Africa with innovation or successful leaders, South Africa has a hidden innovation ecosystem very different to the rest of the world. Where 1st world countries are innovating in AI, blockchain, robotics, autonomous transport and many more, South Africa finds its people innovating against basic needs. Electricity outages, access to funding, water quality, lack of infrastructure, crime and education have led to world class innovations in these spaces. South Africa today has one of the best private insurance, private medical and private banking systems in the world. Mining innovation was born in South Africa and continues to grow and we were the first to produce a Coal to Liquids petrochemical plant. The world’s first heart transplant took place in Cape Town and economic solar power, computerised ticketing, speed gun sports technology, automatic pool cleaning, pratley putty, retinal cryosurgery, Q20 oil, aviation heads up display helmets, laser guided missiles and the Rooivelk helicopter are some technologies which were born in South Africa. In 2014, I was lucky enough to meet Niall Carroll and Andrew Jackson who were best known for founding Royal Bafokeng Holdings, (another innovative community investment initiative) and it was in South Africa that we began the journey of building a global business with deep roots in South Africa. Today we have businesses in Ireland, London, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Norway and South Africa that are either run or managed by South African born leaders and innovators. Perhaps if our government changed the operating model to “if it is privately owned and controlled, it works”, and threw billions of rands into the business ecosystem to encourage more entrepreneurs to build global brands, the world might end up watching and noticing South Africa for a different reason. One that the mighty Nelson Mandela would be proud of today!

Email: jason.english@cg-tech.co

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THE VALUE OF INNOVATION

CHRIS BOTHA, GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR, PARK ADVERTISING Is it possible to put a price on innovation? Not really. I mean, how do you put a price on something that is in essence non-tangible? And how do we know what the real value of innovation is? It is sadly something that is all too often underappreciated because innovation is not necessarily correctly valued. I do believe though that we can value it – by looking at the cost of its opposite aspects like mundaneness, wallpaper, boring. The most recent Adex numbers revealed how much money is spent on advertising in South Africa every year and it’s a staggering number - roughly R40 Billion! That is astronomical. It means that there is about R110m spent on advertising every single day! Here comes the difficult question… how many ads can you remember seeing yesterday? Can you remember five? Three? Can you remember one? I bet, if there is one, it is one that had that very rare ingredient. Innovation. R110m is spent every single day by an industry that doesn’t often count the cost of waste. Wallpaper, bland and mundane communication disappears in a sea of sameness, washed away by sheer volume. So, while we might not know what innovation is worth – we know what blandness in advertising costs. It costs us R110m every day. As communicators we should wake up every day thinking that the average consumer is exposed to 5,000 pieces of communication per day. The overwhelming majority of that is not noticed. It is money spent and wasted. So ask yourself – whether I work in media, strategy, creative, PR or any other communications field – what am I doing to be a distinctive one in 5,000? Why will the consumer notice, react, remember and respond to my one ad when there are 5,000 like it, making R110m worth of noise. Yes, it’s scary. But it should challenge us to do and be better. To truly value innovation for what it can do.

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DISRUPTING THE GLOBAL BOOK BUSINESS

FOUNDER/CEO, INTERNATIONAL GROUP PUBLISHER - GLOBALVILLAGEPUBLISHINGINC.COM How is the commercial book publishing world being disrupted? Some clients joke with us that we are bringing back a dying art form, printing hard cover books for business which are cool again. The business model however has changed completely, gone are the days of pay to play by selling advertorials or advertising. A great book on an ecosystem or industry needs to be authentic and all encompassing of all the major players sharing their story, not just whoever paid to be in there. To finance that we moved to a crowd funded book buying model where the market and the participants buy the books in bulk to use as gifts to clients, visitors, investors and employees. You also need to add technology to the printed book by embedding augmented reality videos into its pages, we do that by hiding QR codes behind the images that a mobile phone can read to activate a video. The books also need to be available online as ebooks, a blog and ultimately a forum where all the participants can communicate with each other. How do you set up your business in new cities and countries? We look for skilled marketing professionals in each city that know their community well and form 50/50 partnerships with them where they collect the stories and we design and print the book. We are a fast growing tribe of fun and energetic publishing entrepreneurs, partners and friends. We all share a passion for innovation, beautiful places and cultures that we want to embrace, share and showcase with the rest of the world. We are always looking for marketing entrepreneurs to join our team, please reach out to me on LinkedIn or info@globalvillage.world. How has COVID-19 changed your business? We have been very fortunate and seen significant growth over the pandemic as events and exhibitions have had to reinvent themselves. We see ourselves as an exhibition of innovation in book form. Everyone is now innovating some part of their business and with face-to-face contact moving to zoom calls our books have been a great connector and touch point for companies and their clients.

Sven Boermeester is a global publishing entrepreneur with a career that spans over 20 years with stops in more than 100 countries. He was born in Antwerp, Belgium and grew up in South Africa. After completing his business studies in Cape Town, he opened his first media company and started publishing the trade and industry directories for South Africa followed by the launch of the Best of the World publishing series in Dubai. Fast forward 20 years and 183 ‘Best of’ editions across 60 countries, Sven now lives in Tampa, Florida with his wife and young son. He is working on disrupting the publishing business by mapping out the Innovation ecosystems of every major city in the U.S. and around the world, through his latest Innovation books and augmented reality video series.

GLOBAL VILLAGE

Email: info@globalvillage.world sven-boermeester-8605823 Globalvillagepublishinginc.com InnovationsOfTheWorld.com 55

CHAPTER TWO

FUTURE CITIES & ENTREPRENEURIAL SUPPORT ORGANISATIONS 56

HARD-WON THINGS ARE MORE VALUABLE THAN THOSE THAT COME TOO EASILY.” - RICHARD BRANSON

Title: ‘Together We Are More’, for the International Public Art Festival 2019, Theme: Generation Next, produced by Baz-Art and Bona Berlin

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WESGRO

THE CAPE TRADE PORTAL

Building Resilience Builds Competitiveness Wesgro 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 exports of products and services, and markets the Western Cape as a competitive business and travel destination. Cape Town is Africa’s leading digital city and a trailblazer in tech innovation and infrastructure. For an agency like Wesgro, with almost every aspect of its mandate involving international

economic activity, the COVID-19 pandemic changed everything. Yet the manner in which the Agency was able to adapt paid testament to the pioneering environment in which it is rooted.

Building Resilience Shifting gears, Wesgro piloted initiatives and new ways of working to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and steer the Western Cape’s economic recovery. These included effective digitisation for information sharing and matchmaking, leveraging existing relationships locally and internationally, and building networks to unlock new trade opportunities in brand-new ways.

Enabling Recovery As the agency responsible for facilitating national and international investment into Cape Town and the Western Cape and expanding the export of products and services, Wesgro sought solutions to overcome these obstacles.

The Cape Trade Portal www.capetradeportal.com The Cape Trade Portal builds on lessons learned during the COVID-19 lockdown. The scale and scope offered by digital platforms increases opportunities for exporters to connect with buyers. It builds on the Cape’s reputation as an exporting powerhouse of premium, competitive, diverse and quality products and services. The Cape Trade Portal supported by the ‘Made in the Cape’ digital brand marketing campaign was officially launched in 2022 by Wesgro - in partnership with Western Cape Government and the City of Cape Town. The effort assists local exporters in expanding their global footprint, as well as strengthening the Cape’s brand identity across global markets with an initial priority focus on the province’s top export markets internationally. The Western Cape Government’s strategic plan for the next 5 years identifies growing exports as a fundamental component to economic recovery.

Developed as the virtual connection point for international buyers and Western Cape sellers of products and services, the Cape Trade Portal is a matchmaking tool and virtual home for proudly Cape-based products. Already boasting 450 registered exporters showcasing over 1600 products, the portal is well on its way to becoming a first port of call for international buyers. Local export-ready businesses can complete the simple onboarding process and take advantage of the increased visibility the digital solution provides. Wesgro’s Trade team indicated that in addition to being a matchmaking tool, the Cape Trade Portal acts as a dedicated resource center providing tools, insights, and expertise to support Western Cape exporters on their journey. Via the platform, exporters can tap into training and mentoring programmes, keep updated on upcoming trade exhibitions, get support with non-tariff export barriers as well as assistance with regulatory and compliance requirements. Looking to deepen and boost the brand story of the Cape as a region of origin of quality goods and services, Wesgro has developed a ‘Made in the Cape’ brand story, supported by a robust digital marketing roll-out. Looking to reinforce key attributes of quality, sustainability, value, and trust – approved local exporters can download the ‘Made in the Cape’ logo, supporting brand story video, and white label marketing collateral assets from the portal, all of which can be utilised in their respective marketing efforts.

does not stand apart from Made in South Africa - it remains proudly South African, but will follow a marketing strategy towards regionalism. The campaign aims to strengthen the identity of Western Cape exports by connecting the Cape to quality through highlighting hard-hitting proof points across five products including but not limited to: rooibos (representative of Natural Products), citrus (representative of Agriculture), wine (representative of Wine and Spirits), software development (representative of Tech Innovation), and design (representative of Creative Industries).

IN THE CAPE TECH INDUSTRY

A CITY LEADING THE WAY Cape Town and the Western Cape is the tech hub of Africa

Insights by Paul Lewis & Jacopo Dettoni

Responding to requests from local exporters for increased promotional support, the logo development and marketing campaign draws on insights into perceptions of the destination globally. Ensuring a holistic approach, Wesgro engaged with local exporters and export councils to gain industry knowledge of the unique selling and pain points of Western Cape exported products, to effectively promote the province as the preferred source market for goods and services. The campaign speaks to those seeking products produced with care and infused with the unique spirit of a particular people and place. The objective is to leverage the premium that can come from a recognised “region of origin”, which evokes a sense of authenticity different from “country of origin”. Made in the Cape

Intuitive chatbots Cape Town’s own stock exchange Township techpreneurs Games changing the world

Pioneers Magazine Wesgro’s Pioneers magazine is a celebration of the tech ecosystem in Cape Town and the Western Cape. With four editions in the bank – and another on the way –Pioneers profiles the inspiring, groundbreaking companies operating in the province and the industry that supports them. Wesgro has profiled local companies that have shifted the needle on tech development, from click-and-collect delivery services and fully electric delivery vehicles to worldclass intelligence tradecraft and innovative

AI & airborne tech Fully electric vehicles

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fintech, they are all fantastic examples of those driving the innovation and growth of the local tech space. The following five profiles serve to highlight just some of the work being done by the incredible local companies in the Western Cape. To find out more, download the full magazine here (https://www.wesgro. co.za/corporate/resources).

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CompariSure: The bot next door Fintech company CompariSure is a marketplace that connects insurers with consumers through their social media-integrated friendly chatbot. 10 to 15 years ago, insurers would create websites in an effort to sell their products and policies online. But in South Africa, where a large part of the market lacks access to computers, or has not purchased a product online, the corporates’ connection is ineffective or lost. This is where Jonathan Elcock and Matt Kloos found a gap in the digital ecosystem, which inspired the development of CompariSure. Matt Kloos “In South Africa, there are great insurers, but they often struggle to reach people in this new-tech era. Ninety-nine percent of people we speak to are on mobile phones. They don’t have computers and are not used to browsing websites. So we’ve built this conversational technology that enables people to access these great products. We are a distributor, selling products, using tech,” Matt explains.

Jonathan Elcock

Ultimately, this is CompariSure’s differentiator: The chatbot can handle complex conversations related to financial products and insurance, but in a simple and understandable way.

Best of both worlds The chatbot is also widely and easily accessible. A user can get information 24/7 and is not affected by power outages.

Through a CompariSure Facebook ad, consumers can initiate a Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp conversation in which a chatbot takes them through the whole process of finding and securing a good deal, or bettersuited product. “We pride ourselves on trying to find the best deals. We offer users the choice and give the consumer the power,” says Matt.

And if a user gets stuck or requires further guidance, a team of agents, who are monitoring the bot, can step in and assist, offering the user the best of both worlds.

Usually, insurance ads call on users to share their cell number and create a string of ineffective phone calls and spam. CompariSure’s chatbot technology, on the other hand, can take a product and turn it into a conversation that consumers engage in. It is simple, user-friendly, and intuitive.

From the agents’ perspective, work no longer entails repetitive administrative work, or collecting basic details; they are now specialised in human interaction and problem-solving skills. This deep end-to-end ability, with the human touch, if needed, is what sets CampariSure apart.

CompariSure’s greatest breakthrough has been with funeral cover. A consumer can share their details and add the people they would like covered, head to a check-out screen and get a policy document immediately. Most of the time, an email address is not even required. This was a conscious choice by CompariSure, as it is seen as an “archaic means of communicating” by younger generations.

A major point of pride is CompariSure’s distribution ability. Since they are not limited to selling only one brand, they are able to find the best deal from a select group of brands and give the consumer the knowledge to make a choice. They have essentially democratised insurance, giving the user power and incorporating ethics into corporate. Ultimately, this is what inspired the co-founders to start CompariSure. Jonathan worked in insurance and felt limited by the product offering and inability to maximise benefit for the consumer. Matt, who was working at an investment bank in London, quit his job and moved back to partner with Jonathan.

The chatbot can handle complex conversations, but in a simple and understandable way. They have also coded empathy into their AI to make the conversation warm and friendly. Their chatbot can comment on a user’s responses in an intuitive way, like expressing support and respect. “Chatbots are powerful. They are a brilliant way to share content with people and educate customers and gather their feedback,” Matt remarks.

Changing people’s lives Regarding the future, the opportunities are endless. CompariSure trialled a Zulu chatbot and were able to share content with customers they were otherwise, linguistically, blocked from. This flexibility of language is the tip of the iceberg in conversational commerce when it comes to expansion possibilities. The fact that the tool is integrated into social media platforms also allows for a global reach. When the pandemic first started, the chatbot was able to check in with users, ask about their knowledge of the virus,

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and offer advice on how to best manage it. The technology became a datacollection tool with an educational purpose.

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and other core insurance functions. However, the more closely they worked with their clients, the more they realised that insurance companies require greater levels of support and advice. This support included setting up the proper AI conversational flows for their clients. Today, the company develops bespoke conversational AI solutions while reducing operating costs.

To date, CompariSure’s biggest success has been their reach into new markets. By interacting with 1,5 million South African users, and covering 100 000 lives (policies sold), they have helped people who are used to a brick-and-mortar, cash- based society buy products online.

“Our goal with FCB.ai was to bring people closer to financial services with an interactive and fun experience, while enabling financial service providers to enhance customer experience and maximise business performance by saving time and money,” Antoine explains.

What motivates Jonathan and Matt to be a part of the digital network is the ability to change people’s lives; knowing that, in the long run, the technology they’ve developed improves lives at the grassroots level. The user feedback echoes the founders’ motivation, consistently expressing gratitude for finding a great deal through a slick experience. There is no doubt that this local tech business is at the start of a socially beneficial trajectory.

FCB.ai’s business model is based on both SAAS and a performance fee, and that is what sets them apart. They are not just a software provider to their clients, but an integrated partner that fully manages the solution and works closely with them to optimise performance over the long term.

For more information about CompariSure, visit www.comparisure.co.za comparisure

“Our goal with FCB.ai was to bring people closer to financial services with an interactive and fun experience.” The company’s platform brings people closer to financial services through an intelligent and human-like conversation, and offers a more intuitive and efficient customer journey, enabling clients to interact with dozens of potential and existing customers. Currently, their chatbots are facilitating an increase of up to 40% in converting quotes to insurance cover.

FCB.ai: AI enhancing the world of finance

Transforming people’s lives

Local fintech company FCB.ai develops conversational AI solutions that help financial service providers acquire and retain customers by optimising customers’ experience.

“We believe in positively transforming people’s lives through performancedriven digital solutions. We aim to become the best at selling financial service products via AI-powered conversational solutions,” says Antoine.

Research indicates that call centres are increasingly inefficient, saturated and expensive, often not delivering the intended results in terms of sales conversion and customer satisfaction. This is why FCB.ai has been on a mission to develop solutions for the financial services industry and address the inefficiencies of call centres.

Some of the business’s key highlights include partnering with MTN to create a conversational AI solution for their MoMo customer acquisition, which enables customers to sign up for a MoMo account on their mobile phone in just a few minutes.

Founded in Cape Town in 2016 by French entrepreneurs Antoine Paillusseau and Romain Diaz, FCB.ai kicked off its journey in the insurance sector by assisting clients with sales, customer retention, customer care

The business went on to create a persona for the registration solution called Siza. Siza adds something special to the experience in terms of memorability, and an overall more enjoyable experience for customers. FCB.ai also teamed up with the Nashua Children’s Charity Foundation (NCCF) and Ozow to develop a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end conversational AI donation solution that enables benefactors to donate to the Foundation from their desktop or on their mobile phone in just a few seconds. This conversational solution, known as NASH, is an AI-driven platform that allows donors to choose whether they would like to donate money, goods, or their time by engaging with NASH and completing a few simple, userfriendly steps. With such a successful foray into the insurance sector, FCB.ai is looking to expand into Portugal, France and the UK, as well as West Africa. For more information about FCB.ai, visit www.FCB.ai.com FCB.aiSolutions |

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MellowVans: The future is electric Stellenbosch-based start-up MellowVans is replacing both traditional motorcycles and light vans used for deliveries with their low-cost, emission- free, fully electric vehicles. With each of their electric vehicles running at a mere 12 to 15 cents per kilometre in terms of operational costs, providing over 100 km of range, and featuring 2,4 cubic metres of space, MellowVans is revolutionising the delivery space locally, with an eye on moving abroad soon.

Environmental impact a driving force Neil believes there are a number of things driving the positive reception, but none more so than the environmental considerations. Given that the average delivery vehicle does about 80 km per day, 240 days per year, a single MellowVan, which has zero direct tailpipe emissions, can save 20 kg of carbon emissions per day, or 4,9 tons per year.

Initially launched as a passenger-based vehicle, MellowCabs pivoted to a cargo-orientated machine called the MellowVan, with the first prototype launched in 2018. The van has evolved massively since then: The prototype went through six iterations over the following two years, with the vehicle going into serial production this year.

There are quite a few factors driving the conversion to electric delivery vehicles,” Neil explains. “South Africa is becoming more environmentally aware, and cost is also a big driver in the country.”

“We have been working well with all the big retailers in South Africa,” says MellowVans founder, Neil du Preez. “We are currently operating all over the country, have sent vehicles to Botswana and Namibia, and are now focused on completing the tests for European vehicle requirements. We have one vehicle in the Netherlands, but once the tests are done, we will launch full-scale into Europe and the Middle East.”

“I think the next leap forward for delivery technology will definitely be autonomous vehicles.” Keeping it local

The uptake from local retailers has been impressive, with the “big four” in South Africa already on board. Checkers is leading the way with their Sixty60 home delivery option, the Spar and Pick n Pay vehicles were launched in June 2021, and Woolworths is working with MellowVans on an upcoming project.

While the rapid conversion to MellowVans is obviously an achievement in itself, Neil says that success is measured by more than the company’s financial gains, because it’s not all about the bottom line.

Meanwhile, courier company DHL Africa and e-commerce giant Takealot have both been with the company since its inception.

“One of the things I am most proud of is that we have built a business in Stellenbosch that employs local engineers, technicians and accountants, and we plow back into skills development on all levels. If you want to have an impact in South Africa, you need to create jobs. “Our local content in the vehicle is another success: We’re close to 70% local, which I am really proud of because you don’t see a lot of hardware products made in SA anymore. We are pushing hard to keep it local, and I believe we are well positioned to supply markets like Europe and the Middle East. “There are obviously challenges, but we are focused on building this vehicle and getting it into other markets. If a vehicle works in the South African delivery space, it is definitely going to work globally.” The local production of the vehicle is giving the economy a welcome boost. “Assembly happens in Stellenbosch, while the manufacturing of subsystems happens at various other Western Cape companies. The chassis will be outsourced to a Wellington business, and for the shell and the body, we have a JV with a company based in Strand. Only the windshield has been outsourced to the Eastern Cape.”

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All this is testament to the expertise available in the Western Cape, with its world-class tertiary institutions providing companies like MellowVans with a highly skilled pool of talent. “We tap into Stellenbosch University, CPUT and UCT, so already there are good engineers and good technicians. It’s also not hard to entice highly skilled engineers from other provinces to the Western Cape, with the lifestyle and weather obviously huge drawcards as well.”

Driving into the future “I think the next leap forward for delivery technology will definitely be autonomous vehicles, so we’re trying to align ourselves with autonomous technologies and service providers. Unfortunately, that is predominantly Europe- and US-based as it’s too expensive to develop ourselves right now. Autonomous is also well suited to vehicles likes ours. It’s already electric, so you can manipulate the entire vehicle with the software.” With the delivery of medicine even more necessary in the current climate, Neil is also looking at new sectors such as pharmaceuticals. He believes it’s only a matter of time before major pharmacies move towards home deliveries to clients unable or unwilling to collect in person. “As the COVID-19 pandemic increasingly affects countries with under-resourced health infrastructure and services, it is an ethical imperative to ensure that all people in all the countries of the world are able to access essential medicines. This includes those medicines that are under international control. “COVID-19 will forever change retail, and its initial impact on e-commerce is creating challenges to online selling and services that no one could have imagined. The pandemic is accelerating consumer interest in both the purchase of goods online and the benefit of home deliveries.” For more information about MellowVans, visit www.mellowvans.com mellowvans Mellowcabs

Aerobotics Aerobotics is a precision farming company, which helps growers protect tree crops from pests and diseases using high-resolution drone imagery and artificial intelligence.” Aerobotics is a precision farming company working with perennial growers to optimise their yield performance. Using aerial imagery and artificial intelligence, Aerobotics provides critical data on the performance of every tree. With regular drone flights capturing highresolution imagery, the software zooms in on the performance, size and GPS location of each tree. In this way, Aerobotics offers growers around the world a product for minimising costs, targeting problem areas, taking action against pests and diseases, and maximising yields.

seen on the Aeroview web- and Aeroview InField mobile apps, has been created for anyone to use. Its user-friendly interface enables even non- tech-savvy people to learn how the software interprets the aerial data that has been captured and fed into the system. This enables farm owners and workers to contribute to improving farm management.

Leadership in the digital ecosystem Aerobotics is leading the world in precision agriculture and the detection of limiting factors, including pests, disease and water stress. No other company in the world has the database of trees that Aerobotics has to identify underperforming areas for perennial crops. Since its inception in 2014, Aerobotics has processed more than 100 million trees, saved farmers money and continues to help increase their yields by identifying problem trees, diseases and pests before they spread.

Showcasing success stories Positively contributing to the digital ecosystem With Cape Town being Africa’s tech capital, Aerobotics’ inception as a Cape Town-based agritech company, and its success that has followed, is a significant counterpart in this positioning. We have various clients in the Western Cape, who use Aerobotics’ solutions to make informed decisions about crop health and better manage production levels. In turn, farmers become more profitable and are able to create more jobs. At the same time, new and existing fieldworkers are exposed to advancing technologies. Aerobotics’ software,

1. Google Developers Launchpad Accelerator: In February 2017, Google brought its Launchpad Accelerator to Africa to assist startups in leveraging Google’s latest technologies to scale their businesses through mentoring. Aerobotics was selected to participate in the programme and joined 23 other startups from around the world for the start of the fifth cohort of Google’s Launchpad Accelerator at the Google Developers Launchpad Space in San Francisco. 2. Fast Company Top 10 Listing for Most Innovative Companies in Africa: The Fast Company announcement marks a milestone

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and achievement for Aerobotics, which has seen rapid growth, success and recognition over the last few years. In November 2018, Aerobotics announced that it had processed more than 10 million trees for farmers with its artificial intelligence and software, making its technology and solutions stronger and more accurate. 3. Trust and investment from an international company: Aerobotics recently expanded its series funding round from $2 million to $4.6 million enabling us to expand beyond South Africa to the USA and the rest of the world. 4. Africa Tech Week - Best Technology Company in Africa: The first annual Africa Tech Week featured technology thought leaders and innovators from around the African continent. The award recognises technological achievements with a sound strategy in place to ensure successful delivery of its commercial advantages and build shareholder value. Criteria for the award included demonstrating an outstanding and innovative product or service and relevant achievements in the tech industry.

The future of your business We are upscaling our footprint in the US, since completing our first US Trees and Tech Roadshow in 2019, where we travelled to seven towns in four states over 14 days. We are continuing to advance our product offering, and moving into specific diagnoses that entail more predictive insights that will lead to further opportunities for business growth. We have recently expanded our offering to crop insurance with the launch of Aerobotics Crop Insurance Services, where we provide accurate coverage and risk management strategies to protect production.

In order to overcome challenges, we need to continue refining our technology according to our customers’ needs and keep abreast of developments in agriculture and tech. While we are excited at the prospect of our US expansion, we remain mindful of the challenges that accompany rapid growth, particularly when it comes to increasing our team’s staff numbers effectively (in SA and around the world) and maintaining a strong company culture, sustained effectiveness and productivity. We are however confident that we have the structures and skills in place to successfully serve our customers around the world.

Why Cape Town and the Western Cape is perfect for your business We believe the Western Cape is the perfect environment to build our business. We have access to some of the best tech talent globally and service some of the most innovative, techsavvy farmers in the world. Over and above this, the ability to build and cost in SA (in ZAR) and sell all over the world (in $) enables us to take advantage of the economic climate.

How the Western Cape government has facilitated the success of your business The Western Province’s grower’s seasons hold many prospects for our market expansion. The Cape holds many opportunities for growth in both the agricultural market and technology (we are consistently looking to expand our drone network and licenced pilots), where the province has proven to be of great support here.

The investment journey Since starting, we have raised $20.5 million (R325,900,000) of which we have invested 50% in the Western Cape.

Staff content and plans for expansion over the next 5 years We currently work with 80-90 globally and are looking to expand our local and international footprint which will naturally result in expanding the team in various departments. Learn more about Aerobotics and request a demo of their precision farming insights at www.aerobotics.com aerobotics aerobotics_intl aeroboticsintl

Fuzzy Logic “Fuzzy Logic believes augmented reality and virtual reality are going to be the transformative technologies of our lifetimes.” Fuzzy Logic create 3D Visualisation (AR) and Simulation Solutions (VR) to enhance enterprises and increase profits for our clients across the world. We believe AR and VR are going to be the transformative technologies of our lifetimes, and our mission is to help our clients understand and implement AR/VR innovations that improve their businesses.

Positively contributing to the digital ecosystem Over the past eight years, we have developed more than 90 augmented and virtual reality solutions, with over 3 million downloads across the world. Over the past 3 years we’ve been nominated for more than ten prestigious awards in the US-based AWE Awards, specifically for “Best Enterprise Solutions”, “Best Campaign” and “Best Toy or Game”. In 2013, we were named “Best AR Developer” in the European AR awards, the first African company to even be nominated. In addition, we have worked with many of the top listed companies, both in South Africa and worldwide, helping them to create innovative solutions that solve business challenges.

Leadership in the digital ecosystem Fuzzy Logic is internationally recognised in the field of augmented reality, and innovation having won awards and worked with large corporates such as Microsoft, Hewlett Packard Hasbro, Dr Pepper, Hyundai, Renault and many more. Our goal is to become a leading international business, solving significant problems with innovative AR solutions.

Showcasing success stories 1. “Tanuki Pops” created for Hewlett Packard. HP Indigo enlisted our help to provide a solution that would not only highlight their new printing capabilities but also generally drive engagement with their products and

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brand. The solution was to be used at expos and as a general marketing tool. 2. Anglo American Platinum Limited, is the world’s largest primary producer of platinum. They contracted Fuzzy Logic to conceptualise and develop a solution that would improve internal company communications, training, awareness and engagement around compliance. They wanted a more engaging and fun way of delivering core messages, and training around what can be a very dry area of communication, while tracking performance in the background. 3. “Transnet AR Training” for Microsoft. Microsoft engaged us to produce an augmented reality training solution for Transnet Ports as a proof of concept for the usage of AR in industry. We were asked to provide a solution that would formalise Transnet ports’ maintenance training for a specific part of a machine, allowing them to train on that part without the physical part being present. 4. “Weylandts Home” for Weylandts. Weylandts worked with us to transform how their sales staff interact with clients in the sales process. Using AR, their sales team can display their products and allow customers to view how these products look with various features including how a couch would look in different colours or with leather. Customers can then view this in their own home, and even purchase through the app. This resulted in the following benefits:

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Decreased costs Improved efficiency Enhanced experience Increased sales Advanced analytics

The future of your business Following expansion into the UK market our primary focus for the next six months is for international expansion into the US and Australia, with South Africa serving as the centre of excellence for all innovation. Our goal is to use our experience, quality of innovation and lower costs, to position Fuzzy Logic as the premier AR/VR innovation business in the world. At the same time, our South African clients are always expanding, and we’re working on some inspiring solutions which will fundamentally transform our clients’ processes and businesses. We’re excited to showcase these soon.

Overcoming challenges We traditionally developed games, apps, virtual reality and augmented reality products, however, this resulted in a split focus and difficulty in communicating our USP. In addition, VR and AR were early-stage technologies and at the time businesses were not familiar with the benefits these products would bring to their organisations. At the beginning of 2019, we decided to transform our business into an innovation company that works with businesses to solve problems through AR/VR. Our process involves spending time with clients to understand their challenges, and running an innovation workshop before quickly

prototyping new design ideas. Once we fully understand the opportunity for us to innovate, we then develop a solution and help our clients implement and roll it out successfully.

Why Cape Town and the Western Cape is perfect for your business We chose the Western Cape for the quality of life factor and access to talent.

How the Western Cape government has facilitated the success of your business Wesgro has always been incredibly supportive and helpful when it comes to promoting our business and introducing us to potential partners or collaborators. Generally, we find the Western Cape to be a fantastic place for technology businesses.

The investment journey A small investment funded our business at the beginning and our business model allowed us to be financially independent at a very early stage. We’re actively looking to expand our business even further with a new investment phase.

Staff content and plans for expansion over the next five years We currently employ 20 full-time staff members who are occasionally assisted by a few external people whom we bring in for specialised skills. We hope to grow this substantially over the couple of years. fuzzylogicstudio www.fuzzylogicstudio.io

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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 Future”* ranking, achieving not only first place overall but first place for economic potential, start-up status and business friendliness. CiTi played a pivotal role in Cape Town being recognised as the Tech Capital of Africa, by Endeavor insight**, by the City of Cape Town, Invest Cape Town and the Western Cape Government. We have used this base as our launchpad into Africa, and our programs have had an impact in over 3 000 business in sub-Saharan Africa***. Bridging the digital divide for the citizens of Africa is essential to the economic prosperity of the continent. The unemployment crisis in South Africa could better be described as a skills crisis. The school system and to some extent the tertiary education system are leaving the youth of the region poorly prepared and under-skilled for participation in a digital economy.

Given the climate crises facing the globe, Africa is likely to bear a disproportionate impact of severe weather. Energy and water sustainability must now become a core policy focus for the continent. CiTi sees enormous potential in biotechnology as a technology that is able to do good and make a positive impact on people’s lives. BioCiTi, established by CiTi in 2019, is a specialised biotech incubator that provides African entrepreneurs a platform where science, business and investment can come together and address some of these issues. CiTi’s strategy, current and future interventions are thus shaped by these burning issues. Education and digital skills development are core tenets of CiTi’s current and future strategy. Recognising the youth population “bubble” which is upon us and expanding every year, leads to an understanding that an even greater teacher shortage is looming in Africa. Innovative technology can and will play a major role in mitigating this constraint within the education system. Injini, now Africa’s leading EdTech incubator and accelerator with a mission to improve education outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa, has evolved its role from the incubation of start-ups to accelerating high growth EdTech companies who can have impact at scale. CapaCiTi, CiTi’s digital skills accelerator continues to scale up its interventions, off a platform of having created 3 500 work opportunities in the digital economy for SA’s youth in the next three years. * fDi Intelligence Report 2021 **Endeavor insight report Cape TownStellenbosch Tech Sector ***One Planet, Two Worlds, Three Stories: IMF Regional Economic Outlook report for SubSaharan Africa

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Skills development is at the beating heart of CITi’s agenda and the CapaCiTi Digital Career Accelerator programme is where it finds its true expression. CapaCiTi enables the inclusive growth of the digital economy by ensuring a supply pipeline of future-fit, skilled people, with relevant digital skills matched to industry demand. Since 2010 we have been developing and fine tuning a solution that could affect the economic integration of African youths by teaching them digital skills at scale to prepare them for the workplace of the future. Our graduates learn the skills that give them access to positions in some of the most exciting corporations in South Africa. 60 % of our unemployed South Africans are youth, and the digital divide in South Africa is growing which impacts access to skills, technology and online learning. Marginalised youth are struggling to keep up with the increased digitisation of government, society, education and the economy. It is critical for us to mobilise the huge untapped and underutilized youth assets in South Africa. CapaCiTi perfected a learning model that imparts technical skills that candidates will need to do the job, soft skills that makes them workplace ready when they graduate, and the career critical skills that lead them to continued growth and professional development. CapaCiti is a finely balanced code, with each component part enhancing the other, and where we put the whole person at the heart of all we do.

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What have we achieved in the last three years? • Trained 2,268 unemployed youth with digital skills, career critical and job critical skills; • Created 3,663 meaningful employment opportunities for youth; • R43M paid in stipends to enable youth to learn without concern about transport, food, and data costs; • R240M salaries earned to date by youth for jobs offered post-graduation, enabling socioeconomic mobility and growth opportunities for young people, their families and communities; • 65% of the Permanent Jobs created in the last three years are in IT related roles; and • 10% of our graduates are already in leadership positions. The three skills areas that absorb the most candidates are Data Science, Cloud and Developer sectors. ‘The pathway into IT careers and unlocking the digital economy is not just about the here and now. We need to create a talent pipeline that might take anywhere between 12 months and five years to solve the current skills crisis,’ says Chief Executive Fiona Tabraham. ‘There have to be multiple entry points at varied levels to pathway unemployed youth into the workplace. This forward thinking approach is built on informed conversations between the organisations that are developing talent at scale, the organisations who have demand at scale, and the government and corporate funders who are driven to support meaningful change at scale.’ Together CapaCiTi can offer clear, tailored pathways for youth into digital economy jobs, entrepreneurship, or further education that will lead to systemic change. CapaCiTi’s goal for the next five years is to accelerate the delivery of demand-driven, technology bridging programmes to digitally-marginalised people at scale. We must shift the perception of what ‘talent’ is, achieve Africawide growth, and deliver catalytic economic change that has a broad and positive impact on African society.

‘The thing that sets Capaciti apart time and time again is that we do this work with full hearts,’ says Tabraham. ‘We care deeply about our candidates and we care deeply about doing things right so that we can make a difference in people’s lives.” 67

Fezeka Mavuso KBarn Manager Township digital entrepreneurs face an uphill battle in unlocking the benefits of the digital economy, but with the size of the market and the eagerness to embrace digital solutions, the potential they have to scale meaningfully is massive. Situated at Lookout Hill, which is in the heart of the Khayelitsha/Mitchells Plain Development Corridor, the Khayelitsha Bandwidth Barn (KBWB) is CiTi’s second location and the anchor of the township technology innovation cluster. The aim is to empower people living and working in Khayelitsha with the skills and platforms to enable them to benefit from the digital economy and the tech industrial revolution.

Being one of South Africa’s few townshipbased tech hubs has provided us with priceless insights. Today, the KBWB is a key enabler of inclusive innovation, supporting entrepreneurs and organisations to create products and services for township economies and beyond. We have piloted entrepreneurial and ‘Digital Citizen’ skills training projects with a township focus, and have developed a compelling case study that could be implemented in various sites across the country. Over and over, the KBWB has lifted up people and small businesses that don’t easily have access to financial assistance or social capital. We support them in developing tech and business skills and encourage the local community to take part in our creative and social spaces, while processing all the ideas and energy into innovative technology products and services that will hopefully improve the daily lives of the people around them. On a practical level, the KBWB is instrumental in; • Securing funding and opportunities for funding for township entrepreneurs;

• Monitoring entrepreneurs and engagement into the ecosystem to identify scalable businesses; • Providing access to connectivity and workspace at the Barn on Lookout Hill; and • Providing entrepreneurial interventions that improve awareness and knowledge about technology tools and products that support new businesses and communities. Today, our ambition has grown beyond Khayelitsha to include neighbouring townships and areas across South Africa where we can have maximum impact.

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questions which are crucial to the decision making process as they strive for impact and growth.’ At VeloCiTi, we believe our biggest upcoming opportunity lies in the Women In Business (WIB) programme, which is a flagship programme aimed specifically at providing strategic support and developing the capacity of female entrepreneurs. During the programme, women business owners are introduced to an extensive range of powerful online and digital programmes and platforms that support their business activities and enable them to successfully compete in the digital economy. The delivery mechanism for WIB consists of online Zoom classes, peer-to-peer mentorship support, one on one mentorship and a 10-month continuing education programme. Virtual graduation events have been a big success in WIB and include guest speakers and presentations showcasing the amazing women who completed the programme, certificates, and gift packs for each participant. The ecosystem of incredible women that are collaborating and supporting one another through this journey has been game changing When South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said to the nation that ‘We must look at what needs to be done to promote and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and an entrepreneurial culture’, we took the challenge seriously. We have worked tirelessly through the VeloCiTi business unit to grow and support entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ventures in South Africa through tech enablement, extensive mentorship across various verticals, funding and ecosystem access.

Lara Rosmarin is Head of Entrepreneur Development and Incubation at CiTi. She believes that ‘entrepreneurs need a customised approach to supporting their specific business needs. Being able to define what success looks like, creating a roadmap supported with the right assistance and input across a myriad of channels creates optimal conditions for success. For entrepreneurs to practice Getting Stuff Done on a daily basis, enables focus and commitment and leads to asking the right

The support we offer takes numerous forms; from facilitating peer-to-peer learning, to one-on-one mentorship sessions with a focus on finance, technical, business and industry specific interventions where we tackle specific obstacles that need to be overcome to move the businesses forward to their next growth checkpoints, workshops, programmatic support as well as networking events which demystify the ecosystem and group mentorship sessions to create learning units that promote diversity of thinking, practice, and understanding. By growing, supporting and scaling businesses we are fueling job creation, employment and stimulating the economy.

VeloCiti’s primary goal over the next 12 months is to continue to scale the Women In Business programme nationally and then into Africa, as well as providing support to the smaller incubators that are funded, but lack products and services. Our mentorship support programmes remain a top priority in supporting the entrepreneurs within our ecosystem to grow and scale in a sustainable way.

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Injini, Africa’s EdTech Accelerator & Think Tank and a business unit of the wider CiTi group, has a singular purpose: to improve educational outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa. Founded in 2017, it started as Africa’s very first EdTech incubator, and today, is still the only dedicated support organisation on the continent for education technology (EdTech) businesses and stakeholders. With three distinct focus areas – EdTech startup business acceleration, African EdTech ecosystem development and research, advisory and advocacy in education innovation for the region via the newly established Injini Think Tank – Injini strives to improve conditions for evidence-driven education technology innovations to develop, grow and be implemented effectively; ultimately improving the quality, access and relevance of education across sub-Saharan Africa. In the early days, Injini spread itself rather thinly, working across the whole spectrum, of the EdTech sector in terms of both education stage and business maturity, but gradually, the

team decided to focus on supporting highimpact EdTech business founders and business leaders who were already demonstrating potential to improve learning outcomes throughout sub-Saharan Africa and have a specific focus on impacting the lives of children. Following this insight, Injini’s Acceleration Partnership programme developed to include: •

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• Injini EdTech Africa-Head Krista Davidson

Financial support – in the form of grant funding, direct investment by Injini or CiTi, and external fundraising support; Coaching – sponsored consultations with industry experts and subject matter specialists on topics ranging from curriculum design to marketing to financial management to impact M&E; Mentorship – from the Injini team and experienced business leader(s); Strategy support – from the Injini team and through external facilitators where required; Bespoke market research support via the Injini Think Tank; Access to network – Injini introduces founders to prospective funders, partners, clients, and other stakeholders; Upskilling opportunities – where appropriate, Injini sponsors founders’ skills development by providing bursaries for

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accredited short courses; and Capacity building – through sponsored or subsidised access to operational resources (e.g. graphic design, marketing, PR, administration, software development, accounting, HR, etc.); possibility to be assigned dedicated interns or receive freelance support from seasoned professionals; and more!

Alongside the Acceleration Partnership programme, Injini also hosts and powers EdTech events throughout Africa that prompt local stakeholders to engage in meaningful conversations on the need for innovation in education delivery in their communities and identify potential solutions to fill the gaps. These conversations, alongside Injini’s research initiatives, aim to deliver tangible change in the education systems that can stand to benefit most from the uptake of evidence-based innovation. By accelerating these EdTech business opportunities and creating the environment for more EdTech innovations to be developed and thrive, Injini and CiTi are making a meaningful contribution to the lives of the endbeneficiaries: children all over Africa who have the right to access high-quality education that will set them up for success in the classroom and beyond.

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BioCiTi is an ecosystem enabler focused on stimulating a bioeconomy future for Africa. Our purpose is support Biotechnology businesses to harness Africa’s biological potential to make meaningful contributions to the GDP growth and job creation targets. The Biotech sector received a massive boost in the arm recently from the selection of two Cape-based companies, Biovac and Afrigen, to produce Covid-19 vaccinations for Africa, and with that in mind, BioCiTi saw a gap and positioned itself to be a pivotal player in developing the emergence of the sector and we need to leverage that to create a springboard into the rest of the continent. Typically, incubators just provide finance, marketing, and business mentorship. Where we differ is with our world-class laboratory facility in the dynamic suburb of Woodstock, Cape Town, which is operated on a shared access model alongside shared access office space and resources. BioCiTi further expanded its offering to include contract R&D to support business growth. The contract R&D offering makes this important service accessible and affordable to start-ups and SMMEs. ‘Biotech start-ups have not been gaining momentum due to lack of appropriate support mechanisms to mitigate early-stage business risks,’ explains BioCiti Cluster Head Dheepak Maharajh. BioCiTi is able to create something dynamic and longlasting, in collaboration and partnership with the biotech industry: • De-risking the R&D and business landscape for Biotech Start-ups and SMME’s; • Developing “Tech for Good” in a meaningful & sustainable manner that will positively impact the lives of people living in Africa; • Producing industries of the future by creating a bridge between research and commercialisation through access to shared lab space, business support, mentorship and community; and • Catalysing the creation of Biotech clusters through collaboration with academia, government society and big business. Ultimately, BioCiTi has the goal of becoming the premier partner in Africa for biotechnology incubation and acceleration.

Cape Innovation and Technology Initiative General enquiries: reception@bwb.org.za | +27 21 409 7000 Ecosystem enquiries: ecosystem@citi.org.za | +27 21 409 7000 Media enquiries: marietjie.engelbrecht@citi.org.za | +27 82 822 8399 BioCiTi Labs - Deepak Maharajh

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INNOVATION CITY CAPE TOWN

INNOVATION CITY IS A NEW, EXCITING, AND BLOSSOMING COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS. IT’S HOME TO DIGITAL START-UPS, SCALE-UPS, CORPORATES, ENTREPRENEURS, WORLD CHANGERS, AND HARD-WORKING DREAMERS. Innovation City strives to create a world class network helping accelerate digital innovation in Cape Town. Through fostering co-creation and a solid partnership with Epicenter Stockholm and its 500+ membership companies, Innovation City helps fast track Cape Town’s business ambitions. What sets Innovation City apart from other innovator enablers is that we provide not only a space for innovation; it’s also a central hub for people to innovate, learn, share and create exciting business ideas.

We curate a space where people can get help from across the office; be it legal aid, accounting, auditing, funding, public relations; we have all of the magic one needs to see innovative ideas come to life.” Stephan Ekbergh, Co-Founder, Innovation City Innovation City’s love story began on the French Riviera… The seed of the idea took root when travel entrepreneur and CEO of Travelstart, Stephan Ekbergh visited Sophia Antipolis on the French Riviera, and wanted to create a similar tech innovation and development hub in Cape Town. Spending time working in a dynamic coworking space called Epicenter in Sweden during 2021, Ekbergh marveled at the successes they had had in developing Sweden into a colossal digital hub by playing a very active role in getting people and corporations to collaborate and create something new. Ekbergh then brought his long-time friend and co-founder of Innovation City, Kieno Kammies onto the project. His South African network in business, tech, education and politics being second to none, Kammies brings decades of hard hitting journalism and business savvy, and

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is in charge of programming and content, which is key to building this unique community. Solidifying a partnership with Epicenter Stockholm and leveraging networks in Sweden and South Africa, Ekbergh and Kammies have brought both worlds together to light a fire in Africa’s nascent digital scene, with Cape Town as its magical backdrop. Kloof Street Cape Town is host to Innovation City. True to its mantra of co-creation, the community assists in creating a fun-filled creative space, punctuated with dynamic events and experiences that encompass innovation.

Stephan Ekbergh, Co-Founder Innovation City

Kieno Kammies, Co-Founder Innovation City

Access to Some of the Greatest Minds in the World in the Heart of Cape Town Urban innovation districts harness and commercialize knowledge, creativity and ideas from their most innovative and diverse people and institutions, and there is no place more diverse than the metropolitan melting pot that is Cape Town, South Africa. Innovation City uses its city center locale to entice and grow communities of start-ups, investors, SMEs, big corporates and innovators to play a role in shaping places and culture where innovation thrives. One of the ways it nurtures this growth is through hosting brilliant minds at their weekly events: From Dollar unicorns to small, but dynamically exciting start-ups and VCs, everyone has the chance to participate in this amazing innovative space under one roof. Innovation City challenges convention with an open-minded, solutions-driven community, working in a unique environment together to make new realities possible.

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THE MAKERSPACE

WE DRIVE SOCIAL COHESION THROUGH THE COMMON LANGUAGE OF MAKING, A LANGUAGE THAT TRANSCENDS CLASS & CULTURE AND THAT UPLIFTS AS IT ENLIGHTENS

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.

Recycled Foot File Sample

“Makers” make things, using both cutting edge technology and age old methods, or often a combination of both. Makers find value in making something by hand, giving a physical product more value because of the thoughtful, careful and useful way it is designed and made. Makers are not aiming for a mass market for their product, they are simply expressing something they love, and in the process creating something worthwhile for the niche group of people that they represent. Makers openly share resources, expertise, equipment and encouragement because they choose to believe that we can do more together than we can apart. The MakerSpace was founded by Stephen Gray in 2013 and it exists to lower the barriers of entry for people to express their creativity in a physical way. We work to bring people together, working creatively, inspiring each other, engaging with new technology, and building the “bottom-up economy”. In 2018, we were formally registered as the Makerspace Foundation NPC focusing on community upliftment and social impact through our training programs across various areas of technology.

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Our Services We research and develop a technology, break it down and rebuild it in a way that people can use to start sustainable businesses.

Our Strengths We pull together a diverse group of technical and creative people and look for new ways of making things, or sometimes using a combination of old ways to make new things. Disruptive technology is our field of expertise, but our goal is to understand new technologies and make them accessible to regular people. We offer technical training on all sorts of technology including IoT (internet of things) additive manufacturing (3D printing) digital fabrication (lasercutting and CNC), Drones, autonomy AI, robotics and circular design. We focus, where we can, on development and training of underrepresented groups helping to create sustainable businesses that improve society at large.

Accolades Google Impact Challenge 2018.

Special programs and projects The Innovative Waste Design Program was launched for the Baobab of Durban project which is centered around sustainable living. The Innovate Waste Design Program trains young people to start their own businesses by turning waste into value.

Early Samples from the Ceramic 3D printer - terracotta clay planters

We facilitate the development of skills and knowledge in Circular Design, sustainable manufacturing and business development. We’ve also been working on an in-house pet project, a 3D printer that prints ceramic objects directly from clay. Every part of the machine has been built in-house and we are now offering it as a platform to designers to start new enterprises.

Vision for the Future Our dream is that anyone could make anything, anywhere in Africa. We are working with a network of like-minded people through the South African Maker Network, Africa Makerspace Network, Fablab network, Precious Plastic Studios, Plasticprenuer manufacturing sites, wikifactory, fab cities and others to help cities develop the capacity to produce everything they consume in a sustainable and socially responsible way.

News and Media recognition CNN Documentary – https://edition.cnn.com/ videos/tv/2021/02/19/inside-africa-durbaninnovation-makerspace-spc.cnn Elle magazine - https://www.veolia.com/en/ our-media/news/veolia-elle-green-thirdplaces-help-us-work-together-collective-battleecological

themakerspace themakerspacechannel

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BRANSON CENTRE OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP SOUTH AFRICA SCREW IT, LET’S DO IT!

The world is obsessed with changing businesses for good. Ask the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa (Branson Centre) for its take on that, and it’ll tell you that is actually a misnomer. Fundamentally, business is good. The focus of the Branson Centre is entrepreneurialism and social responsibility. The Branson Centre strongly believes business must be good for people, the planet, and for profit. Sir Richard Branson and his 400 businesses that form the Virgin Group brings the ‘rock ‘n roll’ to the business world. It’s flashy and sexy – and the group is also an iconic industry disruptor. It’s in its DNA. With that in mind, the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa was founded in 2019 to embed purpose-led business skills to challenge and change business for good. The time for inspiring slideshows and motivational webinars is over. To change business for good requires a fresh approach with unprecedented support for entrepreneurs and entrepreneurialism in South Africa.

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The focus must be on real-time deliverables. Social responsibility is an opportunity for business to effect social change through partnerships and collaborations to solve social difficulties. It is that which creates sustained social, environmental, and economic impact. Accelerating entrepreneurs is a science. The Branson Centre developed an innovative approach that takes in eight core areas that can influence entrepreneurs to scale and leverage their impact: Purpose, Product, People, Brand, Partnership, Processes, Planning, and Finance. It uses two programmes to drive this: Ignite is a 6-month system to boost an entrepreneur’s mission; Accelerate is a 1,000-day partnership that supports the entrepreneur for success. What entrepreneurs really need is access to business tools, resources, and industry

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experts. They also need access to networks and investors. In this, the Branson Centre builds partnerships and collaborations for entrepreneurial sustainability. Effecting social change – and business as a force for good – can only occur in a receptive community. Collaborations and partnerships outline this purpose-led mission. One way to tackle this is through the United Nation (UN)’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) to build sustainable economies and societies, and a healthy planet. Branson Centre’s Nwabisa Mayema said: “Entrepreneurs need to look at the SDGs and their relevance to everyone, and how entrepreneurs can play a role as opposed to looking at SDGs as a thing that maybe the

politicians handle. It’s how you affect them in your business. Let’s just do good business. It is about community. Thriving people are connected to each other. Thriving people live on a healthy planet and therefore you have great communities that continue to grow and are also included in the economy.” South Africa needs an economy centered on business for good. This will create future economic growth and jobs. Challenging entrepreneurs – and corporates in South Africa – to rethink their strategies will lead to greater economic democracy, a healthier planet, and a thriving society. That’s the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa.

That’s business for good.

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YIEDI

A COMPANY DESIGNED BY ENTREPRENEURS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Entrepreneurship Skilla programme for retrenched staff at a major bank 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 from a coffee shop where they initially mapped out the vision for YIEDI. The model placed the entrepreneur at the centre of their development efforts. A model that would ensure that the entrepreneurs gaps are identified, one where real growth takes place, not just for the business entity but the individual running the business. The founding principle was simple, if you grow the individual and invest in them the business will grow. The plan was to support the growth of entrepreneurs across sectors and

was driven by the need to make an impact on the economy and job creation by positively contributing to the growth and development of the individuals that run these businesses. The model as they explained would require the support of business technical experts, thought leaders, industry experts, programme managers and corporates that would sponsor these programmes, which all sound simple on paper, but would require buy in from every one of these areas for it to be successful. Fast forward six years and YIEDI currently boasts a multitude of clients that cut across various sectors. Their clients include three of the big five banks in South Africa as well as three Multinational Technology Companies. The YIEDI alumni includes some of the most innovative startups in the country and who also compete successfully on the world stage. Jayshree built her reputation on pushing the envelope and introducing new innovations and models to the organisations she joined. This

Content delivered by Jay Naidoo on Strategy included launching the first Innovation function at a state organisation in South Africa where she was appointed head of Strategy at the DBSA (Development Bank of Southern Africa) and then went to also head up their first Innovation Function, which included creating a space for Innovation that was used by staff and external partners. Later in her career she also launched the Standard Bank Incubator which was

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Opening of the Computer Lab in Tembisa sponsored by Giesecke Devrient in South Africa as part of the Supplier Development Programme delivered by YIEDI in partnership with TEEC designed using a seven pillar model she created and which was later used to launch an incubator for the bank in Mozambique. While Jay focused his efforts on understanding leadership, strategy and the educational space through various senior management, training and development roles and was instrumental in ensuring YIEDI became an accredited training provider. YIEDI’s focus is on growing entrepreneurs and innovators using the knowledge and experience they have gathered from the two decades they spent in corporate South Africa. There’s no surprise then that the model they created focuses on developing the entrepreneur as an individual through leadership, strategy tools and business development, while also focusing on growing their business through tools like financial management, design, thinking, technology and innovation as well as having access to markets.

Pitching competition at the end of a skills programme

There is no cookie cutter approach to development and programmes are designed in collaboration with the sponsoring company and ensures alignment to their procurement or innovation and technology growth strategy. The key focus of any accelerator or growth programme is to improve the innovation stack of the company through innovative technology startups or provide supplier and procurement ready businesses. One of their key differentiators is that YIEDI is a company that focuses on developing entrepreneurs by using some of the best entrepreneurs and technical experts to deliver on its content, programmes by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs. YIEDI also prides itself in partnering with some of the best in class companies that allow them to offer a varied range of services across the development spectrum. Every programme including short skills programmes has a dedicated programme manager that is responsible for the co-hort. Having delivered programmes that have impacted hundreds of entrepreneurs, youth and staff, YIIEDI is poised to make a positive contribution to the growth and sustainability of businesses and positively contribute to the economy. The successful entrepreneurs that we have worked with through our incubators and accelerators are those that see the opportunities in the challenges that companies and individuals face on a daily basis. Some of YIEDI Alumni are profiled on the pages that follow and we are extremely proud of their tenacity and drive and how they have embraced innovation.

Pitching session as part of the PROPreenurX Selection Process

Development session as part of the IBM Techscale Programme

Launch of the PROPreneurX Accelerator targeting Entrepreneurs servicing the Property Sector in partnership with Motseng, Kagiso and SASDC, delivered by YIEDI

yiedi.co.za

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KUDOTI

A TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT ENABLES FMCG BRANDS TO TRACE THEIR WASTE MATERIAL, PROVIDES REALTIME DATA FOR BETTER DECISION MAKING AND IMPROVES SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL PROCUREMENT • Intelligent matchmaking and optimizations for maximizing value of waste • System is modular & API-based therefore highly customizable to each client Our goal at Kudoti is to leverage our digital waste infrastructure solution to enable emerging markets to fully benefit from the power of the circular economy. Kudoti helps FMCG brands meet their sustainability goals by improving their waste collection rates and provides them with data to support with decision making and sustainable material procurement.

Accolades • Kudoti was named one of the global winners of Nestle’s prize for creating shared value in 2021 • 2020 Most Innovative Company in South Africa • In 2020, Kudoti won first place in the BRICS young innovator competition • Kudoti is supported by Google through the Google for Startups Black Founder Fund Africa Kudoti is a technology partner for Distell’s GreenUp project and Nestle’s RE: Imagine Tomorrow program, providing real-time data to company leaders to assist them in making better decisions and tracing their waste materials, allowing for sustainable material procurement. Gift Lubele, Co-Founder & COO

Vision for the future Kudoti was founded in 2019, offering a tailored solution based on our clients sustainability goals and offers an end-to-end solution from developing strategy with our clients, implementation thereof, and right through to tracking and tracing and reporting, enabling brands to become fully circular through real-time data.

Kudoti aims to be the preferred strategic partner for South African FMCG brands seeking to implement fully circular economy initiatives and to become market leader in sustainable material procurement.

Unlike solutions from outside the continent, Kudoti is very well adapted to operate in the low-tech environment that exists in Africa and other emerging markets. Additionally, what makes Kudoti Unique is: • Multi-stream (e-waste, plastics, paper, glass & bottles, metals, etc.), our platform works with any waste materials. • End-to-end reverse supply chain with vertical integrations (payments, logistics, financing, incentives, contract management) • Digital Product designed specifically for recycling use cases Kudoti Pty Ltd 35 Ferguson Rd, Illovo, Sandton, 2196 Tel: +27 63 781 3008 Email: yoliswa@kudoti.com

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ANALYTIX ENGINE

OUR PURPOSE IS TO HELP ORGANISATIONS MAKE BETTER DECISIONS USING DATA AND ANALYTICS Most organisations have more data than they realise. The problem is usually the disconnect between business decision making and the curated data warehouse. In short, too much data but not enough insight. At Analytix Engine, we bring a highly experienced team of analytics professionals to help discover insights and operationalise better business decision making.

Customer Value Management Use Cases We have been fortunate to assist a number of leading financial services organisations, including both banks and insurers on their journey to next level customer value management.

Single View of Customer Lifetime Value

Pravin Burra

We have developed the single view of customer lifetime value for several of our clients. This includes details of demographic information combined with product holdings as well as both value and risk information. By adding forecasts of future product acquisition and utilisation, we can share insights not just of the customer value today but of the lifetime value that is expected to follow. For example, a graduate may provide a low fee income to a bank today, but as their careers develop, they provide material future fee income.

Cross & Up Sell We have also developed two leads generation tools. These allow an organisation to understand their customers’ purchase behaviour to serve them better. One of our tools looks at products commonly held while the other looks at the sequence of purchasing behaviour, what are you likely to buy in the future given what you purchased in the past. The goal is not to sell to customers but rather to better match customers to products with sales as a natural result.

What sets us apart Our science-based approach to discovering relationships within your data makes us different. When faced with gigabytes of often imperfect data, a scientific basis of discovery can accelerate the path to decision-making. Using a combination of actuarial science, statistics and machine learning, we can help you rapidly discover what data is relevant to the problem at hand. Then, how best to combine this data to allow for the inherent relationships to arrive at a single optimised recommendation on the way forward. Typical questions that we help clients to answer include: • • • • • •

Whom to lend to? Who will default on their debt? What product should we sell to this customer? How do we segment our customers? How do we better understand our profit margin? How do we optimise our portfolio value?

If you have data and a business question, talk to us about a better way forward. You may find our practical approach to data-based problem solving quite refreshing.

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WHC SAVING WATER AND MONEY FOR THE FUTURE

WHC Office Team

WHO IS WHC? WHC stands for Water, Hygiene, Convenience. Water is the company’s focus. Hygiene represents the green economy the company contributes towards, and Convenience signifies the innovative technologies and services that WHC offers the market. WHC’s main business operation is to introduce novel water saving technologies and complementary services to make properties more environmentally friendly, water efficient, and cost effective. WHC was founded by Paseka Lesolang in 2007. The WHC Leak-Less Valve™ is one of the innovations that he developed as he was attending to his grandmother’s leaking toilet. He further developed demonstrators of his water saving inventions and used his grandmother’s garage as WHC’s office. Today WHC is a multinational award-winning water management solutions company that is very

passionate about the preservation of the most precious resource.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS WHC supplies a range of water saving products. However, WHC’s first technology was the WHC Leak-Less Valve™. The WHC Leak-Less Valve’s™ purpose is to detect leaks in toilets and stop the water loss. The WHC Leak-Less Valve™ addresses leaks in the toilets, because the toilet is the single largest water consumer in the house, consuming approximately 28% of all usage. Toilets depreciate and inevitably leak, eligible to waste over 700 liters of water a day (equivalent to 7 bathtubs). The WHC Leak-Less Valve™ is a patented water control device that saves the water and money that is used to pay for this water loss when the toilet is not in use. The WHC Leak-Less Valve™ can be retrofitted into existing toilet cisterns or preinstalled into new toilet cisterns before sales. It is easy to install and use.

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Through YIEDI and the new stakeholder’s investment, WHC is innovating and leveraging other stakeholders to enhance the market access and sustainability of WHC 4IR solutions. WHC extends its gratitude to YIEDI for catapulting its evolution [WHC Flow] from an industrial company to a big data business.

SERVICE OFFERING

WHC Water Technicians It is eco-friendly and grants pride of ownership. WHC is the patent holder in several countries, exclusive manufacturer, and supplier of the WHC Leak-Less Valve™.

THE WHC FLOW WHC’s vision is to be the global water solutions company of choice, that cares about people, our planet, and WHC’s promise to you!

This is how WHC adapts, collaborates, and innovates to ensure improved water efficiency in the private and public sector, with relevance in all situations and most countries. This is how WHC cultivates a resilience culture throughout generations. This is the WHC Flow” – Paseka Lesolang The Youth, Innovation, Entrepreneurship Design Institute (YIEDI) has assisted WHC in the formation of a better business strategy, market positioning and sales approach. Including, but not limited to linkages to experts who are now part of WHC’s advisory board. YIEDI has also played a critical role in securing a key international stakeholder for WHC to participate effectively and efficiently in the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

WHC’s mission is to intervene with efficiency initiatives that enhance the reduction of water consumption, which saves money for their clients. WHC provides turnkey water management solutions that are tailored for clients, including, but not limited to leak detection, water demand management, Internet of Things (IoT) smart monitoring, data analytics and on demand reports, RTC (real time control) and RTA (real time access) to the property’s water consumption status monitored through complementary water conservation hardware.

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT WHC also offers installation and maintenance packages to clients, including community projects. In community projects, WHC avails a training programme for members of the community, on how to assemble and install WHC products. WHC also trains community members to be certified plumbers and change agents (Water Warriors) who implement projects that drive awareness and adequate water efficiency practices within their communities. This has led to behavioral change within communities; greater appreciation of water and improved attitudes to paying water bills. Such projects can be executed as Corporate Social Investment (CSI) initiatives on behalf of companies that value and want to achieve environmental, social, and economic impact through CSI. Furthermore, WHC trains the beneficiaries in Entrepreneurship, as part of WHC’s objective to develop more independent WHC Water Technicians around the country.

Water Hygiene Convenience Tel: +27 10 012 6416 Mobile: +27 76 772 4596 Email: info@whcsolutions.co.za paseka@whcsolutions.co.za

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ICONIX ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS (PTY) LTD T/A SMARTEE COMPANIES ARE FACING UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES AND LOSSES DUE TO INFORMATION MISMANAGEMENT. TIME IS PRECIOUS AND ASSISTING BUSINESSES TO HAVE INFORMATION AT THEIR FINGERTIPS THROUGH THE USE OF IOT IS INVALUABLE FOR INCREASING PROFITABILITY.

Ashveer Ramparsad

solutions and the origination of growing an IoT business stemmed from those projects. Nivashnee is a highly-driven person that believes in the investment in resources, and skills development, and has a passion for the science and engineering technical academic disciplines. One of her research projects when completing her Masters in Engineering Management was to evaluate the use of ICT in rural communities for the development of people and this remains one of her long-term goals. In 2018, Nivashnee and Ashveer shifted the focus of the business called Iconix Engineering Solutions towards 4th industrial revolution solutions by building Internet of Things products for tracking, tamper, theft and asset management. In 2021, one of the products developed called the Smartee Security Seal was nominated as a top contender for the 2021 City of Johannesburg’s Smart City Innovation Challenge.

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 studies at University studying Electronic Engineering, Ashveer built remote baby monitoring systems and vehicle tracking

A second product developed by the company called Smartee 360 was piloted with a large retailer in South Africa, the pilot was well received and included a purchase order with a 60-month contract being put into place. Smartee is also a business partner to Vodacom to provide other services including internet services, business tools and AWS services to Smartee’s customers. They are extremely proud of the Smartee products they have built through their valuable customer and partner relationships. The talents and skills that have been developed during their participation in highly valuable business programmes such as Yiedi’s Business in a Box programme, whilst embracing new opportunities has become a source of motivation for their business. The next focus for the company is to look at developing new products for proximity marketing, the healthcare industry and waste management. Their inspiration is always and will always be their customers and will endeavour to service them well.

Nivashnee Ramparsad

Smartee utilizes long-life battery powered GPS devices to understand the location of people, assets and 3rd party contractors and enables visualization, reporting and active management utilizing the webbased platform. Smartee delivers customized solutions to businesses to enable operational efficiency by utilizing its core building blocks to deliver this unique high-tech solution.

We had the idea and vision to be a valuable business partner to our customers and Yiedi’s Business in a Box Programme assisted us to really unleash all our true potential”.

Smartee Tel: +27 81 428 2748 +27 73 403 1446 Email: ashveer@smartee.co.za

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PROVIDES AN ALL-IN-ONE, EASY TO USE, CLOUD-BASED COMMUNICATION SOLUTION NxaTel is a Modern Unified communication platform for Small and Medium businesses that allows you to get local numbers from over 10+ African countries to use on any device. It’s easy to set up; you just need three minutes, and you gain access to the cloud phone system, virtual meetings, team chats and cloud storing, all in a secure platform. NxaTel was created to make business communication easy to manage – accessible, affordable, and simple to collaborate. NxaTel believes that conversations are powerful and should be frictionless. We want all businesses to get work done in one app to communicate with customers, prospects, candidates, and colleagues. It’s designed to enable delightful moments of human connection. NxaTel’s mission is to replace all other business communication apps and help teams save time and become more productive. With a mission to become the tool that enables all teams across a company (from non-tech to highly technical) to use one platform to get work done. That means sales, support, marketing, product, finance teams and more can manage all business communication on one App and customize it for each team. NxaTel believes that the future of work is flexible work. It’s more crucial than ever that businesses have mobility and a seamless solution that allows employees to collaborate regardless of location and maximizes efficiency across all teams. Founded in 2008 by Lerato Dontache an Inspiring 50 winner of 2019 and Nqaba Dontache. NxaTel won the Nedbank Business Ignite 2020. Based in Pretoria, South Africa, the company currently employs 23 people across Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

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Nqaba Dontache, Co-Founder with Lerato Dontache, CEO

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KNIFE CAPITAL

KNIFE CAPITAL IS A SOUTH AFRICAN VENTURE CAPITAL INVESTMENT FIRM FOCUSING ON INNOVATION-DRIVEN VENTURES WITH PROVEN TRACTION

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 a product/market fit in at least one beachhead market.

Eben van Heerden and Keet van Zyl were the Investment Managers at HBD and formed Knife Capital to take over the management of the HBD VC portfolio. Andrea Bohmert joined shortly after and as the business evolved, Peter Gain, Davey Gant and Julien Draper augmented the partnership. Under Knife Capital’s management, the Fund yielded impressive returns in a fully exited fund portfolio, proving that Venture Capital in Africa can work. Knife Capital has a deep understanding and proven track record with early-stage technology investments in South Africa. Apart from facilitating and managing various private equity transactions and angel investment rounds, Knife Capital is managing various VC funds across funding stages. With offices in Cape Town, London and Jersey, Knife Capital is well entrenched in the ecosystem and pioneered many of the initiatives that have shaped the industry.

Keet Van Zyl, Co-Founder, Knife Capital

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Knife Capital’s distinct competitive advantage lies in its value chain approach to development, milestone-based investment, growth and exit of businesses. This is embodied in the firm’s FIND MAKE GROW REALISE philosophy. Knife Capital has an active value-add approach, from finding growth entrepreneurs to business mentorship to providing strategic growth input through to exit-centric business building, and has the following key attributes: • Experience across the investment cycle in Africa. • Focus on innovation-driven ventures with proven traction. • Active value-add providing financial management support, legal guidance, active business development through introductions, brand building and strategic inputs. • Assistance with finding additional co-investors for subsequent funding rounds. • Exit-centric business building. • Established processes and partners. • Credible investor base, including successful exit entrepreneurs. • International affiliates. But investing in early-stage businesses is relatively easy compared to unlocking value and making a return on those investments through profitable exits… While the venture capital (VC) space is gaining more and more momentum in Africa, the process of exiting these investments remains a challenge. What many investors and entrepreneurs don’t realise is that positioning a business for a successful exit already starts in the due diligence process – even before investment. Exit strategies will most likely influence the investment term sheet and govern the relationship between the entrepreneur and investor. It is therefore critical to align interests between them. Knife Capital has a proven track record of exitcentric business building. Some Knife Capital exits were to the likes of Visa, General Electric, Garmin, Uber and Softbank.

PRODUCT INNOVATION – GRINDSTONE VENTURES Knife Capital also builds high-growth technology enabled SMEs through its Grindstone Accelerator (launched in 2014 as an entrepreneurship development programme to assist scale-up businesses to become sustainable and funding

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ready) and fills critical gaps in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem through education and enterprise development initiatives. In 2021 the team launched Grindstone Ventures – a women-led Seed fund to invest behind Grindstone companies. The Knife Capital team members have been at the forefront of driving the South African earlystage investment ecosystem for the last 15 years. This includes establishing venture capital funds (HBD, Hasso Plattner Ventures Africa, KNF), the development of South Africa’s first formalised angel investment group (Angelhub), widespread entrepreneurial education initiatives and mentorship, business incubation and acceleration (Grindstone Accelerator, the first structured South African programme focused on scale-ups), influencing policy through involvement in investment promotion organisations (Silicon Cape, SiMODiSA, Wesgro, SAVCA) as well as developing widespread local and international networks to facilitate business growth and exits.

PURPOSE LED APPROACH Knife Capital’s purpose is to give legitimacy to Venture Capital in Africa as a recognised alternative asset class. This can only be done through sustained commercial success stories in this space. If successful, the multiplier effect on innovation, job creation and economic growth on the continent will be immense.

Grindstone Ventures: Andrea Bohmert, Rapelang Rabana, Catherine Young and Grace Legodi

The Knife Capital Team’s investment philosophy is predicated upon the thesis that innovation-driven entrepreneurs from Africa with world-beating innovations are under-funded to compete on the global stage. Therefore, Knife Capital’s strongest investment interest is in companies which, through technology and innovative knowledge management, seem capable of turning African solutions into successful global businesses. Knife Capital also runs a world class MBA internship programme with leading business schools such as Stanford and Harvard to gain knowledge but also build additional networks with top business leaders worldwide.

Knife Capital will continue to be the catalyst for the creation of an entrepreneurial ecosystem with a direct impact on innovation, job creation and growth.” 87

@KeetvZ Email: keet@knifecap.com

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MAHLAKO A PHAHLA

AN ORGANISATION THAT IS AFRICAN WOMEN-OWNED, MANAGED AND INSPIRED, THAT PROMOTES AFRICAN AND WOMEN EMPOWERMENT, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND EXCELLENCE. Mahlako’s female-led team holds a track record of capabilities, commitments and excellent industry insights. With a robust leadership team, Mahlako remains prominent and influential across the industry, with a strong network that share our values. The company has an actively empowered innovation hub that develops and promotes brilliance in the energy, financial and infrastructure sectors. Having been at the forefront of the renewable energy sector since 2009, Mahlako invested in Round 1 and Round 2 projects in South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPPP), being part of the first asset in the REIPPPP that successfully concluded a refinancing. In April 2021, Mahlako in its endeavour to continue to tackle, disrupt and transform SA’s energy sector, launched the Mahlako Energy Fund – a first of its kind Energy Fund which is 100% black women owned and managed, with a mandate that expands beyond Renewable Energy, to include Gas and Energy Services sectors, a key feature that sets it apart from existing Energy Funds.

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 African women-owned social infrastructure group in advisory services, financial services and alternative investment management, focused on the delivery of effective socio-economic developmental assets and implementable solutions that deliver sustainable impact and superior risk adjusted return profiles over the long term. Innovation has been one of Mahlako’s key guiding principles in our journey from developers, advisors to investors.

Mahlako Financial Services has announced a first of its kind R1.75 billion energy fund – CNBC

True to Mahlako’s pioneering spirit, in November 2021, the Energy Fund announced its investment in South Africa’s first large-scale operational wheeling project where it holds a 45% stake. This project demonstrates the potential for independent power generation and one of the ways that private sector can work with government, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) and Eskom to bring about new models for renewable energy generation in South Africa.

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Growing anything requires balance. We cannot develop the world without investing in it, We cannot invest in it without managing it, We cannot manage it without inclusivity, And it will be short lived if we don’t sustain it. For one thing to grow all things must grow. This is our contribution… Balancing Growth.” ~ Mahlako ~ Ramaphosa as a key emerging player that’s going places in the development of the sector that’s going places, led by the women of our country. Mahlako’s Co-Founder, Meta Mhlarhi was also appointed on the Green Hydrogen Panel by the Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. Mahlako takes environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors as imperative drivers of performance. The company adheres to the UN Sustainable Development Goals - fully integrated into its investment and business process.

Business Day: Meta Mhlarhi and Makole Mupita have found their place in the Sun Within the advisory space Mahlako continues to rise above expectations, leading the transaction advisory for the Integrated Renewable Energy and Resource Efficiency Programme (iREREP), the innovative and official national government Programme for Resource Efficiencies and Renewable Energy for Government facilities in a bid to meet sustainability targets of Government and South Africa at Large.

As we move into the future, Mahlako’s mission remains driving sustainable development and offering enhanced returns to our stakeholders through provision of innovative solutions to the public sector and investing across alternative financial services asset classes. Mahlako aims to be recognized as a trusted African infrastructure advisory firm delivering innovative and implementable solutions to the public sector and as a trusted alternative fund manager providing profitable investments with a socio-economic impact. An organisation that is African women-owned, managed and inspired, that promotes African and women empowerment, entrepreneurship and excellence. Mahlako’s work has been widely covered by media sources from CNBC Africa, Engineering News, Business Day, MoneyWebSA to name a few.

With the growth Green Hydrogen and Ammonia, Mahlako is developing a landmark Green Hydrogen and Ammonia Plant in South Africa, Prieska Power Reserve with 50% stake. The company was recognised by President Cyril

The Engineering News: ‘Northern Cape-based 10 MW solar plant first to exploit broadened wheeling market’

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CHAPTER THREE

TECHNOLOGY & SOFTWARE

INNOVATION DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN A LEADER AND A FOLLOWER.” - STEVE JOBS

Title: “Digital vs Analog” for the International Public Art Festival 2020, Theme: Digitalisation, produced by Baz-Art and Stephan Smit

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MICROSOFT SOUTH AFRICA

Unlocking the value of mixed reality in manufacturing JOHANNES KANIS, CLOUD AND ENTERPRISE BUSINESS GROUP LEAD AT MICROSOFT SOUTH AFRICA

Mixed reality continues to grow exponentially because of its ability to help businesses and their employees complete crucial tasks faster, safer, and more efficiently. It also creates new ways to connect to customers and partners by blending the physical and digital worlds so that they coexist and interact in real-time.

safety, business continuity, customer experience and outcomes.

This augments the jobs of first-line employees in essential worker and growth-creating sectors, such as manufacturing, automotive, healthcare and education, and unlocks significant benefits for these businesses and industries.

Making the online customer experience immersive

Where value meets innovation There is a mounting body of research that illustrates the business value and benefits of investing in mixed reality solutions such the Microsoft Cloud and HoloLens 2. A Forrester Total Economic Impact Study found, for example, that the technology offered a 177 percent return on investment (ROI) over three years, improvements to employee health and

It also addresses specific industry challenges by enabling capabilities that help companies become more competitive and innovative – particularly in the manufacturing sector.

Italian luxury goods company Salvatore Ferragamo has, for instance, used the HoloLens 2 and the Azure cloud platform to transform its Tramezza Made-to-Order service to improve the online experience for customers. It makes choosing and customising the Tramezza men’s footwear collection an immersive experience. Customers can bring their footwear shopping experience to life when they browse the dedicated Azure cloud-based Made-to-Order Tramezza web application by viewing the footwear’s digital twin on their screen and

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The time the organisation spends on diagnostics and resolving issues has been cut in half as a result. The ability to share information and collaborate even when employees are physically in different locations has led to lower operational and travel costs as well as greater efficiency, agility and flexibility.

interacting with its accurate 3D rendering to customise materials, colours, details and finishes. The company has already seen significant benefits in various areas: • the optimisation of the customer journey in an omnichannel perspective; • the simplification of purchase methods; • better space management in physical stores; • a rise in conversion rates; and • better customer service overall.

Cutting down on travel also came with an added benefit: contributing to the company’s long-term commitment to environmental sustainability and minimising its carbon footprint. Technology is increasingly one of the key ways that organisations in the manufacturing industry are addressing environmental responsibilities, and the introduction of mixed reality technologies such as the HoloLens 2 into factories has the unique ability to help create a positive environmental impact – while simultaneously helping drive business value.

Revolutionising remote collaboration and cutting costs

Increasing speed and accuracy

Cosmetics company L’Oréal has also unlocked the value of mixed reality in its business. Using Microsoft Dynamics 365 Remote Assist and HoloLens 2, it has modernised its procedures for the maintenance of its manufacturing equipment, enabled remote maintenance and reduced downtime, as well as improving worker productivity and accuracy. This is because employees can quickly learn complex tasks and collaborate regardless of their geographic location.

Another company that has realised the business benefits of mixed reality is aerospace company Lockheed Martin, which experienced a 90 percent increase in efficiency after investing in their mixed reality solution and HoloLens 2. The technology enabled more accurate, efficient building processes that have both reduced the cost and increased the speed with which it builds spaceships as part of NASA’s Artemis programme aimed at returning humans to the moon.

The HoloLens 2 and Dynamics 365 Remote Assist solutions simplify installation, servicing, troubleshooting and auditing, with help from remote experts allowing employees in one location to see what colleagues in another location are looking at in real time and to share information. This ultimately prevents costly delays caused by machine downtime.

Remote assistance and guided work instructions also meant that employees were able to work more effectively with fewer errors. In the past three years that the company has used HoloLens on the shop floor, there hasn’t been one error. These improvements filter into everyday tasks, like assembling and installing crew seats and

building the heatshield skeleton. For each piece of manufacturing, the HoloLens gives a single scenario of design, quality assurance, inspection, and testing.

Unlocking the next wave of innovation As more companies and industries begin to adopt and deploy mixed reality technologies like the Microsoft Cloud and HoloLens 2, and see the tangible benefits and value it can create for them, we are going to see a new wave of innovation and even smarter ways to work, learn and communicate. Use cases like Lockheed Martin are part of an-ever growing pool of evidence to show that mixed reality has the ability to help solve current and future business and industry challenges, including the skills gap, by enabling simulated on-the-job training, optimising operations, efficiencies, productivity and collaboration through real-time insights and visual guidance, and driving innovation to create business value. The availability of public cloud services through Microsoft’s local data centres and the continuous investment and improvement of the services we provide, will accelerate digital innovation in the country by enabling businesses to become more agile and competitive. Innovation is essential if the country is to sustain its competitiveness for years and decades to come. We invest in the infrastructure necessary for South Africans to embrace innovation in business and public service.

Email: hololens@tarsus.co.za for more information.

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DIGITAL CONVERGENCE AND INNOVATION ENABLING GROWTH, EFFICIENCY, AND OPTIMISATION. THE CUTTING EDGE OF DIGITAL CONVERGENCE

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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 volume, variety and velocity of data. As a result, being dynamic, agile and innovative is the key to solving the challenges of today and tomorrow using technology as an enabler, creating an inclusive society by developing digital skills matched to job demand and developing an environment conducive to growth. As Africa’s leading technology services provider, EOH is at the forefront of digital convergence, innovation, and transformation, and with representation across Africa, UK, Europe and the Middle East we are able to leverage and scale our value proposition and offerings across multiple markets. EOH sits at the heart of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) with an ability to provide end-to-end solutions that solve business and societal challenges. This places us in a strong position to support business, society and ecosystems looking to grow, enhance efficiency, solve challenges and or improve service capability and delivery through innovation and technology. We pride ourselves on being agile, collaborative, partner-centric and solutionminded.

A diverse offering

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NEXTEC comprises a diverse set of people outsourcing and intelligent infrastructure capability. NEXTEC consults, designs, implements, monitors and services intelligent infrastructure in smarter buildings; warehousing and logistics; intelligent mining; asset management; water, sanitation and energy management; and lots more. NEXTEC is building better cities and civil infrastructure for tomorrow, today. RocketLab, is our IP platform and innovation business, comprising multiple solutions including: digital signatures built off a consent engine with an auditable repository; clinical trials; fraud and forensics; human resources and governance and compliance solutions. These cumulative offerings allow us to apply an unparalleled toolbox of skills and technologies to solve challenges, support our customers and ecosystems, through our expert capability in infrastructure, software and applications, and or our augmented 4IR digital capability in cloud, security, application development, data and data services, automation, software quality assurance, intelligent cities, and public, private and civil sector digital transformation.

EOH plays a pivotal role in solutioning for now and the future, from legacy to digital transformation, utilising its broad technology base (including its 50+ OEM strategic partnerships) and services capability. The EOH business comprises three core business segments offering differentiated value propositions: iOCO, NEXTEC and RocketLab. With a permanent staff compliment of circa 5500, including over 4000 technical staff, EOH takes a designled, solution minded, customer-centric approach to solving challenges, through on–and–off premise solutions, such as: cloud-ready, mobile-enabled, microservices-oriented architectures, across all industry verticals, including agriculture, banking, education, energy, health, insurance, mining, public sector, retail and telecommunications. iOCO is the leading specialist African ICT systems integrator and aggregator focused on traditional and cutting edge technology solutions, hardware and software product, and services across the ICT value chain.

By Ziaad Suleman, Group Chief Commercial Officer – EOH

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Part of being innovative and solving with purpose requires an understanding of the customer need and context, their ambition, what their challenges are, what their current environment and architecture looks like and what their aspirations are (both business and technical), then onward to co-creating a sustainable and beneficial solution. In this regard, we lead with advisory and thought leadership to ensure that we have the right blueprint regardless of where our customers are in their digitalisation journey. Being practical, working incrementally, and building for a brighter tomorrow is all part of the way we work with customers and partners.

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A digital transformation journey was accomplished with luxury homeware retailer by removing their manual paperbased onboarding and selling process with a sleek mobile app thereby significantly reducing time-consuming admin tasks, digitising their recruitment, real-time credit vetting and reducing the sales order process from six weeks to real-time.

South African innovation in practice We are humbled by our success in delivering innovative solutions for our customers. Some of the cutting-edge innovative offerings we have developed and implemented include the following: • Involved in the design, development, implementation, maintenance and support of a revenue service web-based efiling platform consisting of a web-based mobile user interface for automatic efiling registrations and auto-assessments, various back-end services to support user services, and a database to store the data and extensive integration resulting in a significant cost saving through automation, efficiency and optimisation. • A major continental Telco required a panAfrican API infrastructure for integration across Africa, including third-party business entities, from conceptualisation to production. This solution delivered required education, change management, implementation of effective monitoring, support and configuration of strong delivery teams per region. • Delivered a claims automation solution for a large global reinsurer with internal and external integration, and processing mapped to business and workflow rules. • Provided a smart logistics solution for major rail carrier using data, analytics, infrastructure to automate data capture across multiple instances resulting in increased efficiency and drastically reducing costs.

The nature, value proposition and suite of technology solutions of EOH positioned us perfectly to assist customers with their needs pre and post COVID-19, whether it related to their increased infrastructure requirements, remote and agile working solutions, enhancement of security and business processes or the move to cloud. iOCO’s Impression solution, for example, enables customers to view, sign, and send sensitive documents on any connected device conveniently, securely and with full legal compliance.

Digitally enabling South Africa’s socio-economic development Whilst a technology aggregator enterprise needs to be innovative and progressive in providing the best solutions to its ecosystem, this success cannot and should not be in isolation of society. For this reason and as a good corporate citizen, EOH willingly contributes to the greater good of the environments and industries it operates within. We support organisations, industry bodies and public-private partnerships through our

technology and people capability. An example of this is our Governance Risk and Compliance platform, Cerebro, which supports companies with holistic integrity at the foundation of its business, as we do. Trust and integrity are not only a differentiator but also an enabler of substantive value add partnerships for a sustainable business and the growth of the fiscus. This mindset and methodology are a catalyst for inclusivity by creating opportunity for people in the forms of both skills development and supporting entrepreneurship. A larger pool of relevant skills not only supports our customer base more effectively but also makes South Africa an attractive investment destination to onshore and reshore business to reduce unemployment, broaden our economy and stimulate growth. To catalyse this growth, we believe that e-commerce is important aided by digital platforms, which we build, have built and support. Consider a small-scale fruit farmer in Limpopo (a province in South Africa). She might not want to become a robotics specialist to realise production efficiencies, but she could benefit from joining a blockchain-based financial services platform that allows her to easily generate verifiable yield and financial records, and puts her in touch with global value chains. The possibilities exist, we just need to enable them for the greater good.

Innovation enabling growth, efficiency and optimisation Information technology (IT) and Operational technology (OT) convergence continues to accelerate and companies can no longer ignore the transformational opportunities they offer to fuel the return on investment. Combining the right technologies to simplify, design, automate and manage processes across the organisation instead of using tools that are script-based and designed for narrow use cases, alongside the integration of machine learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI), has proven to vastly improve operational discipline and performance, reveal business anomalies, generate valuable insights and optimise workloads.

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The zero-trust security model is reshaping the traditional approach to cybersecurity. No device or system should be trusted without verification, and even then, it should be regularly scanned for breaches.

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It is becoming fundamentally important for companies to recalibrate their organisations (change the way they do and think about things) and work on HOW they do it – for example, behaviour-driven design, UI/UX, infodriven architecture, DevOps and automated testing.

The increase in the number of employees working remotely, at least part-time, appears to be durable, resulting in a shift to technologies that enable collaboration, improve the employee experience, engagement and performance goal-setting. This also comes with increased opportunities to use data to track not only employee productivity, but employee engagement and wellbeing.

EOH is and will continue to remain at the forefront of providing such end-to-end solutions to support our customers and ecosystems along their journey of digital transformation with both traditional and innovative solutions.

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PASSION, TALENT AND A SHARED SENSE OF PURPOSE SEE YOCO GROW INTO A LEADING AFRICAN TECHNOLOGY COMPANY IN A FEW SHORT YEARS. In a few short years since launching in 2015, Yoco has grown into an African technology company that is ready to take on the world. With its focus on creating opportunities for small businesses, breaking down the barriers they face, and helping them to participate fully in a more inclusive and small-businesssupportive economy, Yoco is making waves in South Africa and beyond. Yoco is a very significant player in Africa’s financial services landscape. While the focus of this payments software and business funding specialist remains firmly on enabling SMMEs in Africa to receive cashless payments and access the finance they need to sustain and grow their operations, Yoco itself is anything but a small business. Today, Yoco is the preferred digital payments enabler for more than 230 000 small and micro-merchants in South Africa. Yoco point of sale devices and online merchant enablement portal process an average of more than US$2 billion in card payments every year. And the number of customers and value of payments processed are increasing exponentially every month. To support this growth trajectory, the company employs just under 500 people globally, half of whom are in technology. It was an ambitious goal, but one that Lungisa Matshoba, CTO at Yoco, says was very

Lungisa Matshoba, CTO at Yoco

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Founders from left: Katlego Maphai - CEO, Bradley Wattrus - CFO, Lungisa Matshoba - CTO, Carl Wazen - CBO

achievable, given Yoco’s compelling employee value proposition, as evidenced by its recent recognition as one of Fast Company’s Best Workplaces for Innovators 2021. For Yoco to achieve its ambitious headcount goals, a creative move was made by acquihiring Dado, a software development company and leading fintech and Web3 software development agency in Africa, Nona Digital. “They both follow our values and believe in our mission. When we find these companies, we want them to join us in our journey because we value their talent and purpose-driven approach to solving customer problems, and we decide to acquire vs hire,” says Matshoba. Nona was the third and largest acquisition of a software development agency by Yoco since 2019. More can be expected in the future. Yoco’s talented executive leadership team also recently received a number of shots in the

arm. Mariam Minhas Mannan was appointed as the organisation’s Chief People Officer. Mannan previously worked at Amazon.com as the Regional HR Director for the Middle East & North Africa regions – experience that will prove invaluable in driving the company’s talent growth objectives over the coming year. The organisation has made other key appointments from organisations such as Nike, Uber, Airbnb, Luno, Mckinsey & Company, Naspers and Investec to name but a few. He points out that recruiting top talent from around the world is absolutely imperative given the company’s strategy to take its businessbuilding products and services further into Africa, and beyond. “Yoco’s goal is to sign up at least a million merchants within the next four years,” Matshoba explains, “which can only be achieved if we have the superior talent and resources in place to incrementally grow our South African presence, while at the same

time realising our objective of delivering our solutions to other countries in Africa and the Middle East.” “We’re confident that the hard work we have put in to establish Yoco as a strong global financial services provider with very solid technology and talent foundations has positioned us well to quickly achieve, and exceed, our vision,” Matshoba says, “which we fully intend doing by delivering the innovative solutions needed by the well over 100 million small businesses that are active across Africa and the Middle East.”

@YocoZA @Yoco_ZA @yoco_za yoco

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ENABLING MILLIONS OF MOBILE SUBSCRIBERS TO CONNECT, ENGAGE AND TRANSACT EVERY DAY! In 1993, the first GSM Networks were installed in Africa opening the door to exciting new business opportunities in the telecommunications sector. 4C Group’s journey began a decade later when our pioneering founder, Rudolph Du Plessis, combined his extensive on the ground experience in information technology with a desire to solve some of the continent’s biggest technology challenges. With a firm belief that data is the best fuel for innovation, and a keen awareness of the unique set of challenges presented by the continent’s diversity, Rudolph and his dynamic team set about designing information management solutions for Africa in Africa. And so, the iNSight Solutions Suite was born - a robust, scalable, secure, and affordable solution specifically designed to support enterprise data management in the telecommunication sector.

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Disrupting traditional financial models One of our biggest innovations has been our movement into the disruptive fintech space, which was jump started by a sharp increase in mobile penetration across Sub-Saharan Africa and the arrival of Mobile Money in Africa in 2008. What is Mobile Money, you may ask? Simply put, it is a mobile financial service that is now widely offered by Mobile Network Operators in emerging markets where large parts of the population are either unbanked or underbanked. This digital payment platform allows for the transfer of money between mobile phones and SIM-enabled devices so users can receive, withdraw and send money without being directly connected to the formal banking system. We developed the iNSight Payment Gateway to enable our clients to harness this technology. Over the years it has expanded to offer more advanced financial functionality including Customer 2 Business, Business 2 Customer, and Business 2 Business payments, as well as point of sale enablement.

It’s About Time to Insight Data quality has always been in iNSight’s DNA and this allows us to unlock the true value of data in new ways. Our ability to provide a complete and consistent view of a business at any point in time enables our clients to make informed critical decisions and improve operational efficiencies. We achieve this by reducing their time to insight. Over time, we have amassed extensive industryspecific knowledge that has allowed us to evolve in close alignment with the needs of Africa’s telecommunication industry. We now offer broad functionality across several domains critical to mobile network operators, including information management, business assurance and business systems, which have been adopted by many of telecoms biggest players.

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A ROBUST, SCALABLE AND SECURE PAYMENT GATEWAY TO HARNESS THE POTENTIAL OF MOBILE MONEY The integration of additional value-added services, such as utility services, insurance, loan origination, event ticketing, lay-bys and much more, has further enhanced the value proposition that our platform brings to the market by simultaneously generating revenues and enhancing user experience and retention. Today our fintech solutions provide mobile financial services to millions of mobile money users across Africa on behalf of our customers, and that number is growing daily.

With current operations in, South Africa, Lesotho, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, and Mauritius, we have an extensive African footprint.

Where to from here?

We pride ourselves on creating local employment opportunities in each of the markets we operate in. We are committed to creating a highly skilled workforce through knowledge sharing and critical skills transfer, while harnessing local knowledge of culture and customs to ensure we provide a solution with the best fit possible.

As Africa moves into the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and exciting new technologies like 5G and the Internet of Things begin to gain traction, we are confident that we are best positioned to continually deliver innovative solutions that meet the evolving information and financial technology challenges of enterprises that operate in emerging markets.

Over the last 18 years our agility has allowed us to evolve from data management specialists to a company that has kept our clients on the cutting edge of technology.

Our commitment to Africa By supporting Communication Service Providers in their transformative journey towards becoming Digital Service Providers, 4C Group continues to play an integral part in enabling digital and financial inclusion that drives economic growth and expansion in Africa.

info@4CGroup.co.za

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We at CTRL have a mission and vision for the future we want to create with everyone. We believe that robots of all shapes and sizes will be key to the physical automation revolution in every part of our society. CTRL Robotics was founded by three people determined to develop their part of the future. Nikhil Ranchod, Taahir Bhaiyat and Steve Pinto met while working together on a project in automation and immediately saw the potential for a simple, powerful platform that can control all layers of physical automation. We believed that with the exponential amount of robots the world would soon rely on, there needed to be a way to connect and control them. The future will be better because machines will help humanity grow faster, sooner. Why are we the best at what we do? We aren’t, but also no one is and thats what it means to constantly iterate your product. What we are is determined to chase the top and be the best in the market. In order to do that we pay close attention to the needs of our users, and with time develop products that people love.

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The future is exciting and we are committed to building the best product we can. We want our customers to design their automations with the simplest most powerful tool available, consistently. In our first project we developed an end to end management platform for the Hotel Sky group. We were the first to bring automation and service robotics to the African continent and received wide coverage in global media. We’ve been featured in global publications with Hotel Sky. Notably World Economic forum and through the Reuters network and local South African media. If I could sum up our vision into the shortest version: We want to create the most powerful tool to control all different types of robots for specific tasks in the same environment.

ctrl-robotics new-reality-south-africa

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CODING ARTWORK technology advancement, too. Most especially, it is a community of like-minded adventurers. (HashLips) was born on YouTube in 2021. The channel already has over 2 million total video views. However, (HashLips) isn’t merely a library of ‘how-to’ videos. It’s that burgeoning community that drives its direction; this audience is hungry to learn, engage, and build a community for the NFT community’s benefit. “The members are artists looking to learn to code as well as programmers who want to create art,” said Daniel about (HashLips)’s growth. That comes with a proviso: explaining coding to non-programmers only gets a community so far. The world of NFTs is incredibly exciting. Learning to code (for most people) isn’t. But, (HashLips) most viewed video is the ‘ultimate guide on how to create an NFT collection.’ (HashLips)’s mission to educate its audience morphed. Daniel engineered the (HashLips) Art Engine.

Have you heard about (HashLips)? Only about 0.7 percent of the world’s population knows about blockchain technology. Less than 4 percent of the globe’s people hold any cryptocurrency. And, only a percentage of those people actually own NFTs.

“It was written to facilitate the creation of NFTs and generate artworks,” said Daniel. “I wrote the programme to be user-friendly. The audience loves to learn about NFTS, create NFTs, and to

Have you heard about the Sketchy Apes Book Club NFT Collection? NFTs have been around since 2017, but they’re only now entering mainstream conversations. The power of NFTs hasn’t been grasped yet, but it’s already creating a movement for the democratization of the Internet. NFTs are rapidly evolving - and so is this space. (HashLips) is driving transformation and bridging gaps through accessibility, education and empowerment. The name’s an alias for its YouTube channel. And, for an NFT Art Engine as well as an NFT collection. It is also an art movement. Dig a bit deeper, and you’ll realize that (HashLips) is an advocate for blockchain

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learn to code. So, this was a way for anyone to learn and generate their own NFT collections. The (HashLips) Art Engine is a way to generate a lot of images quickly and easily. It was created on open source platform. I figured out how to make it more user-friendly for people to adapt and use it in easier ways.” The Art Engine has now enabled the creation of more than 5,000 NFT collections to date – all from within the (HashLips) community.

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The Sketchy Apes Book Club is another of (HashLips)’s NFT collections, but this one is a showcase of the community’s growing skills and the evolution of its Art Engine. From hand-drawn sketches, Daniel generated 10,000 artworks with the Art Engine to create the Sketchy Apes Book Club. It has proven exceptionally popular: of the 10,000 pieces, less than 2,000 are yet to be minted.

“The roadmap is about writing a book with the (HashLips) community,” noted Daniel about the development of the community. “The community has pivoted (HashLips) into a creative community. This means that members participate in all areas of the collections and steer the direction. It is all about education: to teach people how to do creative things with PhotoShop and more. To be creative. To think outside the box. This is all about building a community. It is boosted by workshops and creative community projects. Everyone has an opportunity for input. That’s how we’ll grow this NFT space.” One of the most captivating aspects of the NFT space is that it’s still evolving and highly fluid. What’s (HashLips)’s future? Advocating accessibility and inclusivity. No one must be left behind by technology.

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THE INTERNET WAS MEANT TO MAKE THE WORLD A SMALLER PLACE.” - MAX WATERS

Title: “Our Attention” for the International Public Art Festival 2020, Theme: Digitalisation, produced by Baz-Art and Bash

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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.

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The Reco. Platform today comprising of Insurance, Telecommunication, innovative mobile and web-based applications pertaining to Human resources, Labour Law, Security, Online e-learning, Email, and voice metrics solutions.

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Adoctus_is an e-learning platform that can be white labelled for any school, tertiary institution, or industry anytime anywhere. Adoctus allows for the management and monitoring of all learners, students or employees on all levels using unique behavioural tracking. Education and training processes are elevated and become more cost effective, and resources optimally utilized. It allows for interaction between teachers or facilitators and their class by means of a live chat. Adoctus is on the cutting edge of LMS, harnessing the latest block-chain technology and artificial intelligence while complying up to Level 3 PCI Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

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Life Alert_Inspired and passionate about the safety and security of the people of South Africa and the lack of emergency and response deployed to an incident, in 2017 Life Alert was founded and it was time to establish a failproof and reliable product as well as Community Safety Units. We realized how vulnerable our people are and for this reason decided to develop a panic button system that will aid any person who are in need. We realised that a cell phone system is not the only answer because in a real crisis your phone might not be with you, or you won’t have the time to first open an application. The answer was in a button that is always with you or in your vehicle and then we created the Life Alert, Community Alert, Tourist Alert, Vehicle Alert and Bike Alert mobile solutions.For us, it is all about keeping you and your loved ones safe.

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Relimail _ is an affordable, cloud based, email solution that reduces the overall IT cost and digital footprint of company’s electronic data, ensuring a safer, more reliable way to communicate digitally. We have a goal and that is to make “email safer and more secure”. We do this by constantly researching and combating ways to protect users’ emails and finding new ways to secure data, cost-effectively, reliably, and innovatively. We believe in collaboration and together with our clients, we can solve critical issues effectively, ensuring a safer email environment

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SmartStaff_ a smart HR solution, is offering cloud-based HR service offerings that surpass competitor capabilities, often in quite a few aspects. To harness the essence of Smart Staff and why it is necessary to invest in a comprehensive solution the functionalities the application is offering need to be understood. The consistency and quality of your HR function will be driven by Smart Staff to ensure that Smart Staff become the reliable and sought-after HR Solution of choice

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reco. Reco.Voice Metrics_Reco is a compliant, mobile application for both the intermediary and their clientele’s convenience. Record, store, retrieve and communicate all new business, clientele verbal instructions and communication. Conveniently managed from your mobile phone.

Tel: +27 12 443 6551 Cell: +27 81 269 2545 Email: info@recomobile.co.za

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e 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.

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“Seeing our ISV partners grow from start-up to scale-up to established is extremely rewarding, knowing we played a role in this growth and the success of their solutions.” – says Ashman.

ACCELERATING ISV GROWTH THROUGH INNOVATION Now is the time for Independent Software Vendors to capitalise on the great opportunities presented to them We are living in an era where hybrid and multi-cloud business through assisting consumers to efficiently navigate the environments are on an increase, and this has put the spotlight on the complex world of cloud.

critical role ISVs play.

A gateway to business growth opportunities ISVsIndependent play a critical Software role in the Vendors growth and of on their Now is the time for to success capitalise the customer’s businesses, but the big question is, who is great opportunities presented to them through assisting consumers to assisting these tech start-ups and cloud-based tech efficiently navigate the complex world cloud. companies to grow their of businesses? the answer is simply Tarsus On Demand. A gateway to Well, business growth opportunities

ISVs play a critical role in the growth and success of their customer’s Tarsus On Demand has created a program to cater to businesses, but the big question is, who is assisting these tech start-ups and the unique needs of ISVs. Through the program, ISVs are cloud-based techequipped companies totools growand their businesses? with services to help them innovate, scale and flourish in South Africa and across the African

Well, the answercontinent is simply Tarsus On Demand.

What makes Tarsus On Demand (TOD) so different?

Tarsus On Demand has created a program to cater to the unique needs Having worked with ISVs for many years, TOD identified that of ISVs. Throughsome the program, ISVs are equipped with tools and services of these companies need enablement and assistance to help them innovate, scale andThe flourish in South Africa and acrossan the in certain areas. ISV program was formed through iterative process, and TOD is continually growing and African continent building on this program to ensure innovation and growth within the ISV partner base.

What makes Tarsus On Demand (TOD) so different?

Having worked with ISVsAshman, for many years, identified that of Chantelle ISV SalesTOD Manager at Tarsus Onsome Demand, these companieshas need enablement andthe assistance inof certain areas. and The ISV been involved since inception this program can attest to the impact the and program had on program was formed through anpositive iterative process, TODhas is continually the TOD base. growing and building onISV thispartner program to ensure innovation and growth within the ISV partner base. Chantelle Ashman, ISV Sales Manager at Tarsus On Demand, has been involved since the inception of this program and can attest to the positive 114 impact the program has had on the TOD ISV partner base.

Tarsus On Demand ISV program offerings The ISV program was a major contributing factor Weisare TODbeing strongly believes the thatMicrosoft a great dealIndirect of time investment cri to TOD awarded environ the growth and success of ISVs. With that in mind, TOD has add Partner of the Year award for 3 years in a row. critical of offerings exclusive to ISV partners to enable them to successf

their business to new heights and encourage innovation. All the

Now is Tarsus Onthe Demand ISV program offerings under ISV program are at no additional cost to the ISV partn

great o

TOD strongly believes that a great deal of time investment is TOD then took this one step further and partnered withefficien some o critical to the growth and success of ISVs. With that in mind, most prominent technology incubators and accelerator TODAfrica’s has added a list of offerings exclusive to ISV partners A gate that their cohorts have access to the same types of assistance an to enable them to successfully take their business to new heights All the offerings that and the encourage partners ininnovation. the TOD program alreadyunder receive. ISVs pl the ISV program are at no additional cost to the ISV partner. busines

cloud-bT As part of the success of running this program in South Africa,

TOD then took this one step further and partnered with now expanded its most efforts to the rest of Africa.incusome of South Africa’s prominent technology Well, th bators and accelerators, ensuring that their cohorts have access to the same types of assistance and guidance thatto training an “Many emerging companies in Africa need access thedevelopment partners in theand TODthey program already receive. Tarsus also need support to take their solutions

of ISVs This includes leveraging experienced CSPs like TOD to guide th

As part of the success of running this program in South Afrito help journey. Ourexpanded ISV Program can add value of the above whi ca, TOD has now its efforts to the resttoofall Africa.

stimulate growth.” – says Ashman.

African

“Many emerging companies in Africa need access to training andThe skillsprogram development and they also support todisciplines: take What assists partners inneed the following their solutions to market. This includes leveraging experiHaving enced CSPs like TOD to guide them on their journey. Our ISV • Technical Assistance - ensures our partners’these cloudc Program can add value to all of the above that which willISV stimuprogram environments are built for scale, optimised and modernised late growth.” – says Ashman.

growin applicable. Our ISV partners get the opportunity to gain tec support through experts with years of experience inwithin buildin creating the perfect environment to help their business gro Chante involve “The program has enabled our partners to gain assistance w impactw optimising their architectures and environments together

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relationships to ensure their growth and help them scale. Go-to-Market and Marketing Assistance is offered to partners after it was discovered that most ISVs tend to have smaller teams that mainly comprise of sales-based roles, and they have little-to-no knowledge about how to create their go-to-market strategy for their solution and do not have in-house expertise when it comes to running their marketing activities.

Technical Assistance Go-to-Market and Mark Ensures that our ISV partners’ cloud-based environments are built for scale, optimised and modernised where “We have included it as partSales of theEnablement program because sometimes cloud was discovered that mos applicable. Our ISV partners get the opportunity to gain tohard partners to assistifthem enter new markets and vendors have environmentsOffered that are to navigate theytodon’t comprise of sales-based technical support through experts with years of experience channels enabling them to avail their solutions and gain new know who they should be talking to, or how to access the enablement about how to create thei in building and creating the perfect environment to help customers and growth. tracks and processes that they have in place for their customers” – she offeringsand do not have in-hous Tarsus On Demand ISV program their business grow. eitical living in an era where hybrid and multi-cloud business adds. marketing activities. to TOD strongly believes that a great deal of time investment is critical to Your success is our success “The has enabled gain assistance nments on program an increase, and thisour haspartners put theto spotlight on the Thethe world is changing and as of a tech start-up, you in aremind, a ded a listare growth and success ISVs. With that TOD has added a list environments catalyst for this Tarsus Demand to supports and lfully role ISVs play.optimising their architectures • and FastTrack for Microsoft Azure -of this part ofchange. the program isOn dedicated Sales Enablement take - offer take with offerings exclusive to ISV partners enable• them to successfully together with our solutions architects, not only saving costs encourages innovative tech start-ups which have developed to accelerating the growth and scale of ISV partners in the cloud markets and channels e offeringsbut enabling them to use those savings elsewhere and their business to new heights and encourage innovation. All the offeringsen solutions focusing on creating a positive change in Africa. sner. the time assist for Independent Software Vendors capitalise on the environment. It assists with building and scaling customers the ISV program are their at no apps additional cost tonew the ISV partner.and grow them in finding new resources intoAzure that help their partnersunder opportunities presented them through consumers to platforms, through alternate routes to rewarding market, for thegrow and scale solutions scale to easily and performassisting atand its best” – says Ashman. “It is extremely to example, see partners ntly navigate the complex world of cloud. success succ commercial marketplace offered by the Microsoft technical assistance through initiatives we provide them. Being ofYour theirwith of South TOD then took and this one step further andpart partnered someis ofour South Partner Enablement successes through exposing them to new markets and The world is changing and from Azure engineers. The TOD Partner Enablement Consultant will rs, ensuring Africa’s most prominent technology incubators and accelerators, ensuringa TOD has dedicated Partner Enablement Consultants that territories thatthe have opened up for them by helping them eway to business growth opportunities change. Tarsus On ensure that the partners are enrolled for correct programs and nd guidance that their cohorts have access to the same types of assistance andDemand guidance specifically assists partners with navigating the cloud commercialize and therefore monetize on the solutions they lay a critical role in the andbest success of their customer’s which have developed s navigate vendor relationships to ensure their-says growth help them already ups that the partners in theand TOD program receive. landscape andgrowth getting the out of the programs and have developed.” Ashman. sses, but the big question is, who is assisting these tech start-ups and in Africa. scale. growth tracks offered by the vendors, says Ashman. based tech companies to grow their businesses? About Tarsus Onsuccess Demand TOD has As part of the of running this program in South Africa, TOD has “We have included it as part of the program because Tarsus On Demand is an indirect CSP • Microsoft for Start-ups Foundersnow Hub – this is aits platform offered to ofSolutions expanded efforts to the(Cloud rest Africa. “It is extremely rewarding to sometimes cloud vendors have environments that are hard Provider). This means that they create channel models for he answer is simply Tarsus On Demand. tech founders at any stage in their founder’s journey. The program initiatives we provide them. to navigate if they don’t know who they should be talking to, the sale of cloud-based solutions. assists these founders to reach their next milestone and accessing them to new markets and te nd skills or how to access the enablement tracks and processes that “Many emerging companies in Africa need access to training and skills Demand created a program to cater business to –the needsfor their Tarsus resources start-up’s success.and The Partner Enablement helping commercialize theyhas have in place for their customers” sheunique adds. sOn to market. development they also need support to take their them solutions to market. On Demand is the cloud division of the Tarsus s. Through the program, ISVs are equipped with tools and consultant willservices assist the partners with nomination and experienced guide ” -says Technology group. As a Microsoft CSPthem indirect provider, we developed. hem on their This includes leveraging CSPs likehave TOD to guide them onAshm thei FastTrack for Microsoft Azure work with start-ups to unlock true business value through pich them innovate, scale and flourish in South Africa and across the through the program. will journey. Our ISV Program can add value to all of the above which will This part of the program is dedicated to accelerating the embracing new and evolving technology. n continent About Tarsus On Dema stimulate growth.” – says Ashman. growth and scale of ISV partners in the cloud environment. and Marketing Assistance - TOD offers its marketing Tarsus On Demand is an ind It assists partners with building • and Go-to-Market scaling their apps and We pride ourselves on our ability to assist start-ups from the t makes Tarsus On Demand (TOD) so different? team expertise the form of marketing-as-a-service. This means platforms, through alternate routes to market, for to partners in The program assists partners in athe following ground up. Whether it’s glancing over business plan,disciplines: giving that they create chan example, marketplace by g worked with ISVsthe forcommercial many years, TOD identified that some is offered offered at Microsoft no costofto the partner, and TOD team will motivate solutions. guidance onthe strategies, or optimising your cloud business technical assistance from Azurefor engineers. The TOD experts available to assist withour anyISV task. Our companiesand need enablement and assistance in certain areas. The funding from the ISV vendor,model, guide thehave partner on the strategy thatthat d-based • we Technical Assistance - ensures partners’ cloud-based Partner Enablement Consultant will ensure that the partners methods have been proven over time, and we are looking for m was formed through an iterative process, and TOD is continually need to take to get the results they are looking for with their On Demandwhere is the clo d where are enrolled for the correct programsthey environments are built for scale, optimisedTarsus and modernised and navigate vendor the next great start-up to offer our expertise to.

ACCELERATING ISV GROWTH THROUGH INNOVATION

ng and building on this program to ensure innovation growthThey then execute marketingand activities. the campaigns on behalfget of the the opportunity a Microsoft CSP indirect pro chnical applicable. Our ISV partners to gain technical nng theand ISV partner base. partner to ensure the best results. support through experts with years of experience businessin value through building and emb

ow. elle Ashman, ISV Sales Manager at Tarsus On Demand, has been ed since the inception of this program and can attest to the positive with twith the program has had on the TOD ISV partner base. our

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www.tarsusondemand.co.za creating the perfect environment to help their business grow. We pride ourselves on our a it’s glancing “The program has enabled our partners to Whether gain assistance with over a or optimising your cloud optimising their architectures and environments together with ourbus

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CLICKATELL

PIONEERING THE CHAT COMMERCE REVOLUTION In June 2000, a small Cape Town start-up revolutionised digital communications. The dream began when four friends, including cofounder and CEO, Pieter de Villiers, wrote four lines of code which allowed anyone to send an SMS from the internet to a mobile phone. Understanding the power of what they had created, which was the ability for the fastest growing commerce platform at the time – the internet – to communicate with the fastest growing communications platform ever – the mobile phone, Clickatell enjoyed rapid growth and was soon recognised as a thought leader at the intersection of communication and commerce. While the company was founded in Cape Town, South Africa, its go-to-market strategy was to deliver services via a self-serve API (Application Programming Interface) accessible through the internet and it soon reached customers in the UK, India, US and elsewhere around the world. Since then, the company has grown its global footprint to now serve customers in more than 220 territories, with its Chat Commerce Platform that is able to reach up to 90% of the world’s population, equating to approximately 7 billion users.

Clickatell’s core values include that of curiosity and creativity and this enables the business to continually explore new ways of helping brands serve their customers better. Today, Clickatell clients are able to connect, interact and transact with their customers where they are, within the global chat platforms they use every day (such as SMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, etc.) in a convenient manner. “The glue that binds us together has always been our belief that we can harness technology to make the world a better place and we manifest that belief by helping brands do better for their customers. From a living room in Cape Town at the turn of the millennium to our offices in Silicon Valley, Toronto, Cape Town, and Lagos, we have remained laser focused on our vision of a world where delightful customer experiences are the norm,” explains de Villiers. “Our team is constantly pushing design boundaries and are the finest example of South African creativity and innovation. In 2019,

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Clickatell made history again when we were one of the first to launch chat banking on WhatsApp. Together with the Absa Group, we delivered banking service functionality to the world’s largest chat platform, taking another step towards achieving South Africa’s financial inclusion goals.” Shortly thereafter, the company went on to also launch Chat Commerce over WhatsApp, another global first; enabling customers to use their credit cards to make payments quickly and securely as part of a chat commerce journey within the telecoms sector.

Chat transcends industry and geographic boundaries The Chat Commerce market is viewed as the third big wave of digital commerce, following the eCommerce and App Commerce markets. Unsurprisingly, Clickatell sees itself as uniquely positioned to capitalise on the intersection between communications (CPaaS, CCaaS) and commerce (digital payments) through its complete end-to-end Chat Commerce Platform. “By enabling payments over chat, Clickatell has opened the doors of convenience across industry sectors. From technology start-ups to Fortune 500 companies looking to deliver services to their customers safely and affordably, Clickatell is constantly adding use cases to its offering and proving it can deliver value to brands across industry sectors,” de Villiers explains.

Pieter de Villiers, Co-Founder and CEO of Clickatell and Chairman of SiMODiSA

Clickatell’s technical innovation is also attracting the attention of industry watchers, most recently Gartner, which recognised Clickatell as a “Who’s Who in CPaaS Payments and How They Are Going About It” within their “Digital Payments as Part of Communications Platform as a Service Offering” report.

A long-term vision grounded in grassroots activation While keeping a weather eye on the company’s growth trajectory and technical roadmap, de Villiers has not forgotten his roots. For the last few years, he has been instrumental in bringing like-minded industry leaders together to help solve one of South Africa’s biggest challenges and opportunities - the skills gap and the digital skills gap in particular. As co-founder and Chairman of NGO (www.SiMODiSA.org), de Villiers is helping to coordinate the public and private sector efforts to boost local digital skills. Through the TechXit Collective, the initiative hopes to design South Africa’s digital skills supply chain required to create a thriving technology sector which it believes is the answer to youth unemployment and upliftment. “This may sound like a grand ideal, but through my work with Clickatell over the last two decades, I have seen just what is possible when you find and nurture a team of passionate, creative individuals from all walks of life. We would never have achieved the many world-firsts without the creative and technical vision that comes with a diverse and culturally rich group of individuals who share the common dream of making our world better, we are truly #StrongerTogether,” he sums up.

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DATAFREE

BRINGING MEANINGFUL #DATAFREE ACCESS TO ONLINE SERVICES IN SOUTH AFRICA The success of a truly disruptive innovation is borne out of all the other innovations it enables, the opportunities that evolve from the original idea. And these innovations must reside in a sense of meticulous care, through the creation of a great product that, at the end of the day, people want to use. This is the premise on which Datafree has been built and how it approaches its product development, understanding that the platform it has created is an enabler. This according to Gour Lentell, CEO of Datafree.

About Datafree Datafree identified an opportunity to empower inclusive mobile connection by removing the significant data cost barrier in South Africa to engage mobile audiences. The company’s cloud-based Datafree platform leverages a technology called reverse billing which allows businesses to offer their online services, applications and content to their customers #datafree. The data used is then billed back to those businesses, similar to the 0800 telephone numbers, where businesses pay the per minute call costs so that customers are able to reach them without paying to make the call. This platform was built to take the friction out of the reverse billing solutions offered by the mobile network providers. For many there is a high-level of complexity in offering a single website reverse-billed across all the mobile networks. The essence of the Datafree platform addresses the mobile affordability challenge that many South Africans face taking the data cost from the user and transferring it to the business offering the online services. The platform takes the worry out of mobile data usage, which both businesses and consumers in South Africa experience. Keeping in mind Datafree’s philosophy on innovation, all the products that the company develops over this platform have been based on services that users and customers are looking for. Gour Lentell, CEO of Datafree

Business specific services Many businesses face challenges when it comes to offering digital services or applications to employees

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or customers, particularly in a mobile-led country like South Africa. The Datafree platform provides companies with a way to create digital inclusion by using one or more of the business services offered by Datafree. For example, Datafree Connect allows companies to enable #datafree use of targeted mobile applications, such as MS Teams, Gmail, Google Maps, Salesforce or any third-party smartphone application, required by employees for their day-to-day work and business. This eliminates the need for data allocations, or cellphone allowances within businesses, simplifying both customer delivery and employee management. From providing online stores or website content through to government mandates of citizenry participation and online schooling, Datafree has built solutions that any industry can make use of.

MoyaApp and MoyaPay From a consumer perspective, Datafree offers a mobile application called MoyaApp, which conceptually started as a #datafree mobile messaging platform similar to WhatsApp or Signal. However, it has since evolved to incorporate a broad range of online content and services.

Employees enjoying the MoyaPay Launch event With over 6.5 million monthly active users in South Africa, MoyaApp offers a way for South Africans to communicate, and meaningfully engage with online content without using their mobile data, even if they have a zero-airtime balance. It has recently added MoyaPay, a mobile money account, allowing users to receive money, send money, make online and offline payments, purchase a range of value-added services

and use a prepaid Mastercard linked to their MoyaPay account, all with minimal transaction fees and all #datafree. MoyaPay opens opportunities for users to engage with online and offline services as well as offering businesses a means to transact with consumers in the mainstream South African market. The growth of MoyaPay has been exponential since its launch with new account registrations sitting at over 30 000 per month.

Veedo Veedo enables video conferencing and broadcasting that is #datafree for audiences, and delivers good quality audio and video, no matter what mobile devices users have. Video conferencing is notorious for being data-heavy and the Veedo team have invested significant research and development into building a solution that uses as little data as possible. This addresses two key challenges; reducing the cost of data to the business offering the conference, and ensuring that where mobile network quality is poor or users are on old or low-end handsets the service is still offered at a great quality.

Moving forward Datafree is in effect solving problems that are unique to South Africa and builds its solutions based on what users want and need. It’s about creating meaningful online access, while removing the worry about the cost of data.

The MoyaPay application

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A F R I C A

THE ROAD TO BECOMING THE BIGGEST SOFTWARE COMPANY FROM AFRICA

SovTech is a World Class custom software development platform, providing a complete software design and development innovation service to VC-funded Startups and Enterprises. SovTech believes that Silicon Valley’s technologies are the growth catalyst for every business of the future. The company provides clients across all industries with market-leading A.I., Blockchain, Mobile, and Cloud-based technological development solutions and services. Living on the bleeding edge of technology and implementing market-leading software solutions, allows SovTech to bring innovation to market faster than ever before. SovTech’s global expertise has established blue-chip

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clients across the world and the company now operates on three continents and has offices in Dubai, London, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Nairobi. SovTech was founded in 2012 and has grown into a global competitor in the custom software development industry. Our mission is to create leading, innovative software that creates economic and social value on a global scale, collaborating closely with businesses to help them achieve both their short and longer-term goals. Our vision is to become Earth’s leading software company from Africa. There are only several world-class Tech companies in Africa and even fewer that are proud to be. SovTech works with some of the world’s smartest people, leveraging pockets of excellence across Africa to deliver value globally. SovTech has successfully catapulted the launch of many thriving businesses

worldwide, across a wide range of industry verticals. These include financial, agricultural, government, and tech services. We are passionate about developing and applying cutting-edge technologies to suit our client’s unique business needs. We continuously aim to deliver world-class software solutions that give businesses a global competitive edge. We believe advanced technologies are the lifeline of every business in the modern age. We aim to connect businesses across all industries to innovative software, in a manner that is faster, easier, and better than ever before.

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CEO and Co-founder of SovTech Gerald Neves is a technologist, serial entrepreneur, and software engineer. The vast gap between the technological happenings in Silicon Valley and the rest of the world instigated his motive to start developing custom software for businesses. Neves’ contributions to the company run firmly through every level, as his knowledge is backed by years of personal experience. He is a Director and Board member of several other fast-growing startups, the Dean of IOT at the XTech Institute, and corporate lecturer at Duke University CE.

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SNAPSCAN

SIMPLIFYING PAYMENTS ONE SNAP AT A TIME around an endless amount of cash. Instead, they could load their credit card into the app, and use the app to pay. It also meant that small business owners no longer had to rely on expensive hardware to accept payments from their customers. Businesses could sign up and get their unique QR code (a SnapCode), which customers would scan to pay with their mobile devices.

Growth Opportunities One of the first mobile payment solutions in South Africa, SnapScan was named MTN App of The Year in 2013. By partnering with Standard Bank, SnapScan scaled its offering to reach more customers (both businesses and consumers alike). As SnapScan has grown over the years, so has our ecosystem of payment tools. We know that running a business can be overwhelming. So we’ve made it our mission to build payment solutions that are simple and convenient. Businesses can sign up for SnapScan through a simple online process

napScan 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 story Founded in 2013, SnapScan gained traction at markets and coffee shops in Stellenbosch. The founding team had extensive experience in banking and mobile money. Their goal? To improve the payment experience for small business owners and their customers. At the time, the only payment options available for face-to-face sales was cards and cash. The first required expensive hardware, while consumers didn’t always carry enough of the second. By incorporating digital payments into QR code technology, the team created a mobile app that would allow consumers to pay at their favourite businesses without having to carry

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Our expanded offering now makes it easier for businesses to operate and accept payments in their preferred environment - whether that’s face-to-face, online or both. By making it simple for businesses to accept payments across channels, we allow them to focus on what they do best: selling their goods and services. On the consumer front, we’ve expanded our mobile payment app offering to allow consumers to carry out several essential tasks from one app. Now, not only can consumers pay for goods at their favourite businesses, but they can also buy prepaid electricity and data, pay bills, donate to a cause close to their heart, pay for parking, and even make peer-to-peer payments within the app.

Changing Tides Although our offering has evolved, the one thing that’s remained consistent is our passion for supporting small businesses in whichever way we can. The past two years have been particularly brutal for small business owners. Doors have closed as businesses struggled to

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attract customers. In response to this, SnapScan partnered with communities to create rewards programmes that would inject much-needed revenue into their local economy and keep businesses afloat. The global pandemic has proven that the only way for businesses to survive is for them to be able to adapt to their circumstances. Our expanded offering allows them to do just that: Pay Links enable them to get paid remotely, our ecommerce plugins allow them to easily accept online payments, while our physical SnapCodes remain a safe, contactless solution for brick and mortar retail stores. We’re also working on a number of exciting new products and features that we believe will solve real problems for small businesses and our app users. “I’m privileged to work with such creative and incredible people at SnapScan, who are truly driven to create real value for our customers,” says CEO Marin Cundall. “We know that our job is to make our customers’ lives easier and we hope we can do that by widening the kinds of payments you can make and accept with SnapScan, and by releasing features that our customers have been asking for.”

A SnapScan staff member packing the Starter Kits businesses use to accept payments

Members of the SnapScan team working from the office pre-covid

Businesses can integrate their SnapCode into their point-of-sale terminals

SnapScan is still used by vendors at markets

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DATADISTILLR

COLLABORATE AND EXPLORE DATA LIKE NEVER BEFORE .

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 story. Data is quickly becoming too difficult for people to work on. As it becomes more complex, our tools must evolve to handle the complex but mundane tasks that computers are good at, so we can focus on telling the story. Enable everyone, from your business analyst to stakeholders, to query data and to access the data they need, without distracting your team or taking your time from the real work at hand.

Don’t ETL those files Data Exploration should not require extensive infrastructure. Data Analysts and Data Scientists who “hack” through datasets to explore stories, trends, and initial insights can do that with sample data (a subset of your data). Our strength is our commitment to standard syntax, no pipelines, and no ETLs. Most data science projects, even projects that involve Big Data, will have a portion of data kept in CSV or XLS. To seamlessly integrate data from any format, whether large or small, is what we do best.

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DataDistillr is an enterprise platform that enables data scientists to explore with ease and confidence. It allows the data scientist to join data sets from multiple disparate locations, including mappings to referential data. Here’s a list of some of the file types that we currently handle: CSV and other delimited data, Excel, XML, JSON, HDF5, Fixed width, PDF, SPSS, SAS, LTSV, ESRI Shape Files, Image metadata, Parquet, Avro and Sequence files. We also support specialty formats: PCAP, PCAP-NG, Logfiles, Syslog, Web Access logs, ACH (Bulk Financial Data), Swift Messages, and blockchains.

Don’t copy those databases Increasingly, businesses deploy a variety of data management and query systems that are specialised to particular types of data or workload. Well known examples run from relational databases like Oracle Database through Hive and Snowflake to Splunk. Data warehouse engineers are presented with a never ending project pipeline of ETL work which does a valuable job of centralising core data but leaves analysts out in the cold when they need data that is not yet under ETL. Using DataDistillr, those analysts can proceed to query across a wide range of sources including those mentioned in this paragraph and many more.

Into Africa DataDistillr was not the first US technology firm to decide that it wants South African talent on its side when, as part of its rapid team growth in 2021, it opened a new Johannesburg software development office. As South Africans we welcome foreign investment in our human resources, an affirmation of our known characteristics of self-sufficiency and dedication, as well as a reminder that our time zone alignment to the European market is a valuable advantage that we enjoy for free. More broadly, DataDistillr is committed to building a strong, diverse team that spans latitudes, longitudes and cultures, creating a very real manifestation of a global village.

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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 if you cannot answer that question without an uhhm in your sentence, then perhaps it’s time you get on the bandwagon and learn to play the data game, or fall victim to your competition!

Where is my data? The obvious questions remain; how many data sources do I have? how do I collect this data? where is my data residing? and how can I use this data to become the $billion company?

Where do I begin? With iTouch’s Data Management AND Syndication Platform iTouch’s innovation team has developed a data management and syndication platform that helps businesses unify their contacts, products data and deals for syndication to their marketing, sales, CRM or other online systems. It includes a series of data tools to help culture the data and make it usable, in a sense of unpacking its value, while tailoring integrations and workflows that are easy to work with and geared to the needs of the business.

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FIR Data Completeness

SOURCE

MARKET

 Select all  Business Intelligence Insights …

 Select all  Direct Guest

REGION

CITY



 (Blank)

Raw Interactions

Cleaned Interactions

Profiles

Total Raw Interactions

23,099

Email Profiles by Date (MAR 2020 to JAN 2021)

S O U T H

DATE 2/29/2020

By using iTouch’s platform;

3/31/2021

•

 Select all

Cleaned Interactions

21,820

Total Profiles

Total Emails

17,713

17711

Profiles Complete / Incomplete %

94.98% / 5.02%

Email Profiles by Location (Region)

6K 4K

7090

2K Mar 2020

Oct 2020

3329

4137

Nov 2020

Dec 2020

Website Enquiry Form

Total



16.93%

Confirmed Guest Bookings

15.66%

2937

•

Feedback Form

15.51%

Website Newsletter Form

12.14%

Loyalty Programme Feed

11.69%

Website Agent Enquiry

11.25%

Business Intelligence Insights Feed

10.20%

Dynamic Profile Card Total

6.62%

Complete Empty Complete % Empty %

2999 2773 2747 2151 2070 1993 1806 1172

100.00% 17711

2854 2675

145

2628

119

2006

2065 1909 1736

949

16822

86 84 70

223

889

95.17% 96.47% 95.67% 96.00% 96.91% 95.79% 96.12% 80.97%

94.98%

4.83% 3.53% 4.33% 4.00% 3.09% 4.21% 3.88%

19.03%

5.02%

Direct Guest

Email Profiles by Region and City REGION     

Email Profiles by Market MARKET

Total



Trade Guest Trade

Unknown Total

44.73% 32.31% 22.94%

0.01%

Complete Empty Complete % Empty %

7923 5723 4063

100.00% 17711

7594 5313 3915

16822

• •

Jan 2021

Email Profiles by Source Source

329 410 148

889

95.85% 92.84% 96.36%

0.00%

94.98%

4.15% 7.16% 3.64%

100.00%

5.02%

     

Northern Territory

Total



Syddanmark Alberta

Tasmania

Nordjylland Castilla La Mancha

Northwest Territories Midtjylland Auckland

South Australia Total

264

257

1.13%

201

191

1.05% 0.94% 0.91% 0.90% 0.90% 0.89% 0.72%

211 186 166 162

205 183 159

95.02%

3 7

154

157

148

0.72% 127 100.00% 17711

97.35%

161

155

128

160 159

• •

Complete Empty Complete % Empty %

1.49% 1.19%

A F R I C A

121

126 16822

97.16% 98.39% 95.78%

4.98% 1.61% 4.22%

99.38%

96.86%

3.14%

96.88%

94.27%

1 889

2.84%

0.62%

2.65%

94.53%

99.21% 94.98%

•

3.13% 5.73% 5.47%

0.79% 5.02%

• •

The difficult problems we solve

You minimise manual intervention by automatically collecting and consolidating your data; Make your data usable by automatically cleaning and modelling it; Build rich customer profiles, including demographics, engagement, transactions, interests and behaviour; Build a captive audience and furnish your marketing team and systems with clean, validated and comprehensive customer profiles; Hyper-personalised and target-marketing campaigns; Automate your communication to minimise manual work and drive revenue at key points of the customer lifecycle; Develop deep customer insights by fuelling your reporting mechanisms with accurate and complete data; Syndicate your product data to your online stores and websites; and Develop a responsive loyalty programme that incentivises, rewards and builds ‘real’ loyalty.

We provide a customised interface to guide you to culture your data by using tools and connectors that are relevant to you. Access a range of connectors that automatically collect contact, deal and product data from your data sources and consolidate this in one place for easy access and syndication. Remove the complexity of sorting data! Automatically syndicate your data to your systems and online assets to minimise manual intervention, manage leads, automate messages, target campaigns, generate insights, drive online sales and increase revenue.

Partnerships Our Partner Programme is designed for businesses that wish to productise the data competencies and features of our platform, to enhance and enable their existing offering. We will enable you to create your own VERTICAL by tailoring a series of connections, data tools and workflows that are aligned to your objectives and the purposes of your clients. This provides you with a successful data foundation to get on with the business of building your business and delivering real value to your clients.

LET’S CONNECT priority@itouch.co.za So what does this mean for our customers? We aim to accelerate the Data Transformation of businesses by using Data Culturing and Syndication as the catalyst for successful digital marketing and ultimately revenue generation and customer convenience.

About iTouch iTouch is one of the oldest brands in the WASP (wireless application services providers) sector on the African continent, originally founded in 1995. It has served the B2B, B2B2C and B2C sectors across Europe, the Far East and Africa during its tenure on the LSE in the UK and TYO in Japan. Since 2009, under guidance from its new owners, it has focused mainly on the African continent, an area it believes will grow exponentially and where opportunities are present, if you know how to navigate what is not a usual business environment. Each country has its own dynamics, in terms of business culture and business regulations and our experience comes at a discount to our many customers.

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VARSITY VIBE THE GATEWAY TO SA’S YOUTH!

Over the past 10 years, Varsity Vibe has become a gateway to South Africa’s youth through our revolutionary and evergreen deal and discount app, which relaunched in 2020, and is the first of its kind in the country. We give young South Africans all over the country instant access to exclusive deals from businesses and brands that are relevant to them and their needs, helping them enjoy the perks of student life all at the tap of a button through our Premium and Freemium memberships. We are not just a student discount app, we strive to empower the country’s youth by creating a community of forward-thinking people who need support as they navigate their studies and enter the workforce, whether that be through who we partner with to deliver experiences that matter, employing a network over 450 Vibe Agents who are on the ground engaging

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with their peers or working alongside young entrepreneurs who want to take their business to the next level. Furthermore, we are able to credibly verify any students across South Africa, making the verification process both integrated and seamless. We also provide a turnkey solution for businesses and leading brands such as Standard Bank, the Gautrain, Superbalist and Takealot.com to better engage with the future leaders/workforce of SA in a trusted and reputable environment, harnessing our experience and insight to create well aligned campaigns that deliver results. Varsity Vibe started off as a dream in 2010, and in 2011, it became a reality. The business is now 10 years old, and looking back, it has been incredible to witness this small business growing from strength to strength. There is nothing quite like it in the South African market. What was once a simple discount card at a few universities is now a national app and empowering community based business, available to students across the country.

ground promoting deals, testing stores, running social media campaigns and referring students to our offering. We also went from having 15 partner brands/stores to over 100 partners at over 2 000 stores nationwide and online. This includes approx. 10 student-owned businesses and the list continues to grow. In the past three years (and despite the pandemic) we’ve achieved some incredible results, with our membership base growing from 50 000 to over 270 000 (over 50% in 2021 alone). We take a tailored approach to the campaigns we create with our partners, we train all our partner stores on the deals available, we offer constant support to both our members and partners, and we engage with our members directly to engage with how the deals and

campaigns are working, while harnessing the technology at our disposal to deliver results. Our vision is to ensure that students and youth in South Africa have a reliable platform that brings them value, helps them in their day to day life and above all, ensures that they #NeverPayFullPrice.

When we relaunched the app in 2020, we saw an incredible uptick in sign-ups, despite the global pandemic and minimal on-campus activity. In July and August 2021, we saw over 20 000 sign-ups in each month, our biggest months yet. This indicates that our offering is working, and that we are aligned with both our big and small partners in what we provide to the youth market. We have grown from a one-man, self-funded business in 2011 to six full-time employees, and over 450 Varsity Vibe Agents who are on the

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MYSOCIALIFE

IS AN EDTECH TRAINING PROGRAM THAT TRAINS PRE-TEENS AND TEENS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ABOUT ONLINE SAFETY, DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP AND MEDIA LITERACY, IN ORDER TO FIRST MAKE THEM CONSCIOUS AND AWARE OF SAFETY ONLINE, WHICH WILL ULTIMATELY ALLOW THEM TO EXPLORE INTELLIGENTLY AND LATER EXCEL IN A COMPETITIVE FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. In order to ensure this is successful, the South African-based educators also teach learners’ parents and their teachers too, as well as mental health professionals, helping to bridge the technological divide and provide the much-needed insights and tools to navigate a complex social landscape. “The more we do that, the greater the opportunity we have to support a child and show them new doors to look behind. We have given kids devices and internet connection, now we need to equip them to navigate both of these powerful tools that can help or hinder a teen or pre-teen. Our kids stand at a critical intersection. And right now the adults aren’t doing a great job of educating them in a relatable way.”

What exactly are MySociaLife’s products? Their flagship program product is an eight-module program for teens and an eightmodule program for pre-teens. Each module or lesson is 60 to 75 minutes of video coaching that teachers can access via a web-based login. Arriving at their “Teacher Dashboard”, the educators can download a lesson plan to guide the class through each lesson step-by-step, and also download a ‘teacher resource pack’ of extra videos, infographics, and exercises so the teacher can make the class more their own. Within the 60-minutes of training videos, students “breakout” to discuss the topics, punctuated by questions or challenges to debate, and finally conclude with an inclass quiz or a written assessment to ensure engagement. The content covers multiple aspects of life online which require real preparation to be able to navigate carefully and competently. This includes critical thinking online, digital identity, cyberbullying, mental health, obsessive use and impact on focus, sexuality online, privacy, cybersecurity, reputation management, and digital potential. MySociaLife offers training modules for parents and teachers, which can be purchased online as an EdTech course (“just log in and learn”), or alternatively adults can be taught via webinar, or in-person. Finally, the company introduced the first online training program in the world to help child and adolescent psychiatrists

Dean McCoubrey, Founder

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MySociaLife’s Pandemic highlights As schools closed, and time on devices increased (even in lower income households too), online risks increased. MySociaLife used this time and seismic shift in device and platform usage to digitise content, and collect feedback from students, parents and teachers and innovate in its product offering, resulting in international speaking slots, awards, and global partnerships. support their patients/clients during the pandemic by providing the supporting mental health apps that adolescents could access when not able to see their therapists during the pandemic. This was originated from MySociaLife’s ongoing training of the psychologists and psychiatrists at the largest Children’s Hospital in Africa, Red Cross.

What makes MySociaLife stand out above other digital citizenship competitors?

Email:

Relatability. While there are already digital citizenship programs in many countries, many of them are corporate or government-driven which doesn’t give the product owners and creators the flexibility to approach the topic (of digital popular culture) with the agility and savvy it ultimately requires. Secondly, MySociaLife uses a “Brains Trust” of clinical psychologist, neuroscientist and cognitive therapist, as well as a privacy and security advocates to ensure the program is well informed and assumption-checked at the highest level. Finally, and most importantly, they receive critical and insightful anonymous feedback from the thousands of students, teachers and

parents that they teach on what is happening in their respective worlds, giving them unique data and raw insight that is used to continually shape the content that is presented. “We are only as good as how relevant we are - especially when you are teaching teens and pre-teens. In our view, there is no other program that speaks to this diverse age group, and their parents and teachers and gets input from all of them in order to tackle what’s really happening in schools, in homes and in the minds of adolescents,” explains Founder, Dean McCoubrey. “We are in the fortunate position that we hear all aspects of what is happening online. We hear what pre-teens and teens are experiencing which is way more than most adults could even imagine, but we also hear what parents say, and what teachers share with us. When you add in the views of mental health professionals and GPs you can clearly see the challenge and the opportunity together - the gaps in education and communication that need to be filled. However, in doing that, we saw that it can best be filled with relatable content as opposed to lofty teaching which can easily lose each of the audiences. Our survey feedback has shown we have been highly successful in this area. It’s a treasure trove of reality bites.”

In the last 24 months, MySociaLife: • Offered the majority of its training for free to help schools and students in crisis; • Introduced their ‘Inclusion Program’ where an independent school will nominate an underprivileged school in Africa and MySociaLife will provide them with FREE training. A one-for-one value add where privileged private schools sponsor those who cannot afford training – MySociaLife agrees to offer that for free; • Were shortlisted as Startup Company of the Year at GESS Awards 2021 in Dubai, acknowledged as The Rising Star at the CIO Africa Awards in Kenya, and made it into the top 20 Modern Leaders list, by Tribe Magazine; • Opened their first overseas division of MySociaLife in Canada; • Started to assist UNICEF to train health workers who need to tackle misinformation around vaccinations; • Contributed to the opening chapter of IACAPAP’s textbook on childhood and adolescent psychiatry, to be launched in Dubai in mid-2022. The International Association for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Allied Professions is a nongovernmental international association that advocates for the “promotion of the mental health and development of children and adolescents through policy, practice and research”; and • Attracted media and conference attention globally – having spoken at the Global Mental Health Conference (UK based), Global Education Congress (India), World Innovation Summit for Education (Qatar), and more.

Email: info@mysociallife.com deanmccoubrey MySociaLifeSA

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NEVER LIMIT YOUR ABILITY.”

- GRACA MACHEL

Title: “Homeowner” produced by Baz-Art & Claude Chandler, Interntional Public Art Festival 2017

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CHAPTER FIVE

BANKING, INSURANCE & WEALTH MANAGEMENT

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TURNING A DIGITAL FOOTPRINT INTO A FUNDING LIFELINE 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 by introducing world-class fintech and entered into strategic partnerships to fulfil its purpose: to provide partnerships and funding for the SME sector in South Africa that’s quick, convenient, and flexible. This sector has largely been neglected by the government and traditional banks, and Retail Capital stepped up to provide flexible funding. Over the past decade, the funder has disbursed more than R4-billion to over 40,000 unique small businesses across a variety of sectors, with R1-billion of that being disbursed during the Covid-19 pandemic. While Retail Capital faced the same challenges as their clients during the recent economic downturn, the group expects to double the growth rate over the next few years as its expansion strategy – supported by technology – unfolds. Fintech’s ability to drive financial inclusion is well-documented, and Retail Capital has leveraged this position to reach exponentially more SMEs than a traditional face-to-face financier would be able to service. Reaching as many SMEs as possible is core to the business’s strong belief that South Africa’s recovery and prosperity is intricately tied to the wellbeing of the country’s SME sector. Retail Capital has understood from the outset that the biggest challenge many SMEs face is the access to working capital, which can either hold a business down or worse, lead to its closure. Digitisation and technology are powerful instruments of growth in any business’s toolkit. The success lies in assessing the business in a matter of minutes and then supporting the business owner’s vision by giving them access to capital within hours. Accessing SMEs at a point where Retail Capital can assess them and provide real-time funding is core to its strategy, whether this is through a card acquirer, a wholesale provider, or a medical switching platform – the fintech allows Retail Capital to be present funding offers where there is data.

payment options linked to the actual cashflow performance of the business – yet another differentiator from the onerous conditions meted out by banks. If the turnover is down, the payment reduces – which was integral to the business’s success and customer loyalty during the Covid-19 lockdowns.

This capability has enabled the group to provide funding for businesses with turnover for as little as three (3) months and provide innovative

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Retail Capital is the South African leader in providing embedded finance on the back of a digital transaction history. The key benefit to this type of funding is that it’s not limited to large, urban, and formal businesses. Retail Capital can provide funding across the board - if an enterprise has a transactional footprint, it can be funded. With more and more informal and township businesses taking on fintech-enabled payment rails, Retail Capital is poised to reach even more SMEs and help them unlock their potential.

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Tel: +27 86 117 1717 RetailCapital retail_capital RetailCapitalSA retail-capital-sa

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CAPITEC

LET’S BUILD A BANK

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 that everyone needed banking, but who really needed a bank? The internet had arrived and was here to stay. Traditional banks were wondering how to evolve from bricks to clicks. Along came Capitec, with its powerful, timely idea. It didn’t need to concern itself about reinventing tradition: it just captured a gap in the market.

That gap was the dire need for a banking solution for a large sector that was underserviced by traditional banks, a sector that needed smaller loans and consultants who understood their banking needs. At PSG Group, Jannie Mouton and Chris Otto had been mulling over this conundrum: how does one provide banking for those in need of affordable and simplified banking? They knew just who to call: Michiel le Roux. Along with the first MD, Riaan Stassen, and a small team who believed in the idea, Michiel set about building a very different bank. It would be built from the “client up”, rather than the “service provider down”. The team did this by tackling the hard yards first: understanding the client experience in the traditional banking system. They spoke to clients, stood in queues and experienced the client touchpoints first-hand. They came to

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understand the gap in the market clearly and then they began to make banking better. Much better. More understandable, more respectful, and truly helpful. The beauty of the Capitec story is reflected in the systematic approach to servicing the client in ways they never thought possible. It’s in the singular focus on the client experience and their financial wellbeing, and it’s at the centre of most conversations in the Capitec corridors. Another, indispensable key to success are the people who make ideas come alive. Capitec is a prime example of a handpicked leadership team with Gerrie Fourie at the helm; people who own a single, shared vision and the determination to succeed, against many odds, never giving up, and constantly improving on what has gone before. It is also the people who have made it one of the most task and implementation-orientated businesses in South Africa. In 20 short years, a high-performance

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culture has been created and is lived by the entire Capitec family. The brand is trusted because isn’t it always better to under-promise and then over-deliver? At Capitec it’s about the client and simplifying the banking experience to make it more convenient. At its heart lies innovation and the seamless implementation of new ideas based on its founding principles – simplicity, affordability, accessibility, and personal service. Capitec has always challenged the status quo by thinking differently to traditional banks and coming up with solutions that are cost effective, simple, transparent and client focused. Capitec was the first to question why retail banks only operated from 9am - 3.30pm when nine out of10 people walking into a branch are working. In the early 2000s, the bank was the first to introduce biometric finger scanners instead of signatures, which then turned into the bank leading the charge with paperless banking in branches a few short years later.

Today, the bank is South Africa’s best and biggest digital bank with over 17 million clients. And the aim? To challenge, disrupt and innovate, not just for innovation’s sake, but rather to continue meeting client needs.

And more importantly, one of the primary fundamentals of the bank was and still is the real-time handling of client requests and transactions. The app was built specifically to address this by introducing seamless digital banking that could be done from anywhere, at any time. No more long queues at branches and ATMs when your money is at your fingertips. Immediate payments are offered at the low cost of R7.50 where it is about R50 for other banks. It also introduced free digital payments tools such as Pay Me and Scan to Pay. The Capitec banking app has since become one of the busiest apps in Africa, riveling major social media platforms.

Clients asked for a rewards programme and Capitec launched Live Better, which challenges traditional loyalty and rewards offerings. Clients pay no monthly fee and the bank rewards them with actual cash back for simply banking with Capitec. All clients can receive cashbacks, savings and partner discounts by using their Capitec debit or credit card. Live Better is more than a rewards programme and will continue to grow and provide greater value to Capitec clients. Clients needed a way to check false documents and Capitec partnered with SkyQR to launch an industry leading solution to combat fraud and protect consumers by putting a unique QR code on all official Capitec documents such as payment notifications and bank statements. This can be scanned to confirm that a document is legitimate and has not been tampered with. Since the partnership started a year ago, over 81 million QR codes have been generated by Capitec clients. Clients needed a bank that could walk the journey and Capitec launched home loans, vehicle loans and increased its credit card limit to R500 000. Now Capitec grows as their clients grow with a future fit roadmap designed for South Africans. After 21 years of building what is now a fully-fledged bank, for Capitec the job is not over yet. It has only just begun.

From left to right: The three original founding members still with Capitec are Andre du Plessis, Henk Lourens and Gerrie Fourie

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AWCA INVESTMENT HOLDINGS

AFRICAN WOMEN CHARTERED ACCOUNTANTS (AWCA) PROUDLY SUPPORTS THE ENTRY OF YOUNG WOMEN INTO THE HISTORICALLY ALMOST IMPENETRABLE CHARTERED ACCOUNTANCY (CA) PROFESSION

Having overcome exactly the struggles with which AWCA exists to assist, inspirational Founder, Sindi Mabaso-Koyana talks us through some of what makes the organization so special and valuable to aspirational women who are mentored and supported throughout their journey of becoming and CA and even beyond, to ensure their successful careers. To ensure the long-term sustainability of what AWCA does, a commercial arm of AWCA was formed and AWCA Investment Holdings (AIH) was birthed. The success of AIH paves the way for more and more women to participate in the economy. Established in 2008, AWCA Investment Holdings (AIH) is unique: 100% black women owned and managed investment company. Operating as a holding company investing in companies across South Africa, a wealth of financial skills and strong business networks allows AIH to unlock deal flow and closely work with our financial services, industrials, mining and logistics investment portfolio. Historically, the accounting profession has been slow to keep pace with the transformation witnessed across industry in recent years and decades. The first female Chartered Accountant (CA) qualified in 1917, and it took another 70 years for the profession to welcome its first black female CA in 1987.

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When AWCA was launched 17 years ago, African, Indian and Coloured (AIC) female CAs numbered just 407 of a total population of 20,903 - only 2%. The sustained efforts from various stakeholders has seen the muchneeded transformation gain momentum, and as of June 2019 AIC female numbers represented 15% of the total.

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at Ernst & Young, and serve on a litany of boards including Transnet, South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, MTN and Toyota.

PRIVATE EQUITY One challenge we have encountered is that to access deals competitively it is essential to have a pot of money readily available. Most of the time we are required to provide a contribution, perhaps 10% - known as ‘skin in the game’. That portion in a deal of, say, R100 million, is not readily available to us, given that most of us do not have generational wealth and have been professionals most of our lives investing in our homes and education for our extended families. So, we have been able to build wealth that allows you to write the cheque of R10m with ease. It grew to become an important factor in our being a relevant and respected women investment company to have funds available to invest in a rich pipeline we are exposed to.

“AWCA is a forum committed to accelerating the advancement of qualified and aspiring Black Women Chartered Accountants,” the organisation summarises, “through the provision of active support, personal development and access to opportunities.” Its commercial arm, AIH, is made up of 53 black women shareholders, among them many chartered accountants and captains of industry with competences across a range of sectors and provinces. At its helm as Group Chairperson is Sindi Mabaso-Koyana, herself a chartered accountant by trade with a passion for transformation and governance in the workplace.

We are very excited to have just launched our private equity (PE) fund in response. The resultant AIH Capital, fund manager of AIH Fund I, is a generalist private equity fund, the principal investment objective of which

An illustrious career has seen Mabaso-Koyana appointed as Managing Director of Viamax Logistics, Group CFO of Transnet and Executive Partner

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is to make equity-related investments in companies that are primarily mid-sized and privately held. Our private equity is unique, usually individuals must be principals, whereas our funders have allowed an organisation to also be a majority shareholder, in this case AIH, in the PE structure. We are trailblazers in that our private equity has a company with 53 other shareholders set to benefit from the fund. We are proud of this as it allows us to continue with our broad-based approach to our model. Not only will the 53 women in AIH benefit, but also AWCA, the non-profit, as a 10% beneficiary of AIH. AIH Capital will be a key catalyst for increasing the participation of women in the economy, through leveraging their competitive advantage of a unique combination of demonstrated strength, depth and breadth of skills in investments, governance and financial management.

ROLE MODELS It is important that we invest in businesses with excellent management, among the best in their industry. We look for well-respected, mediumsized companies that can compete with the major players, which are well run and boast good business practices. Reputation, values and culture are also key, as we only want to associate ourselves with exemplary businesses with spotless track records.

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Inspiring at every turn, there are numerous programmes and initiatives within AWCA geared toward strong mentoring and leadership priorities, Mabaso-Koyana relays. A lot of what we do in AWCA surrounds creating awareness for young women. When we started in 2002, there was still a lot of work to be done to bring the idea of forging a career to the forefront of the thinking of young girls in the townships. This was not an attainable career for them 20 years ago, and so having qualified ourselves as chartered accountants it was then up to us to act as the role models for what was, and now is, possible. Once we have mentored and trained aspiring CAs, we also have leadership programmes to engender success in specific roles and business acumen. Skills development is central to the ethos of AWCA, and we are proud as AIH that the one distribution that we have made is to AWCA, in the form of bolstering their bursary fund.

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Sindi Mabaso-Koyana Managing Partner

Jesmane Boggenpoel Managing Partner Since its establishment in 2005 the AWCA bursary programme has assisted 124 aspiring accountants to attend university where this would otherwise have been unattainable. “All bursary students are given access to AWCA mentorship, roundtable and celebrate success initiatives,” the organisation explains. “They receive training and guidance where needed so as to ensure their academic progress, as well as to build and strengthen their leadership and other skills.”

The ethos of our business is to ensure that we empower not just ourselves as shareholders, but also cause that economic impact to reach other women. “I have always been positive about Africa’s economic prospects and I never hesitate to play the role of evangelist for entrepreneurship.”

THE UNTRODDEN PATH AIH Capital will be a key catalyst for increasing the participation of women in the economy and skills development is central to the ethos of AWCA. We are uncompromising on ethics and excellence in everything that we do, and we are proud to stand for these principles.

“I was very fortunate to be a founder of AWCA alongside three of my colleagues Zodwa Manase, Sindi Zilwa and Tshidi Mokgabudi. Having grown up in the township of Durban where we had no guidance on what grades and subjects would secure our futures, sometimes even discouraged from aiming too high. When starting AWCA, I therefore felt it key to role model ourselves to those young women in rural and township areas. Having grown up in difficult circumstances, we knew we would have to give back to the whole community which brought me up alongside my family. Everybody looked out for us and this whole culture of discipline, care and support really contributed to what I ended up becoming. I also know the significance of financial assistance, which meant that I was able to pursue my studies and become a chartered accountant.”

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NEDBANK

A SIGNIFICANT FOCUS ON DIGITISATION ALLOWS NEDBANK TO MEET FAST-CHANGING BANKING CUSTOMER NEEDS client-view on-boarding and servicing system, various platform-based banking ecosystems, and our industry leading Open Banking (API) platform, and while we had no idea at the time we were developing these systems that they would be so absolutely vital to our customers in 2020, they have given us the ability to actually enhance our solutions and service delivery for the benefit of our clients. The benefits of Nedbank’s extensive investment into digitisation and the highly integrated, true omni-channel Nedbank system, makes accessing, transferring, managing and even investing funds quick, easy and secure. The bank has long been committed to providing outstanding services and a range of innovative solutions that are, quite literally, life changing for South Africans. Combined efforts across the group to lead in digital are paying dividends, with impressive achievements and exciting plans for the road ahead. Digitisation and technological innovation are nothing new to the South African banking industry, but those banks that had made significant progress on their digital journeys before the Covid-19 pandemic, have been best placed to meet the fast-changing needs of their clients and, as is the case with Nedbank, gain efficiencies and grow market share in the process. The progress that the bank made on its digital transformation journey equipped it with the technology infrastructure, world-class banking platforms and processes, and agility to move quickly when its clients most needed it to.

As a result, the bank has seen some impressive gains, not only in the digital migration of its existing clients, but also in its ability to attract and efficiently on-board new clients – despite remote working and social distancing challenges. Over the past few years, Nedbank has invested into the development of a true omnichannel banking experience for our clients, including our ground-breaking Eclipse single-

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API Marketplace, Nedbank Retail and Business Banking Digital and Avo have all performed exceptionally well, delivering market-leading solutions and earning several awards in 2021. These include being named South Africa’s Best Digital Bank and Best Open Banking API Provider in the Global Banking and Finance Awards as well as the Efma-Accenture Bronze Award won by Avo for Reimagining the Customer Experience.

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network of retailers as well as the launch of Apple Pay. • Enbi, our new chatbot, now answers more than 100 000 client queries a month. The continued focus on innovation through 2021 has driven continued growth in core digital metrics, with digitally active clients increasing by 11.4% to 2.3 million, of which 1.6 million clients are now using the Nedbank Money app.

Avo by Nedbank - #DoLifeDifferently Over the past couple of years, South Africans have faced unprecedented challenges. From the beginning, Avo has been there to show people how to do life differently – and now, we are helping our Avo customers have an amazing 2022. Having recently surpassed 1 million customers and 20,000 merchants, Avo is securely and conveniently connecting South Africans to each other in the most meaningful ways every day.

The developer experience was enriched across all products to allow easier integration and reduce time to market, and key security enhancements further protected the platform and our customers.

Driving factors behind the growth have been core capabilities to make clients’ lives easier and more convenient, enhanced security to counter cybercrime, improved on-boarding journeys, transactional capability, increased access to services through API Marketplace and our fastgrowing beyond banking offerings in Avo.

New product demand has revolved around quantifying market opportunities for insurance, rapid payments, card servicing for third parties and the requirements of the Nedbank Africa Regions.

Leading in digital The recent launch of Avo Auto introduces the latest, most innovative end-to-end car shopping platform on the South African market. Clients can browse and compare thousands of cars from dealers across South Africa and finance their dream cars, all without leaving the Avo Auto website. To complete the e-Commerce circle, Avo has also launched a first of its kind B2B marketplace. The Avo team is currently deeply embedded in the design of Avo 3.0, a fresh new app design that will launch mid-2022 and take customers’ shopping experiences to new heights. Already, our clients can beat loadshedding, spoil the family with the yummiest of takeaways, restock the pantry and much more - all in one app.

API Marketplace In 2021, API Marketplace focused on delivery (new products, existing products, platform scalability and evolution), third-party enablement and operational improvement. Highlights included multiple releases on Personal Loans and improvements to Wallet APIs as well as Accounts APIs to cater for new third-party demand.

The digital journey gained significant traction in 2021, setting up 2022 for even greater success. Having digital innovation at the heart of the organisation led to a broad range of new services to clients. Here is a brief snapshot of some of the capabilities clients can now enjoy: • Financial wellness tools with credit score ratings, helpful tips for clients and enhanced MoneyTracker functionality tools allowing for spend categorisation and management. • Joining the bank and taking up banking products via the digital platforms is now even easier, with continued enhancements and automation of processes. • Buying journeys and offerings were improved, with a new array of unit trusts, additional choice of more than 230 airtime and data products, an enriched experience for claiming free basic electricity for qualifying clients, and an enhanced gaming and software product catalogue. • The ability to get cash at an ATM by scanning a QR code (a first in South Africa) and withdraw cash using a digital voucher code at a wide

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TYMEBANK

THE DIGITALLY SMART BANK FOR ALL SOUTH AFRICANS With more than 4.5 million customers acquired since launching in February 2019, TymeBank is one of the world’s fastest-growing digital banks. Founded on simplicity, transparency and affordability, the country’s first digital bank focuses on making retail and business banking accessible and affordable to all South Africans across the economic spectrum.

A South African success story Starting out in South Africa in 2012 as TYME, a fintech company focusing on domestic digital remittance services, TymeBank was granted a commercial banking licence in 2017, the first to be issued since 1999. In 2018, Dr. Patrice Motsepe’s African Rainbow Capital (ARC) Financial Services Holdings joined Tyme founders Coenraad Jonker and Tjaart van der Walt and management as a key shareholder, making TymeBank South Africa’s first majority black-owned bank. TymeBank is a member of the Tyme Group of companies, which is currently headquartered in Singapore and builds high-tech high touch banks in fast-growing, emerging markets. Head of Marketing Linda Appie with language warrior Ouma Katrina Esau, the inspiration for the bank’s Save What Matters campaign in late 2021

Unique high-tech high-touch model TymeBank is the first bank in South Africa to operate fully off a secure cloud-based infrastructure network. The branchless bank’s hybrid model of digital banking and physical onboarding points makes sense in the South African market, where the levels of digital and financial literacy are low. While it may not look and act like a traditional bank, TymeBank is fully regulated and held to the same standards of safety and security as all other banks in South Africa. Through its partnership with trusted retailers Pick n Pay and Boxer, TymeBank takes advantage of the ubiquity of retail points to allow customers to sign up for accounts and obtain live debit cards in under five minutes

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without any paperwork. This is done via the in-store Tyme kiosks which the bank manufactures, and which are integral to its onboarding success. The bank leverages its cloud-based technology to pass cost savings onto the consumer and enhance the customer experience, while the open-service architecture of TymeBank’s modern tech stack allows the bank to collaborate with third parties at a fast pace and minimal additional cost. It also allows for a continuously expanding product portfolio without compromising the efficiency and agility of the central stack or overburdening the balance sheet. The differentiated customer experience provided by TymeBank’s hybrid distribution model, its radical transparency and value

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for money led to it being named Forbes Best Bank in South Africa a year and a half after launching. With a competitive Net Promoter Score (NPS) when compared to legacy retail banks in South Africa and an above average NPS across lowand middle-income brackets, the bank has maintained high levels of customer satisfaction as well as high levels of price and savings rate competitiveness throughout its growth trajectory.

Product Innovation Despite an unfavourable economic climate and the restrictions caused by Covid-19, TymeBank’s agility and the construct of its architecture enabled the bank to adapt very quickly and bring new capabilities to the market. Innovation is part of TymeBank’s DNA. The bank has continually expanded its offering since launching the EveryDay zero-monthly fee transactional account with features that include a money transfer service, a GoalSave tool that allows customers to open up to 10 savings pockets and earn market leading interest rates. Value-added services include the ability of customers to be paid their salaries a day early as well as off-balance sheet products such as insurance. MoreTyme™, an interest-free buy now, pay later offering was officially launched in 2021, followed by the launch of the bank’s first credit card as well as an affordable medical insurance offering called TymeHealth in the first quarter of 2022.

A brand new customer and a TymeBank ambassador at one of the bank’s unique kiosks

Partnership model

International investors

Besides TymeBank’s well established partnerships with national retailers Pick n Pay and Boxer, the bank also counts Zion Christian Church, the largest church in South Africa, as a key partner.

In December 2021, TymeBank, together with its international arm Tyme, completed a US$ 180 million capital raise with investments from Tencent, a world-leading internet and technology company based in China, and CDC Group, the UK’s development finance institution and impact investor.

In October 2021, TymeBank announced a strategic partnership with TFG (The Foschini Group), a leading fashion retailer with more than 26 million loyalty customers, to meet the evolving financial services needs of consumers in the TFG ecosystem. The partnership will see TymeBank diversifying its customer base into higher income segments while providing a viable pathway to responsible consumer lending.

Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP, and the Gokongwei’s JG Summit Holdings (JG Summit) came on board as investors via the first part of the raise in February 2021. The capital will be used to grow TymeBank in South Africa and to fund GOTyme in the Philippines, where Tyme has secured a digital bank licence in partnership with the leading Filipino conglomerate, Gokongwei Group. GOTyme is based on the TymeBank model and is due to be launched in the latter half of 2022. The ability to attract high calibre international investors represents a strong endorsement for TymeBank and is testament to the global competitiveness of Tyme’s value proposition and the quality of its management. It is also a vote of confidence in South Africa’s banking sector.

TymeBank launched its first credit card in February 2022

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BANK ZERO

A SIMPLE YET ADVANCED DIGITAL BANK, FOR BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS

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 their Bank Zero accounts to family / friends / children / staff / business partners / club and stokvel members (the list is endless!), customers can communicate financial issues, as well as share the process of saving and spending together – in a transparent and visual way. The sign-up process for an individual takes less than five mins, including capturing of biometrics, loading of FICA documents and designing a personalised card. Bank Zero enables businesses to load their owners, directors, and other roleplayers on one single screen through face tiles – and then drag those face tiles to different levels of an authorisation chain. Should mandates change, all it takes is a quick reshuffle of a single screen. No more branch visits required! And… ALL business owners have full transparency of all business actions and transactions – typically a source of fraud. South Africa struggles with a low savings rate. Bank Zero gamifies savings by inspiring customers through unique savings goal pictures, progress bars and invites to other people who can help encourage them to save.

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Banking fraud is increasing exponentially on a global level, and Bank Zero is intent on protecting its customers through a number of innovative features. Personal App biometrics stop any unauthorised access to the customer’s Bank Zero App after a phishing attack. Informative notifications keep Bank Zero customers up to speed on all banking actions (i.e. wider than just money movements). And Bank Zero proof of payments include a slew of valuable info, including the ability to display an invoice against the payment made, and the tracking/tracing of the money flow. All debit orders are listed for a customer as urgent tasks, so that any rogue debit orders can be rejected immediately, and existing ones can be funded ahead of time. The powerful Bank Zero card patent prevents the increasing occurrence of card skimming. Bank Zero’s DNA is a nimble fintech start-up. But it also has its own banking licence which allows it to be a full settlement bank within the South African national payments system.

In addition, Bank Zero requires every single online card transaction – another fast-growing source of fraud – to be authorised. Recurring online card transactions often play the role of debit orders (e.g. online news sites or streaming services). Since customers are not always at their phones when such transactions are posted, Bank Zero has implemented a world first. Customers can indicate which subscriptions may be authorised automatically. This same functionality is also available for other merchants such as e-hailing services, etc.

Subscriptions After first phone auth, allow these merchants to post future transactions without again asking for phone auth. (E.g. Netflix, Amazon, online news)

The team of Bank Zero co-founders and other executives have deep banking and technology skills, with extensive industry experience, providing a rare combination of refreshing fintech innovation and strong industry insights. The offering was designed with a strong focus on providing security, transparency and control – to solve real banking problems which customers struggle with every day.

Uber Instead of buying a banking package, Bank Zero was built from scratch, with its own technology stack (including the full core banking platform). This allowed for innovation, simplicity and regulatory requirements to be built in from the start, instead of bolted on afterwards at huge cost, complexity and risk.

Amazon Mubi, Inc.

Bank Zero wants to ensure a future of financial savvy customers. A major enabler of a person’s future success, is to start doing their own banking and saving from an early age. At Bank Zero any age can join, and will receive their own profile, own App setup and own card. In a world where kids do everything on smartphones, from TikTok to Snapchat, it is time that they engage with their banking too.

Special ATM card settings control how a customer’s Bank Zero card can be used for cash withdrawals. Bank Zero cards are not only super secure, but they are fun too – personalised with any picture of choice and any wording. The same 16-digit card number can be retained when replacing a card, thereby removing the need to reset digital subscription services.

Bank Zero is the future of safe, simple and happy banking.

And at max 1% forex mark-up on all international card purchases, it is the ideal travel companion.

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CARRICK WEALTH

SOMETIMES, THE MOST INNOVATIVE IDEAS ARE ALREADY CLOSE TO HOME

“Innovation” has become a buzz word in businesses the world over. It evokes images of tech bros playing foosball in the office, of millennials taking team calls through AirPods while on the treadmill, and of AI-enhanced systems that can solve problems better than humans. Certainly, a business keeping up with tech advancement and thinking about new ways to work are fundamental to doing business in the 21st century. Indeed, the word “innovate” is derived from the Latin “novus”, meaning “new”. But innovation has another aspect, over and above finding new ways to do things. For Carrick Wealth, the most important part of innovation is the renewal of focus on certain fundamentals that competitors sometimes seem to forget.

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The financial services industry can be a cold, hard place, with a focus on numbers and statistics couched in sterile politeness and professionalism that is not actually interested in forming relationships with clients. That is not Carrick’s approach. When we founded Carrick Wealth seven years ago, we decided that we wanted to get “back to basics” with a renewed focus on building real, lasting — and, most importantly, human — relationships between our clients and their advisers. Despite being more “connected” than ever before through the internet, smartphones, and social media, loneliness and isolation are serious problems facing humanity. After the Covid pandemic is over, researchers have suggested, we will be left facing a pandemic of disconnectedness, which is giving rise to mental health issues of unprecedented severity and prevalence.

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People are looking for human connection, and we believe financial advisers should help to fulfill some of this need. Carrick Wealth is a leading boutique wealth and investment advisory, servicing predominantly high-net-worth individuals in South Africa and across Africa. Our premium financial services offering is based on an ethos of trustworthiness and a hospitality-based approach to client services. The question we ask clients is, “How do we make you feel”? Carrick’s competitive edge stems from its creation what we term “euphoria” amongst its clients, who experience a warm and reassuring process of relationship formation with their advisers. Our clients invite their advisers to their weddings and their grandchildren’s bar mitzvahs — as a Carrick family, we celebrate Diwali, Eid, and Christmas together. In terms of the investment technicals, our advisory team employs a strategy of financial diversification and active portfolio management with a view to long term wealth creation and financial security. A key part of this for South African investors is offshore investment — the globalisation of one’s investment base. In contrast to other figureheads in South African finance who promote offshore investment through rubbishing onshore investments, we believe that careful, well-considered onshore investment should still be a key part of a South African client’s well-balanced portfolio. Despite our relative optimism about opportunities at home, Carrick nevertheless aims to dominate the offshore investment market, both in South Africa and in the five other jurisdictions in which we are licenced to operate. Another aspect of Carrick’s innovativeness is our focus on Africa as a market. Traditionally thought of as a backwater, with little to offer businesses in terms of growth potential, we believe the African continent will produce the billionaires of tomorrow. While some companies, especially Swiss and British banks, have charged clients in Africa exorbitant fees to perform the smallest banking and investment services, we are focussed on delivering superior outcomes for our clients, growing their wealth rather than leeching off of it.

to the list in the first quarter of 2022. We also have plans to re-establish our office in Botswana. As far as we know, we are the only company with serious plans to operate in every major African jurisdiction with an integrated wealth management offering aimed at wealth creation. We are grateful that the financial services industry has recognised Carrick’s unique and innovative offerings. Last year, Carrick was named by Intellidex as the Top Wealth Manager for Wealthy Executives. Also last year, we were announced as the winner in the prestigious International Adviser Best Practice Adviser Awards 2020 as the Best Adviser Firm in the country. In 2021, we won the Excellence in Advisory Best Practice for Africa award at the International Investment Awards.

We are currently licensed to operate in South Africa, Mauritius, Malawi, Zimbabwe and the United Kingdom, and plan to add Zambia and Kenya

Carrick will continue to grow as a unique force in the South African financial services market by not only continuing to provide trusted advice and financial investment solutions that enable clients to grow, protect and preserve their wealth, but also by ensuring that clients feel a genuine human connection while doing so. Sometimes, the most innovative ideas are the ones that have always been closest to home.

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DISCOVERY

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 related deaths are attributed to individuals with three or more comorbidities. Business models that help make people healthier while simultaneously lowering the price of insurance, therefore have the potential to make a profound contribution to society by building resilience against both non-communicable and communicable diseases and helping individuals and healthcare systems weather severe shocks. The insurance industry in fact has a unique role to play in building more resilient communities – a pressing need amidst the global crisis. Apart from government, insurance is the only entity that can tangibly monetise improved health outcomes. However, most insurance models fail to consider the change in insurance risk from pre-existing conditions to human behaviour. There are four lifestyle choices – smoking, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and alcohol consumption – that lead to 60% of mortality risk and 80% of morbidity risk. Yet traditional insurance models are based on the assumption of pre-existing risk,

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with underwriting and prices determined at the outset of the policy and premiums kept static throughout its lifetime. This model discounts the fact that underlying risk changes over the term of the contract as people make controllable lifestyle choices. As traditional models pool controllable risks, policy price and the amount of risk diverge, as policyholders become less healthy over time. Discovery’s Vitality Shared-Value Insurance model is disruptive because it turns the insurance model on its head, becoming a driver of health and putting money back in people’s pockets. It focuses on behavioural components that decrease disease risk such as physical activity and healthy eating; incentivises healthier behaviours through regular engagement and personalised goals, and links this to the price of insurance. In the process value is created and shared between the insurer (better profits, lower claims), client (improved health and increased value) and society (healthier, more productive population).

South Africa has been the incubator and proving ground for this new approach to health and life insurance since Discovery was founded 30 years ago. Faced with a high and complex disease burden, few doctors, and community-rated insurance (where premiums are standardised regardless of risk), Discovery recognised the need to intervene on the demand side of healthcare by prioritising prevention; and was founded on a core purpose of making people healthier. The Vitality Shared-Value Insurance model is the structural manifestation of this purpose and has since

been scaled to over 35 markets around the world, through partnerships with leading insurers from Asia-Pacific (AIA, Ping An, Sumitomo) to Europe, (Generali, a.s.r.) to North and South America (John Hancock, Manulife, Prudential, Equivida, Saludsa) and the Middle East (Tawuniya). Given the pervasiveness of behaviour as a predictor of risk, the model has been expanded into new areas of business – including adjacent insurance lines such as motor insurance, and banking – and continues to be replicated into new geographies – with the recent addition of five new countries in Africa. Now, with more than 20 million members worldwide, Vitality is in a unique position to inform and motivate its members through social, behavioural science and environmental strategies to educate and incentivise people to get healthier, drive better and manage their money well. Discovery Felicity Hudson Head of Reputation Discovery Group Email: felicityh@discovery.co.za

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SANLAM

INNOVATION WITH PURPOSE: A FINANCIAL SERVICES GROUP WITH HEART At Sanlam our purpose is to empower generations to be financially secure, confident and prosperous. This is our guiding light for everything we do and every decision we make. We are driven by our ambition to serve 50 million Africans by 2025, giving them access to the products, tools and knowledge they need to springboard a financially successful life. For more than 100 years we have made it our mission to find new and better ways to serve our clients, communities, country and continent. We’ve continually evolved our brand, our business, our products and our culture in order to add value to many lives. And now, as we step into another exciting phase of our journey, we are transforming ourselves into a digitally-led purpose driven group to enable financial inclusion across the African continent, inclusion that will give Africans access to financial services at scale.

OUR STORY We have had many firsts across the years all of them focused on helping our clients live with financial confidence.

Industry-leading products Driven by our passion for helping people thrive financially, we became the first insurer to offer comprehensive personal cover and standard life cover for people living with HIV, empowering those impacted by the epidemic to still provide for their loved ones. Evolving our products to meet the changing needs of society also led to Sanlam becoming the first insurer to offer disability cover, ensuring that families who are impacted by loss of income through disability are taken care of financially.

Paul Hanratty, Sanlam Group Chief Executive

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Confidence Rule 38:

LEARNING TO SAVE CAN BE A LIFE-SAVING LESSON. Teach your family the value of saving in a fun way with Sanlam Savings Jar, an interactive savings app created especially for kids.

Transformation We are committed to creating equal opportunities for all. In 2004, we were the very first company in South Africa to broker a major black empowerment deal when we partnered with Ubuntu-Botho. The sale of

8% of our shares to the Ubuntu-Botho consortium ushered in a new era of business and socioeconomic growth for Sanlam. The deal created R15billion in value for beneficiaries.

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Democratising investments Accessible and affordable investing was introduced to South Africans when we launched Satrix, South Africa’s first exchange-traded fund business, in 2000. This was a huge disruption to the investment space which previously was relatively inaccessible to those with less to invest. Satrix’s partnership with EasyEquities later took this further, making it simple for anyone to own a share of the market; investing can now start from as little as R5. This commitment to equalising investing opportunities has made Satrix the ‘people’s brand’. As well as opening investments to more people, Satrix pioneered the introduction of passive investing, a space which it still dominates.

Investing for sustainability One of the strongest articulations of our purpose is our passionate commitment to evolving into the continent’s preeminent sustainable investment group via our investment arm, Sanlam Investments (SI). SI’s goal is to unlock opportunities for its clients while making a positive impact on the planet. Focusing on impact investing and ESG, SI catalyses robust financial and social returns. Partnerships with Climate Fund Managers and Robeco are helping SI innovate to realise its goals. Satrix has led in the sustainable space too, launching South Africa’s first socially responsible ETFs – the Satrix MSCI World ESG Enhanced ETF and Satrix MSCI EM ESG Enhanced ETF in 2018.

Investing in financial education Changing the world starts with our youth. We are so proud to have developed the Sanlam Savings Jar - an augmented reality savings app. It starts children as young as seven on a positive savings journey to learn the habits that’ll help them become prosperous, independent adults.

Confidence Rule 63:

BE RESOURCEFUL IN HOW YOU USE NATURAL RESOURCES.

To innovate financial education, we’ve turned to our brand and marketing in many instances, using creative platforms to equip South Africans with savvy money skills. The Sanlam Moola Money Family Game Show was South Africa’s first financial services TV game show. Additionally, award-winning initiatives like One Rand Man, One Rand Family and Conversations with Yourself and a host of others have helped us cut through the clutter and get audiences excited to learn how to better manage and grow their money.

By reducing our energy consumption, water use and managing waste responsibly, Sanlam, as part of stewardship of water resources, supports the WWF-SA in protecting precious water source areas.

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We also need to capacitate our youth in the core capabilities needed for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As part of this, Sanlam awarded scholarships to 90 South Africans to attend the UCT Online High School in 2022. By investing in their potential now, we will secure a better future for these exceptional young South Africans.

LOOKING AHEAD To become a Pan African champion we need innovative partnerships and much of our future success will lie in continuing to forge innovative partnerships with Insurtech companies that use technology to cost-efficiently broaden access to a large underinsured and uninsured market. We were a founding African partner for Plug n Play in Silicon Valley in 2018, which has given us access to some of the leading players in Insurtech across the value chain globally. Our innovative Indie offering is a product of this - life insurance that creates wealth. Our recent InsurTech alliance with MTN will see our products being distributed across Africa through MTN’s mobile financial services business. Again, this’ll make a massive difference in broadening access. Innovation is a tool that allows us to turn purpose into action. In 2022, we’ll continue to help more people to live with confidence as part of our overarching purpose to unlock potential and build a better Africa for the next generation to inherit.

Confidence Rule 60:

IF YOU BELIEVE IN IT, INVEST IN IT. The Sanlam Foundation works to improve the lives of all South Africans and, over the past 10 years, we’ve invested over R630 million in education, financial literacy, health, enterprise and supplier development initiatives to help people live with confidence.

Sanlam Limited is the Licensed Controlling Company of the Sanlam Limited Insurance Group.

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KING OF INSURANCE

MAKING A DIFFERENCE, ONE DECREASING PREMIUM AT A TIME

THE TASK King Price were redoing the atrium at their Head Office and asked us to create something that would both make an impact and embody the brand values.

THE IDEA Most corporate spaces are lacking in personality – beige, bricked and boring. We chose to bring the King Price personality of being loud and upbeat to the fore by making a massive sculptural statement. We created a 3.3 metre-high, bright red, environmental graphic sculpture of the King Price identity. As bold as the King Price brand, the sculpture is interactive to the degree that people can sit on or in the letterforms.

The logotype has been fabricated as a 3D form out of aluminium. When King Price moves to a new head office in 2022, the signage will be repurposed as playground equipment. The sculptural signage provides a big welcome to all who enter. We activated an under-utilised space, creating both a memorable talking point and inviting focus area for staff and clients.

FRONT VIEW OF SCULPTURE

GRAPHIC DESIGN | POSTERS & ENVIRONMENTAL GRAPHICS | KING PRICE SCULPTURE | BOARD 1 OF 3

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 is a R5.7 billion player boasting an average 50% year-on-year growth rate (and 35% compounded increase in gross written premium since 2014), a subsidiary in Namibia, firm plans to take their unique short term business model to the European market, and a life and funeral insurance business. “We just don’t think it makes any sense to only ever pay more to insure something that’s only ever worth less,” says King Price founder and CEO Gideon Galloway. “Our decreasing premium model has saved our clients around R250 million – and counting – and we really think that, when others don’t make sense, we do.”

King Price is committed to #MakingADifference in the lives of its staff, clients, partners, and community. Their vision is ‘Lower premiums: Higher purpose’ and their major shareholder, the Mergon Group, has directed over R700 million to charities via the Mergon Foundation since the insurer launched.” 156

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Launching and growing King Price has never NOT been a challenge! Working in the heavily-regulated financial services landscape; governance; solvency requirements; rating models; capital and the deployment thereof: gaining ground in a fiercely competitive market; scaling: All challenges that we overcame through innovation and passion.” Gideon Galloway, CEO and founder This commitment to making sense in an increasingly nonsensical world hasn’t only won the insurer awards for its unique value proposition and royal service. It’s also been leveraged to create some of the funniest adverts in recent years and position them as #UnapologeticallySouthAfrican, making King Price a loved household brand. “Insurance is a grudge purchase,” says Galloway. “No-one wakes up in the morning all excited about buying it. But we do everything we can to inject some humour and humanity into every touchpoint with our brand. We take what we do very seriously, but ourselves not so much.”

Technology enables agility Galloway often half-jokes that King Price is a tech company that happens to sell insurance. From day one, they were faster, smarter and more proactive in terms of the tech that underpins their business. They built their own systems to suit their needs and position themselves for future growth, and they have a purpose-built rating engine that enables

them to insure individual risks accurately and quickly, thus giving them the edge over insurers that still rely on legacy systems to underwrite and rate risk. Another differentiator is the quality of their data (they have been recognised for having the best quality data in the industry) and the actionable insights that their decision scientists derive from it.

Do it differently… Or not at all Industry figures show that King Price spends only around 3% of what the bigger local insurers spend on marketing, so they’re used to making every marketing penny count twice. Everything they do aims to break through the clutter and position King Price as a customercentric, forward-thinking innovator. If they can’t do it differently, they just don’t do it.

Gideon Galloway, King Price founder and CEO

King Price recognises that culture is vital to business success, and they live and breathe their four ‘family values’: Customer is king; fun with a little madness; stronger together; and suit up,

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superhero. They recognise that, as a collective, if they enjoy what they do then they’ll excel and be more productive. So, they try to align all their business principles to benefit their employees, clients, suppliers, business partners, shareholders and communities. Ten years down the line, most of the core group that they launched with are still with them, which speaks volumes. And as for what the next 10 years, and more, might have in store, they’re excited about meeting the challenges of a changing world. Galloway says that they’re already planning different products for different needs. “The world is changing and insurance needs are changing with it, which means business models have to change. My children probably won’t even own cars. And if they do, they’ll be selfdriving. Just these two future realities mean that insurance companies will have to change fundamentally in order to remain relevant and solvent.”

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HOLLARD

A BUSINESS WITH A HEAD AND A HEART Hollard has had purpose at its core from its inception as a family business 41 years ago. The Enthoven family had a vision to build a company with a head and a heart – one that would be as conscious of its impact on society as it was about its profit motive and one that would think differently in order to make a difference. It helped that they were already in the business of helping society move forward. Insurance is, after all, at its core a fundamental enabler of industrial progress and an instrument for social good. By ensuring that potentially catastrophic or devastating setbacks are mitigated, Hollard enables people to take the risks that must be taken if we are to progress as a society. From the beginning, Hollard has operated in a way that understands that people are not just cogs in the profit machine and that the business exists within a society that has challenges – which they believe the business should assist in resolving. They also believe that shareholders are not the only important stakeholders – but that the business also has a responsibility to its people (dubbed Hollardites), customers, partners and society. This fundamental ethos is woven into the fabric of Hollard and informs everything they do. They have numerous social responsibility programmes, all many identified and championed by Hollardites with the backing of the company. They also have a policy of measuring social dividends alongside financial dividends.

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Saks Ntombela, Group Chief Executive Officer

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The Hollard’s social dividend framework was born 16 years ago, when Hollard the leadership team formulated a vision and a set of aims designed to help the company grow beyond 2020 in a sustainable and inclusive way. Their quest to build a better business was entirely in sync with their shareholders, who had articulated their own desire to act as a catalyst for positive and enduring change. While the Enthovens retain a majority shareholding, the company’s shareholders now also include Tokio Marine, one of the world’s largest insurers and; Bushwillow Investments, a Broad-based Black Employment Equity grouping. All three shareholders share the vision of growing a socially responsible and sustainable business. In fact, one of the reasons that Tokio Marine was welcomed as a shareholder in 2018 was that its organisational purpose is to be a Good company, which resonated with Hollard. In 2015, Hollard set about formally setting out their purpose in a way that everyone in a growing, diverse and increasingly geographically disparate organisation could understand, articulate and embrace at a personal, team and organisational level. Hollard’s purpose is to enable more people to create and secure a better future. And while strategy may change as the business environment changes, this purpose is enduring. The belief that Hollard will do well by doing good has paid off so far. The company has grown into South Africa’s largest privately-owned insurance group. This has been via a mixture of organic growth and acquisition. Recently they spun off Hollard International – an entity housing their African operations outside of South Africa and a nascent operation in the Philippines – into a separate, sister company. Today, the Hollard Insurance Group in South Africa includes four insurance licences and an investment management license. While statutory reporting is done in the appropriate licenses, the company is actually organised into two businesses – Hollard Insure and Hollard Life Solutions, each with its own CEO, supported by a number of centres-of-excellence which operate at a Group Level.

intermediaries, while Hollard Life Solutions focuses on the emerging, mass, and middle markets and distributes a broad range of financial service products (including insurance, loans and savings products) through traditional and alternative channels, as well as a number of significant distribution partnerships. Throughout their 41-year journey, Hollard

has drawn inspiration from their founder’s pioneering spirit, while remaining genuine and down to earth. Everything that they do, every day, helps society to make progress. And they do carry it out “while serving as a catalyst for positive and enduring change” – words that are included in their vision statement and lived every day by staff embracing the Hollard Way.

Milestones In the History of Hollard • A partnership with a new legal insurance company called Legalwise in 1991 (today a large insurer in its own right) • The formation of the Life Company in 1993 (until that point Hollard had been a shortterm insurer only) • The acquisition of approximately 60 000 motor insurance policies as IGI collapsed in 1993 • The creation of SA’s first full-service direct Life insurer in 1997 • The acquisition of Crusader Life also in 1997 • A partnership with Edcon, then SA’s largest fashion retailer in 1999 • Our Offshore investments in Pakistan (1998 – since exited), India, Australia (now a major Australian insurance group separate

Hollard Insure is focused on Corporate & Commercial insurance, supported by personal lines, driven largely through independent

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from Hollard South Africa) in 1999, Mozambique (2001), Namibia (2003), India (2004 – since exited), Botswana (2005), China (2007 – since exited), Zambia (2010), Ghana (2016), Philippines (2016), Indonesia (2016 – since exited) The acquisition of Fedsure Credit Life (2001) and Fedgen (2002) An insurance partnership with Kaizer Chiefs in 2001 – ended in 2021 The re-acquisition of Etana in 2014, a commercial insurance undertaking spun out of Hollard in 2008 The acquisition of Regent in 2018 The purchase of 22,5% stake in Hollard SA and Hollard International by Tokio Marine, one of the world’s largest insurance groups and Japan’s oldest insurer, in 2018

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HOME OF MY OWN

MANY SOUTH AFRICANS STRUGGLE FINANCIALLY BECAUSE THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND THE VITAL ROLE HOMEOWNERSHIP PLAYS IN GETTING AHEAD FINANCIALLY them to buy now and assist them to improve their credit profile so that they can buy in the future.

Our Approved Developments In order to make purchasing a home affordable for our clients, all our approved developments feature: 9 100% home loans 9 No deposit 9 No transfer fees And to ensure our clients get good value and a quality home for their hard earned money, we only work with the most reputable, bank approved, property developers. We have also partnered with owners of existing rental stock to renovate and convert units for ownership. 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 for homeowners • Builds stronger and more engage d communities Our mission is to build a better South Africa by helping more people to become homeowners.

Target market Home of My Own’s target market is mainly first time home buyers: • Nationally but with an initial focus on Gauteng • South African middle-class with household income of R 15 000 to R 50 000 • New and existing homes in a range of R 300 000 - R 1 500 000

Employee Homeownership Programme

One of our key areas of focus is on clients who are currently renting and not yet activated to homeownership. We also work with clients whose credit profile is not good enough to allow

For example, someone paying just R6 000 rent per month will pay R2.38 million in rent over the period that it would take them to purchase a home. And they will have nothing to show for it!

To do this we do ongoing research, develop programmes and make information available through electronic platforms such as our website, newsletters, social media, live seminars and webinars and corporate training. We use cloud based technologies such as Hubspot CRM, Google and AWS to ensure we provide a consistently high level of customer service through automation of key aspects of the home buying and home loan application process.

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The programme begins with an impactful and interactive workshop/webinar presented by one of our expert presenters. By the end of the workshop/webinar participants will be able to calculate the financial impact that owning a home would make for them versus renting.

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Compare this to someone who purchases a home. It costs less per month on average and over time a homeowner gains a financial asset that can be leveraged to create wealth for themselves and their family. Participants learn how the equity built up through homeownership can improve their family’s life. For example - how this equity can be used to pay for their children’s education; and in this way help their children get a better job and earn higher salaries. When participants understand the benefits of homeownership in detail they often become more committed to being homeowners and more responsible users of credit. For those that request a detailed financial assessment to determine their readiness to become homeowners we develop a personalised homeownership plan.

Our services to our clients Whether clients approach us directly or after participating in one of our housing programmes, we assist them to become homeowners by: • Providing them a free home buyer readiness assessment of their credit profile and qualifying affordability • Helping them find a home that suits their needs at the right price • Getting them a loan to buy their new home

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How we support our clients to escape the rental trap • Our clients get a personal homeownership consultant to answer all their questions so that they can buy with confidence • A free assessment of their credit profile and qualifying affordability to help them determine their readiness to purchase a home. We will also help them decide the best way to improve their financial profile where necessary • Online affordability calculators are wrong 65.7% of the time because they don’t take clients’ actual expenditure, property type and current debt profile into account. We achieve 93.2% bond approval rates because we do a detailed assessment of their income and expenditure. In this way we can determine the actual value of the home they can afford before they go house hunting • Our unique buying programme is designed to get estate agents and developers in their chosen area to present their best offerings to them. This puts them in a position to find a home that matches their needs at the right price. • We review the legal purchase documentation before they sign to ensure that their interests are looked after • On a R 1 million loan a 1% difference in interest rate will cost an additional R166 000 so it is critical to get them the right home loan deal upfront. We apply for a home loan on their behalf and negotiate the best mortgage deal and monthly payment arrangement for them

• We advise them on the requirements to meet all the transfer conditions so they avoid the pitfalls that could cause them to lose money or even their new home

Background The company was started in 2017 by Daniel Esterhuyse and AJ Rothman.

Daniel - Daniel has been involved in the property industry for over 24 years helping first time home buyers realise their dream of homeownership. Daniel has specifically been involved in the building of marketing and sales programmes that have helped over 14 500 middle-class South Africans become homeowners. 082 922 7486, daniel@homeofmyown.co.za

AJ - AJ has been involved in the finance and property industry since 1999. AJ was instrumental in creating the securitisation industry in South Africa and in particular helped build SA Home Loans’ funding model. While at Standard Bank AJ was involved in affordable housing policy and was part of the banking team that helped negotiate the Financial Services Charter. 083 408 0913, aj@homeofmyown.co.za

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Home of My Own is a new company that is built on a lot of experience: • The two founders have over 37 years of experience in the property and mortgage industry • Have developed this programme over the past nine years • Delivered the message of homeownership to over 10,000 people at face-to-face seminars • Have helped over 14,500 people become homeowners

Home of My Own Tel: +27 10 593 0810 Email: info@homeofmyown.co.za

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LEADING THE ENERGY TRANSITION 162

PROGRESS IS NOT IN ENHANCING WHAT IS, BUT IN ADVANCING TOWARD WHAT WILL BE.” - KHALIL GIBRAN

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Sasol’s green hydrogen is set to transform the South African energy economy SASOL IS DRIVING THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN ECONOMY. AS ONE OF THE LARGEST ENERGY PROVIDERS OF LIQUID FUELS, GAS, AND ELECTRICITY IN SOUTHERN AFRICA, THIS COMPANY IS HARNESSING GREEN FUELS AND CHEMICALS FOR A RENEWABLE, INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FUTURE.

The Paris Agreement, an international treaty created by the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), tasks the global community to support emission reduction roadmaps. As a globally recognized and respected brand, Sasol has placed this call for greater ambition at the heart of its strategy to lead South Africa to a greener future. In support of the South African government and its climate change goals, this energy champion has developed a clear pathway for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 30% by 2030. “Sasol has committed to be net-zero by 2050, and we see green hydrogen as core to enabling this goal,” said Priscillah Mabelane, Executive Vice

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President for Energy at Sasol. “We have the capabilities, skillset, technology and solutions to co-create the South African hydrogen economy.” South Africa’s transition to a low-carbon future requires bold innovation and investment in transformative technologies. A green hydrogen sector holds promise for growth and development in the country’s primarily coal-based economy and will contribute to South Africa’s international climate change commitments. Sasol can support customers to make the energy transition by supplying both old and new energy products competitively. The company believes green hydrogen provides a credible decarbonisation solution and can support a just energy transition. This decarbonisation strategy focuses on three key areas. These are, reducing emissions from operations by improving efficiencies; transforming feedstocks to less carbonintensive feedstock, such as gas; and shifting the organisation’s portfolio to using sustainable feedstocks, such as renewable energy, green hydrogen, and sustainable carbon, to produce more environmentally-friendly products.

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Transforming South Africa’s energy landscape with green hydrogen Sasol’s deep engineering and technical expertise, and globally pioneering production methods of green fuels and chemicals, place this company in the lead in the race to tackle climate change in the Southern African region. Green hydrogen will transform South Africa’s energy landscape. Sasol’s proprietary Fischer-Tropsch (FT) technology, in particular, will play a meaningful role in establishing a low carbon future. This enterprise is the world leader in FT technology with demonstrated innovation and operational experience. Its unique FT technologies can be used to convert CO2 and green hydrogen into many sustainable chemicals and fuel products. It also boasts the world’s largest capacity in FT technology, underpinned by a strong portfolio of FT-related patents. Sasol ecoFT was launched as an exciting new business to leverage the company’s 70-year-long expertise in FT technology to produce low carbon sustainable fuels and chemicals globally. While its technology will serve a range of sustainable product markets, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is the application

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where this firm expects to make a substantial difference today. Industry and others, including environmental groups, consider SAF the most significant contributor to reducing GHG emissions in the aviation sector, especially for medium and long-haul flights. South Africa holds significant promise for renewables and low-cost green hydrogen production for its own use and export opportunities. This will require national plans established by industry stakeholders and the government to develop and maximise localisation opportunities to create jobs and economic wealth. The long-term inclusive growth of the green hydrogen market requires a strategic infrastructure and an ecosystem anchored in localisation. To support the incubation of local demand, Sasol is developing the supply capacity on net-zero feedstocks (such as renewables, hydrogen, and sustainable carbon) and managing its environmental impact.

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This strategy incorporates stimulating the South African market for green hydrogen usage, establishing international markets for export demands, and creating sustainable supply chains. The company has also advanced several catalytic projects to foster the development of the Southern African hydrogen economy in partnership with public and private sector entities. These partnerships include the Central Energy Fund (CEF), Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), Imperial and Toyota South Africa (TSAM). The green hydrogen economy in South Africa is expected to create over 370,000 jobs by 2050. By that same year, the organisation expects this sector to export more than 5 million tons of green hydrogen to international markets. Similarly, local demand for green hydrogen, liquid fuels and sustainable chemicals is estimated to reach 3 million tons annually.

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Green ammonia will be one of the first such growth opportunities for export demand. The company has launched several pilot projects to develop local and export opportunities. Sasol plays a leading role in the co-creation and development of green hydrogen mobility ecosystems and hubs in South Africa. It has partnered with Toyota South Africa and Imperial, two automotive giants in the mobility market. The development of fuel cell (FC) vehicles freight and long-haul mobility applications will also boost supporting industries in South Africa, such as fuel cell manufacturing. “To unlock green hydrogen opportunities, we are pursuing various demonstration opportunities and partnerships, as with Toyota, with the intent of enabling and taking advantage of technology developments and

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breakthroughs,” said Grobler. “One of the focus areas for Sasol in South Africa is to provide a comprehensive and sustainable mobility solution. Hydrogen and electric vehicles with refuelling and charging infrastructure form part of this sustainable future. We believe hydrogen mobility is a real opportunity for the country to decarbonise the sectors of longhaul and heavy-duty transport, mining and others and see the creation of hydrogen hubs, or ecosystems, as a practical and affordable way to scale the deployment of hydrogen in the transport sector.”

Boegoebaai: South Africa’s Flagship Green Hydrogen Project The race to tackle climate change goals sees Sasol considering multiple greenfield export opportunities in Southern Africa, including Boegoebaai, Coega, Saldanha, Prieska and

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Namibia, with partners such as IDC, CEF, Port of Rotterdam, Northern Cape Government, Haldor Topsoe and Mahlako Energy. Boegoebaai has the potential to scale to a $10 billion investment bringing unprecedented economic growth and stimulating jobs in the Northern Cape Region. At full capacity, the Boegoebaai plant could drive the development of ~9GW of dedicated Renewable Energy capacity (twice today’s total national renewable energy capacity). This and export sales from the facility could create up to 6,000 permanent jobs and more than 50,000 temporary jobs.

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Located in the Northern Cape, about 20km south of the Namibian border, Boegoebaai is ideally located to access the export markets by developing a new deep-water port. The high-level project concept entails the construction of a greenfield facility using the renewable energy generated from the world-class solar and wind resources in the Northern Cape to produce green hydrogen and downstream processing for the production of green hydrogen derivatives. The 5GW electrolyser case would require renewable energy in excess of 9GW and could produce around 400ktpa of green hydrogen. Establishing and operating the Boegoebaai Green Hydrogen Hub’s manufacturing, support industry, logistics, and social infrastructure will be transformational for the region and nationally. An infrastructure project of this scale requires a partnership-based ecosystem that must be anchored on localisation to enable long-term, sustainable benefits for communities and skills development in the country. As the lead project integrator, Sasol is working with the government to bring together strategic partners along the value chain and other enabling role players to drive the industrialisation of the Northern Cape province. These include potential customers, funders, investors, co-developers, technology suppliers and South African green energy providers. To make this step-change as a country and region will require local and international cross-sector collaboration and advocacy for enabling climate change policy, regulation, incentives and financing. It is necessary to advance a net-zero future that supports the Paris Agreement’s intent, which also considers South Africa’s national circumstances. Sasol is actively engaging various industry bodies, such as the Hydrogen Council, Energy Council, Global Alliance Powerfuels, South African Hydrogen Panel and host country industry associations, to contribute to the thinking, shaping and development of policies, regulations, incentives, funding and industry master plans. With the Boegoebaai project, there is potential to create an ecosystem anchored on localisation to enable long-term, sustainable benefits for communities and the country. The project has the potential to provide a significant number of long-term sustainable jobs, infrastructure investment and skills development in the country, enabling a Just Transition. While Sasol may be a global enterprise, its roots remain firmly planted in South Africa. Sasol is well-positioned to lead the country’s energy transition given its history of constructing and operationalising complex energy related projects, its unique technology, iconic brand, experience of collaborating with multiple stakeholders, and track record of delivering in local communities.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

ENERGY, GREENTECH, OIL & GAS 170

WHEN SOMETHING IS IMPORTANT ENOUGH, YOU DO IT EVEN IF THE ODDS ARE NOT IN YOUR FAVOUR.” - ELON MUSK

‘Title: ‘From The Classroom to The World’ for the International Public Art Festival 2019, Theme: Generation Next”, produced by Baz-Art and Aleksandro Reis

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GOING GREEN – MEETING GLOBAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOALS WITH CLEAN ENERGY By: Sibongile Thobakgale, Area Sales Manager for South Africa at Aggreko

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South Africa will have to make a distinct shift to embrace the new norms in global climate and energy landscape discussions. Current infrastructure relies heavily on fuels that are not necessarily the most environmentally friendly, and this poses a threat to the country’s role in a global energy sector with net-zero emissions by 2050. In June 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa also made a landmark announcement that they will be amending Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act, which increased the NERSA licensing threshold for embedded generation projects from 1 MW to 100 MW. As a result, industries such as mining, manufacturing, and utilities are wellpositioned to embrace this shift in energy generation to help the country meet its 2050 goals and potentially offset electricity costs. There are several power-intensive industries that are looking to improve energy consumption to drive down costs. These industries include but are not limited to, mining, manufacturing, and utilities. We know, for example, that energy is a fairly large contributor to the cost base of mines. Therefore mines are increasingly looking at ways of shaving that cost, while still ensuring the stability of operations. Here a hybrid of different technologies can be applied to do just that. By considering a mix of photovoltaic (PV), thermal, solar, and battery solutions, mines can reduce their reliance on grid energy and reduce their costs. While we do not foresee mines necessarily shifting their focus to generating energy to sell back to Eskom,

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it would enable them to potentially sell excess capacity that they do not need, therefore offsetting even more energy costs, which means that they will have an uninterrupted, reliable power supply, while also saving on costs. In South Africa, legislation requires that mine feeders have at least two sources of power. This is particularly important for shaft mining as they need to ensure that if one source of power fails, they still can hoist people to the surface. So, while there will still be reliance on the grid, a mine will also have a standby plant, running complementary to one another. A key opportunity for mines, however, is peak shaving. So, if you have the technology installed for full standby or complimentary power provision, why not run it in parallel to the grid to reduce your energy consumption during peak hours to further drive down costs? These standby or complimentary grids can comprise PV, thermal, and a battery storage solution, or different combinations of these, depending on client requirements. Many mines also operate in remote locations, making it unrealistic and unfeasible to rely on the national grid. While it would be difficult to move completely off-grid, we recommend a hybrid solution that runs parallel to the grid, which would allow the mine to reduce energy consumption during peak rates. Each solution can be tailored to meet the specific clients’ requirements and will already make a big difference in the cost of operations as it will reduce the cost of energy, while also paving the way for our clients to reduce their carbon emissions as the world moves towards cleaner energy fuel sources. This is also in line with Aggreko’s global commitment to reducing its carbon emissions and use of diesel fuel with customers by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero across its fleet by 2050.

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Generators - Utilities installation

DRIVING THE ENERGY TRANSITION IN WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA

As countries in West and Central Africa face a rising demand for power, fuelled by growing populations and industry, there is an opportunity to introduce an improved energy mix to aid them on their journeys to reduce carbon emissions. According to Kweku Frempong, recently appointed as Area General Manager for WACA at Aggreko, it is critical as countries look to increase their energy generation capacity to look at flexible commercial and technical solutions that incorporate a mix of thermal and renewable resources. “As Aggreko we are leading the journey on transitioning to more eco friendly fuels to generate electricity,” he says. “As a global organisation we have already made a commitment to reduce our carbon emissions and use of diesel fuel with customers by 50% by 2030 and achieving net-zero across our fleet by 2050. We are also working closely with our partners to deliver flexible and cost-effective financing models for most of our customers as a sustainable financing model is a key ingredient in solving the energy issues in the region.”

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Frempong adds that along with the move to using alternative fuel sources in the region, there is also an aggressive push for decentralised power on the continent, especially in remote areas with small populations where it is not cost-effective to connect them to the grid. “We have seen growth in micro and mini grids in most parts of Africa and this is playing a critical role in ensuring energy security and supporting failing infrastructure.”

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He says that while it was anticipated that Africa would leapfrog into renewables, the transition has been modest to date. “Often where the demand is urgent, countries look for immediate solutions, which is often thermal. While there are strategies for the long-term transition to renewables, many countries remain focused on addressing the immediate need and this sometimes puts renewables on the backburner. There is, however, scope to move along this journey faster than anticipated. As more countries affirm their commitment to the 2020 ambitions and 2050 net zero emissions, we hope to see funding made available for large-scale hybrid projects. While we have already seen this happen in countries like Egypt and South Africa, there is still a need to rebalance between the immediate need for power for the population while also looking at the long-term solutions for renewables.”

Countries like Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana and Nigeria have long faced long periods with no investment in the grid and transmission and distribution lines. “The lack of investment into the grids in these countries have led to a lot more power outages,” he says. “It is estimated that there is a 60% funding gap between the current demands and the funds available to bridge that gap. I must add, however, that we are beginning to see changing economic models and structures with more countries moving to service and cost-reflective tariffs. Historically, we have lived with energy subsidies from government in most parts of Africa, but these cost-reflective tariffs will open up most of these economies for the muchneeded funding that is required.”

“As Aggreko we have become more focused on long-term power solutions rather than temporary solutions,” concludes Frempong. “We are equipped with commercial and technical solutions, which can be used to alleviate the immediate pressures that countries are facing, while helping our clients transition to medium and long-term solutions to help them toward their long-term renewable goals,” he says.

Frempong says another noticeable trend is that of regulatory changes around decentralisation. “We are seeing a lot of economies moving to a willing seller, willing buyer model. We saw this recently in South Africa and Nigeria, where the countries have relaxed the traditional models of transmission and distribution to the consumer as well as to key sectors such as manufacturing and mining who have significant power needs. They can now also contract directly with independent power producers (IPPs) to meet their power demands, which in turn opens up these economies for private sector investment in the power sector.”

“We are clear on our commitment to reduce our diesel footprint by 2030 and can work across industries including data centres, mining companies, manufacturers and those in the oil and gas sector to provide them solutions that incorporate other fuel sources to reduce their carbon footprint. We can assist with a variety of hybrid solutions incorporating flare to power and renewables to support the economies in the region as well as industry towards their long-term renewable goals as they seek to transition to cleaner and greener fuel sources.”

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PROMMAC

LEADS INNOVATION IN THE PROJECT SERVICES INDUSTRY Leading South African multidisciplinary technical services business, Prommac, has been excelling in the petrochemical and heavy industry sectors since 2012 providing mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and welding services in execution of maintenance, shutdowns and turnarounds, as well as construction projects. If this sounds like just another company, think again. For a business that has grown from a humble garage sized office with a few people to a corporate office with workshops and more than 3000 people at peak, this is anything but just another company. Prommac has for a long while invested in technology and back in 2016 began the process of rolling out virtual animations and renders of execution method statements, doubling down further in 2017 into the deployment of advanced technology platforms aimed at scaling training rapidly. Since 2016, Prommac has been considered as a pioneer in technology in the construction sector and this has helped the company to upskill people quicker than ever, which has improved the company’s safety, productivity, efficiency and costs, resulting in exponential gains in delivering value for clients.

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Prommac has become the local player with an international reputation, competing against some of the biggest players in the global market securing new contracts every year since Jason English adopted the company in 2012 at the age of just 34 years. Former COO, Dany De Barros took over the reins from Jason English in 2018 at the young age of 38 allowing Jason to move on to become Chief Eco System Officer of Prommac’s parent group, CG Tech - an international technology services group, which provides strategic management and innovative solutions to its core underlying investments. What makes Prommac even more interesting is that its top management team has an average age in the mid 30’s, resulting in a young, dynamic team that is forward thinking and innovative in everything they do. When looking for innovative ideas and technologies to improve efficiencies and client experiences, Prommac has been at the forefront, creating unique experiences for both its team and its clients. With the ability to leverage from the wider CG Tech group which today also owns an advanced tech related virtual reality startup in the United Kingdom called “The Virtulab”, Prommac is making even bigger strides than before in its innovation advancements. Building a culture where employees feel valued and rewarded has been one of the core focus areas of Prommac, with teams being given numerous opportunities for self-development and career growth. This philosophy has been key for Prommac to attract new young talent with the right attitude and now the emphasis is on retaining this culture, whilst continuing to build innovation into the DNA of the company. Training has been a core focal point as well for Prommac, who introduced multiple learning experiences through the use of

technology as a platform which helped turn its young team with very little experience, into extremely valuable assets in the field, with technical knowledge at the level of long term experienced industry leaders. This has been achieved through using online training technology combined with a suite of digital training videos. Previously, it would take a new recruit in their industry around four years to become a well-trained, systems knowledgeable, operationally compliant individual ready to take on site management duties. Today, that time period is shortened to less than two years within Prommac. A large portion of the innovation focus has been around the use of drones, virtual reality, remote work collaboration and connectivity to IOT (Intelligence of Things). Prommac was one of the first drone services operators in South Africa. Also, the company boasts that they were using platforms such as Google Workspace as far back as 2016 and were already completely structured to work remotely when the COVID pandemic hit. The data that was collected was then converted into meaningful, useful data in the form of things like Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality experiences. Jason English is part of Peter Diamandis Abundance 360 Singularity program, and is a member of YPO together with Dany De Barros, and have had the opportunity to travel to innovation centres in Silicon Valley, Europe, Asia, Las Vegas and Russia where they have witnessed first-hand the amazing technology being developed around the world. Prommac’s Chief Innovation Officer is also a product of MIT

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and collectively this has offered Prommac the ability to implement some of the world’s best technologies, aimed at ultimately improving efficiencies and scalability within Prommac. Prommac has and continues to demonstrate its ambitions to be an innovation leader in South Africa. By bringing in innovations and technology across the business, it is differentiating itself from others in the country and certainly the industry. Prommac has positioned itself as a business with a reach into the technology sector, but without losing its reputation for technical excellence in project delivery. Adding new technology to the Prommac portfolio, leveraging from the rest of the CG Tech Group, upskilling employees quickly, and ensuring the company culture reflects a preparedness for quick changes in business direction all comes as a result of Prommac’s commitment to an innovative culture. The ability to be creative is not always the case in big engineering firms. Ongoing investment into innovative technology solutions that help drive a culture of improvement and excellence are not always the norm across the industry, and it is these characteristics that set Prommac apart. By becoming more efficient and therefore more valuable, Prommac’s clients are receiving more benefits than ever before. Some call them a construction company - we like to think of them as the Google of project management and as long as this direction continues, this will be a business to keep watching in the future.

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AUREX CONSTRUCTORS

HAS BEEN PROVIDING HIGH QUALITY CONSTRUCTION, TURNAROUND AND MAINTENANCE PROJECT SERVICES TO BLUE-CHIP CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE ENERGY SECTOR IN SOUTH AFRICA FOR MORE THAN 40 YEARS

Aurex have successfully delivered Construction, Turnaround & Maintenance projects to our customer, Astron Energy, in Cape Town.

With experience in oil & gas, mining & metallurgy, infrastructure, petrochemical, clean and conventional power our team of experts perform structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, piping, platework (SMEIPP), tank, fabrication and management services for projects of all sizes and complexities within the company’s two business units, Construction and Turnarounds & Maintenance. The company is 100% locally owned and managed with 51% black ownership and 30% black women ownership.

CONSTRUCTION Aurex are leaders in the field of self-performing SMEIPP construction projects in South Africa. Experienced project teams work closely with customers to manage the construction of new plants and retrofits, refurbishments and expansions of existing projects efficiently, to customer requirements and schedule.

RENEWABLE ENERGY The global power mix is evolving, and with this comes an increasing demand for sustainable energy sources. Aurex have installed over 560 MW of clean power in South Africa since 2013. With extensive experience in the renewable power sector, the business continues to deliver new installations, refurbishments, and maintenance of photovoltaic (PV) solar plants.

CONVENTIONAL POWER With more than 15 years’ experience working on coal-fired power stations in South Africa our highly skilled teams have successfully constructed air-cooled condensers, ducting and boiler works. Maintenance teams continue to service boilers, ducting, gas air heaters, ball mills and conveyors, amongst other elements, for valued customers.

TURNAROUNDS & MAINTENANCE Turnarounds Understanding the impact that statutory turnarounds and shutdowns have on customers’ businesses motivated Aurex to develop an innovative cradle-to-grave

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approach that systematically plans all phases of the plant outage. An experienced team effectively tailors’ solutions to ensure that performance and deadline needs are executed safely.

Maintenance At the center of project sustainability and asset management is the need for long term maintenance solutions. Maintenance activities critically impact customers’ assets and business operations, which is where Aurex apply their industry experience to align solutions with project requirements and deadlines.

INNOVATION TO BEST SERVE OUR CUSTOMERS Understanding the importance of staying at the forefront of innovation, Aurex encourages unorthodox thinking, and challenges time-tested protocols to find solutions that meet customer’s needs.

Aurex team utilising the Scope Management tool to update progress on the Adams Solar project.

Digital mobilisation Tool

Drone Technology

In the fast-paced project environment recruiting people with the right skillsets for each job quickly is paramount. With this in mind the innovation team created the Digital Mobilisation Tool.

Due to the size and complexity of the projects they work on, Aurex use drones to gather data in real-time. Project teams have access to progress as it is being made and can identify any challenges early and react quickly.

The tool currently stores the details of approximately 8,400 trained, experienced, and certified artisans across South Africa. As projects are awarded the tool allows for the rapid pairing of artisans with jobs that suit their unique skillset which in turn allows them to mobilise onto projects efficiently.

Surveys are conducted from a bird’s eye view allowing for largescale inspections. Work progress is easily visualised and accurately measured. Project managers can monitor the locations of workers, and equipment. Overall, drone technology has increased site safety, maximised timesaving, and the use of resources, facilitated surveys and accurate measurements. Not to mention the spectacular photographs taken from the aerial view. As Henrik Ibsen first said, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

Updating information on the Digital Mobilisation Tool with guidance from Aurex HR representative.

Scope Management Tool Focusing on finding a solution that would enhance project planning and deliver cost-effective project execution the innovation team developed the scope management tool. This tool provides standardised man-hours and an efficient platform for data entry and compilation. Drone technology offers a bird’s eye view of the Aurex team at work on a solar plant.

Through the tool, access is available to a consolidated bill of quantities across a project timeline which drives and expedites the procurement process. It allows for remote scheduling and updating of progress during the execution phase of a project.

FUTURE INNOVATION Innovation is ongoing at Aurex as we strive for continuous improvement. The team is always looking for innovative opportunities to deliver effective efficient projects to their valued customers.

Through this platform, we provide accurate project feedback and adapt timelines and field operations as and when needed. This tool delivers enhanced project management and cost savings.

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ELEGANT FUEL

CHANGING THE FACE OF FUEL IN SOUTH AFRICA – ONE FORECOURT AT A TIME

Last year was a bumper year for the Elegant Group. On average, we opened one Elegant Fuel petrol station a month in 2021. One station a month might not sound like a big deal – but every new forecourt employs at least 15 people. And in South Africa we know each wage supports about three-and-a-half people. So that’s 12 forecourts, 180 jobs and 630 people directly affected by our success. Not to mention how we have made the lives of many South Africans easier by often situating our forecourts in areas that are easily accessible to our communities, helping customers who previously had to drive at least half an hour to fill up to save time and money.

And we’re not stopping! In just two months into the New Year we have 10 new Elegant Fuel petrol stations under construction. We’re fiercely, proudly and passionately South African. We give our all in all that we do, including: • Providing wholesale fuel • Distributing fuel • Providing excellent (and elegant) service We are a young, innovative and ever-expanding company. All our ventures are driven by a passionate, entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to meet our customers’ needs. Elegant Fuel is one of the largest independent fuel providers in South Africa. We have been selling and distributing fuel to clients all over the country, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for the past 14 years.

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With our fleet of 51 state-of-the-art bulk tankers, we ensure that our competitively priced fuel gets to our customers when and where they need it. We provide fuel to retail service stations, as well as agricultural, mining, public transport and logistics companies. And the factor that sets us apart? We are 100% operational every single day of the year, and our management processes are hands-on, with an open line of communication directly from our clients to senior management. The Elegant Group currently distributes 600-million litres of high-quality fuel annually, straight from refineries to the client. We have grown considerably since we first entered the market, but we have never compromised on providing reliable, personalised service to every client, no matter how big or small. However, a top-quality product and top-notch service alone is not enough. Innovation is a vital part of our success. We were one of the first independent providers to use an algorithm to determine demand and to make sure our products get to where they are needed. We are also incredibly proud to be one of the few independent fuel providers that are a member of the South African Petroleum Industry Association. This membership is a clear mark of our credibility as we have to adhere to the association’s policies and regulations in terms of the environment and safety. While our wholesale and distribution offerings are a big part of our picture, we also have our own branded petrol stations that form part of our supply network. They’re a fresh, costeffective alternative to those of the fuel giants we compete with. Our fuel stations always have high-quality petrol and diesel available, combined with the best possible service. If a potential customer is interested in partnering with our brand, we can rebrand an existing service station or build a brand new one from scratch. We also don’t follow a specific model for our fuel stations according to a predetermined plan. Instead, we involve client’s right from the consultation process. The construction and refurbishment of all Elegant Fuel stations are tailored to our clients’ individual needs.

The Elegant Group assists station owners throughout the process. We design service stations, assist with acquiring the relevant equipment and do all the groundwork. We can also build the convenience store, canopy and forecourt. And we don’t just leave it there. We can also assist with ongoing maintenance. Our long-term relationships with builders and suppliers ensure that our clients get the best prices for their projects. We believe we are unique in our approach. We provide a full package of services – securing the land, taking care of licensing processes, training

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the fuel attendants, and helping to source products for on-site convenience stores. In short, we provide everything required. We also have excellent relationships with well-known fast-food chains (such as KFC, King Pie, Hooked Coffee Co and Galito’s), paving the way to easily opening such franchises. Watch this space as we raise our blue-andyellow flag over more towns in South Africa!

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ANYTHING YOU CAN IMAGINE YOU CAN CREATE.” - OPRAH WINFREY

Title: ‘Hold on Tight’, for the International Public Art Festival 2017, produced by Baz-Art and Mars

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TIGER BRANDS

KEEPING UP WITH THE CONSUMER THROUGH INNOVATIVE PRODUCT OFFERINGS For more than 100 years, Tiger Brands has produced some of South Africa’s most loved quality brands from culinary favourites like Jungle Oats, All Gold Tomato Sauce and Black Cat Peanut Butter, to personal care products. But as much as these have become staples in local homes, which we are extremely proud of, Tiger Brands understands that evolving consumer needs and trends require us to take an innovative approach within the business to respond to these. This creates a symbiotic relationship in that our consumer’s needs are satisfied, and the company delivers on its growth strategy. In recent years, value, health and nutrition, and the growing trend to snack, have become critical drivers of consumer buying habits. What’s more, the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020 and subsequent lockdown restrictions, had a marked influence on shifting eating and food purchasing habits, which has set the tone for how we, as one of the country’s largest food producers with a consumer-centric mindset, think about innovation. Recent product innovations by Tiger Brands reflect these latest consumer drivers.

Value (Superior quality at affordable price points) Tiger Brands has launched several new sizes of some of South Africa’s favourite products. These include All Gold Tomato Sauce, Mrs Balls Chutneys and Tinkies, which all come in smaller and more affordable sizes. AlbanyXtra loaves of white and brown bread offer four extra slices at a lower cost per slice.

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The reality is that a challenging economic environment amongst other factors has resulted in the cost of the average food basket increasing substantially over the last two years. Consumers are shopping less often and are expecting more per rand, and they are not compromising on quality.

Health and Nutrition According to a recent Tiger Brands Eat Well Live Well State of Nutrition report, since the start of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions in early 2020, South Africans have been focusing on healthier living. South Africans have become more conscious of what they are consuming looking at maintaining healthier diets. In response to this new healthier consumer movement, Tiger Brands’ Jungle has introduced a healthier alternative to traditional energy bars with new cereal bars containing less sugar, and the new Purity Junior Smoothie pouches help parents fulfil the nutrition needs of their children. KOO launched a convenient diced beetroot variety, while KOO Pilchards offers an affordable and accessible way to add protein and Omega 3 oils to the diet.

Snackification The ‘snackification’ trend has boomed since the outbreak of Covid-19. Research indicates that more people are looking for solutions that offer sustenance or energy onthe-go as well as small moments of escape and indulgence that offer comfort. South Africans are navigating a tough living environment, making moments to relax and indulge a top priority. Tiger Brands believes its consumers deserve to be spoilt every now and then and have added some innovative treats to satisfy their need to snack.

Golden Cloud’s new Carrot Cake and Muffin Mix will keep the pandemic “carrot cake” trend alive in a more convenient format. And one of the country’s oldest beverage brands, Rose’s, has introduced innovative flavour variants – blueberry and ginger for cocktails and mocktails.

About Tiger Brands Two of South Africa’s favourite flavours have been combined – chocolate and peanut butter – into a new range of indulgent treats from Black Cat. For home bakers,

Tiger Brands is one of Africa’s largest listed manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods with the purpose to nourish and nurture more lives every day. For more than 100 years, our brands have been part of the moments that matter in the lives of millions of people. Growing from modest beginnings, our core business is the manufacture, marketing and distribution of everyday branded food and beverages. Our products are relevant across every meal occasion and include iconic brands such as Cross and Blackwell Mayonnaise, Rose’s cordial, Oros, All Gold Tomato Sauce, Fatti’s and Moni’s, Mrs Balls, Jungle Oats, and Black Cat.

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Tiger Brands Limited 3010 William Nicol Drive, Bryanston 2021 Johannesburg, South Africa Tel: +27 11 840 4000 Email: Esd@tigerbrands.com tiger-brands TigerBrandsFMCG @TigerBrands

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NESTLÉ EAST AND SOUTHERN AFRICA (ESAR) UNLOCKING THE POWER OF FOOD BY INNOVATING BEYOND THE ASK

Ratings, a borderless coffee community that is brought together by their love of coffee. How did we get it right? “One of the biggest challenges between the start-up ecosystem and the established private sector is the mismatch of culture. Start-ups are idea hubs that move at a deafening pace compared to big corporates, and their culture of innovation is incongruent with the bureaucracy of long-established businesses. Collaboration has been a fundamental solve, by way of working with partners with shared values to drive innovation beyond the core,” says João Barreto, Head of Innovation at Nestlé ESAR.

Piloting Africa’s first net zero waste fairy farm

The convergence of human capital, technology and visionary leadership have seen us continue to lead in the business of manufacturing and distribution of food globally. In a radically evolved context over years, Nestlé has leveraged the best minds in science, the best technology and made surefooted steps towards being part of the human shift in nutrition, health, and wellness. From fortified foods that tackle micronutrient deficiencies in emerging economies to the addition of plant-based foods to our portfolio, our purpose is to unlock the power of food to enhance quality of life for everyone, today and for generations to come. Innovation in food products that are tasty, offering choice while delivering a range of benefits for people’s broad health and wellness needs is synonymous with our purpose. But what lies beyond that? Innovating beyond our core has been a considerable business shift at Nestlé in the East & Southern Africa region, expanding the

breadth of our impact in the community within which we exist, and beyond to ensure we continue to delight our consumers with experiences that go beyond the product.

Engaging the startup ecosystem through Nestlé Hatcher Nestlé Hatcher is an ecosystem aimed at connecting Nestlé’s core business to the broader innovation ecosystem. The aim is to enable better collaboration with external innovators across the east and southern Africa region (ESAR) to solve business challenges with locally developed innovation. This initiative has enabled us to bridge our corporate culture with start-up culture through collaboration and partnership. It has extended our efforts at innovation, allowing us to engage bigger societal issues such as access, affordability, and at the same time support the long term sustainability of startups. The program is an ongoing experiment where with our partner, COOi Studios, we search, identify, mentor, and support start-ups in the implementation of cutting-edge ideas that aim to provide beyond product experiences and services to our consumers. To date, Nestlé Hatcher has had two rounds, from which it has seen the piloting and onboarding of Coffee

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Skimmelkrans Net Zero Carbon Emissions Project is an ambition to create the company’s first dairy farm to reach net zero carbon emissions. Located in George, South Africa, Nestlé has committed that by 2023, the farm will be carbon net zero. This is part of the business’ commitment to reaching a waste-free and zero net emission future by 2050, building on decades of work already done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This project forms part of the Nestlé’s broader sustainability platform in South Africa called RE, where the company has committed to RETHINK, REDUCE AND REPURPOSE on its journey towards a more sustainable future. All three pillars come into play on the Skimmelkrans farm. Skimmelkrans sets itself apart through their soil work, water conservation, feed management and manure processing, where some of the biggest reductions of greenhouse gases occur. The farm operates in a biodiverse ecosystem: from releasing manure back into the soil, to growing their own animal feed without having to buy large quantities from external feed suppliers, as well as conserving water. All these practices result in better care and nutrition for the cows on the farm, as well as better nutrition in the milk products produced, giving consumers a safe, environmentally friendly product.

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Leading with Water Stewardship Nestlé, in its Mossel Bay factory leads with its water stewardship project that includes water recovery, treatment and recycling technology. The factory produces milk products such as NESTLÉ NESPRAY, NESTLÉ MILO, NESTLÉ NIDO, NESTLÉ KLIM and NESTLÉ SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK sources its milk from the Skimmelkrans Net Zero Carbon Emissions Project. One of the few in the Nestlé business, the plant’s water saving operation embraces the pillars of RE and seeks to REDUCE and REPURPOSE water from its dairy operations, by simply re-using the water recovered from the milk evaporation process. The vision for this initiative, which is known as Project ZerEau, is to become a zero-water intake facility, which will be a first in South Africa when we achieve this feat. “Project ZerEau captures our commitment to unlocking quality of life of our communities through good, and in this case the focus is on doing good by our planet. The impact of transitioning this facility to a zero-water intake, in a water scarce country like South Africa will go a long way in supporting residents, businesses and the entire community at large,” said Saint-Francis Tohlang, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director at Nestlé ESAR.

Capturing Emissions from factory operations At the Babelegi Factory in Pretoria, Nestlé is piloting an industrial scale project that has successfully tested a global-first, Artificial

Intelligence technology in Africa that reduces emissions and saves water. The pilot is a partnership with the Emissions Capture Company (ECCO2), whose proprietary technology called WhiteBoxTM captures CO2 from flue gas emissions, recycles industrial wastewater and creates sustainable green products. The green products can be sold directly for animal feed, human food, consumer goods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals or used to eliminate Sulphur dioxide emissions without the need for water. Data collected from the industrial scale pilot coupled with industry-first machine learning techniques, demonstrates that the WhiteBoxTM can be calibrated to capture between 25% to 70% of Scope 1 carbon dioxide

emissions and recycle available industrial wastewater per site. Much of this is done through direct air capture and energy-efficient gas processing, using low-fuel consumption methods. “The industrial scale pilot project has directly upskilled and employed 15 people from the local community and has the potential to create more jobs when scaled. Part of the operation has also included skills development for Nestlé employees at the facility to ensure a just transition to low emission operations, with no one left behind,” said Tohlang. Going beyond our day-to-day business - the production of delicious food that delivers nutrition and wellness - to innovate and leapfrog change in the industry and society is synonymous with our culture at Nestlé ESAR. The continent is ripe for this kind of innovation - Africa is the youngest continent by way of population age, and the most entrepreneurial of them all. The opportunity to leapfrog change as a big corporate is one that can only be leveraged through partnerships fit for purpose. This means ongoing collaboration with the startup ecosystem, with leading futurists and technologists, and most importantly, with the consumers who entrust us with their nutrition, health, and wellness.

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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 was a gap in the market and Honest Chocolate was born. The first years of Honest Chocolate were spent working with raw cacao from Ecuador, but with the “Chain of Positivity” in mind the slabs are now made with organically grown Tanzanian cacao beans which they roast, grind, and temper in their Woodstock production kitchen. It was a three year process to find and build a relationship with Kokoa Kamili who supplied them with their Tanzanian beans, but their efforts to create Bean to Bar ethical chocolate with a smaller footprint on the environment have been well worth it.

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Michael de Klerk and Anthony Gird

Honest Chocolate is made with only two ingredients: organic cacao and sugar (either unrefined cane sugar or organic coconut blossom sugar). Without additional additives they maintain the integrity of the chocolate through intense flavour and excellent quality. All additional ingredients in our slabs are sourced locally as far as possible.

the supply chain. Their goal is to have ethical consideration for people and the environment by sourcing local, organic, and fair.

They produce their chocolate with ‘The Chain of Positivity’ in mind at all times – right through

In 2014, the Honest Chocolate Cafe opened its doors. As South Africa’s first chocolate cafe, it was largely crowdfunded by local chocolate fans and has since then been providing chocolate treats to adoring locals and tourists alike.

They’re inspired by the change in people’s faces as they taste their chocolate for the first time, and the fun, creativity and collaboration put into everything they produce.

The cafe is an indulgent chocolate escape in the heart of the Cape Town CBD. Located between the bustling streets of Loop and Bree, the café has a relaxed atmosphere and offers a chance to indulge your senses in all things chocolate. They offer coffees, teas and hot chocolates, as well as a selection of chocolate truffles, tarts and cakes. A large portion of their treats are vegan friendly, with the choice of dairy free ice cream from Sorbetiere too, and of course they offer the best Oat milk from Oh Oat! Their specialties are dairy-free milkshakes, their trademark ‘coconut dream’ drink, and the banana bread bunny chow.

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During lockdown, they had to change their marketing approach and began offering Corporate events and gifts. They introduced Virtual Chocolate tastings in the midst of COVID in 2020. They stuck to their motto “ Don’t be afraid of the dark” and tried their best to keep the business afloat during the pandemic. The Virtual Chocolate Tastings have been a hit with their corporate clients ever since! They offer corporate gifts such as bespoke wrappers and personalised chocolate packages. At every stage in production to delivery they do their best to prioritise care of humans and their environment, which is why they keep their ingredients pure and their packaging minimal. You might be paying a little more, but honestly, it’s worth it! General inquiries: Email: Info@honestchocolate.co.za Tel: +27 76 091 8814 Sales Email: Orders@honestchocolate.co.za Tel: +27 74 123 7905 Honest Chocolate Cafe Email: cafe@honestchocolate.co.za Tel: +27 76 765 8306 @honestchocolate

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DYNAMIC BRANDS MANUFACTURING (PTY) LTD

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 make sense.

The plan that was subsequently put into place signified the first innovative solution developed by Dynamic Brands. The business had realized that if they had any hope of gaining traction within the market, they needed to disrupt it… and this disruption occurred when Dynamic Brands took the bold step of passing a 40% discount to the market leader at the time. Through this, the business succeeded in triggering an unprecedented shift in product affordability. What resulted was a previously aspirational product for South Africa’s lower LSM’s becoming affordable – driving sought after growth within the dilutes category.

Fueled by this belief, leveraging off his years within the dairy industry and armed with R20 000,00 in seed capital, John formed the Dynamic Brands Trust in 1999 and launched operations from a garage in Komga. From here Dynamic Brands soon outgrew its modest workspace, moving to East London in 2002.

As anticipated, the increase in volumes allowed for pre-negotiated discounts to be unlocked with Dynamic Brand’s suppliers, and from here the business gradually achieved profitability as their plan had intended. However, ever-increasing shipping costs and commodity prices soon posed a serious threat to Dynamic Brand’s ability to sustain their position.

In 2007, after several years of tireless work, John and his dedicated team found the formula to success in the product we now know to be Fusion Dairy Blend. However, Dynamic Brands soon realized that they couldn’t simply enter the market, going head-to-head with established and listed competitors, and seek growth. What that they needed at that stage was a strategy that would unlock growth and solidify their presence as a contender within the dilutes category.

Cue the next step in innovation… reverse integration.

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In order to remain profitable, whilst simultaneously maintaining affordability to the consumer, Dynamic Brands chose to invest in their supply chain… and it was in 2009 that the business began its journey into reverse integration. Now in 2022, Dynamic Brands has successfully harnessed each step of the manufacturing process, from pellet to pallet. Through gradually taking hold of every aspect of the production process, Dynamic Brand’s succeeded in sustaining their position within the market and maintaining profitability as a business. Having begun its journey as a humble beverage business, Dynamic Brands now not only possesses the ability to manufacture a product of excellent quality, but the full suite of capabilities along the product’s manufacturing process. The business boasts its own Plastic Division, where closures, handles and preforms are manufactured. Followed by the equipment and technical skill necessary for the preforms to be blown into the bottles within which the products are supplied.

Throughout its tenure, Dynamic Brand’s unwavering commitment to remaining at the forefront of innovation - for both its consumers and the business itself – has been fundamental to its success. With the ability to demonstrate resilience and reinvention no matter the circumstance, the business has weathered longstanding competition, neverbefore-seen shipping and commodity prices, and now in 2022 - a global pandemic. So, the question one should now ask themselves is, where to from here for Dynamic Brands and what will the next step in innovation be?

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DYNAMIC BRANDS Tel: + 27 43 731 1830

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BT INDUSTRIAL

CHALLENGES CREATE OPPORTUNITIES pipes for water and sanitation projects. This purpose motivates and sustains every action at BT Industrial - and defines its mission, too: South Africa (and by extension, Africa) is home to rapid industrialization; the future growth of South Africa and Africa relies on the provision of the basics of fresh water and sewage. These are the arteries of industry. Electricity can only be produced with a constant supply of fresh water. The growth and development of cities are greatly impacted by their ability to efficiently manage water, sanitisation and sewage systems. Agriculture relies on water access. Manufacturing plastic pipes for water are the cornerstones of BT Industrial’s purposeled business to play a consequential role in the lives of people in South Africa – and beyond.

BT Industrial isn’t a company name you’ve come across in your day-to-day activities. However, open a tap in your home and the water running out has most likely passed through a pipe made by BT Industrial. Challenges create opportunities. These circumstances breed innovation. South Africa – and Africa, too – faces tremendous challenges. One of the largest is access to safe drinking water. In fact, only 46-percent of South African households have access to clean drinking water from a tap located within 200-meters of their home. This means that the majority – over 50-percent of our population of 51 million people – don’t have.

Left to right: Kgomotso Maphai, Kgomotso Lekola and Farai Chamisa

What does that actually mean? The largest percentage of this population sector gets water from public or communal taps. 3-percent of households rely on water tankers. 2-percent of South Africans depend on water from a neighbouring settlement or location. 2-percent get their water from streams or rivers. The long-term implications of this from a human and social development point of view are incredible to contemplate. This challenge sparked an opportunity. Kgomotso Lekola founded BT Industrial in 2016 to focus on engineering a solution for the upliftment and development of South Africa through the manufacturing of high-quality polyethylene plastic

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Participating meaningfully in the most important sector of productive society and human development provided another opportunity for BT Industrial to deploy its purpose for a country and continent that needs to catch up the most. BT Industrial’s plastic pipes for water includes ducting for optical fibre lines. These high-quality polyethylene pipes convey not only water to meet industrial needs but also access to data. This is a major step into the development of the future as both critical infrastructure and life-altering access to data are piped (the pun is not lost on us) in through BT Industrial’s selection of products. Today, BT Industrial’s high-quality polyethylene pipes are used in construction projects in South Africa – and throughout Africa. Over 60-percent of BT Industrial’s income is generated from orders outside the borders of South Africa. European markets are growing and BT Industrial is supplying the burgeoning Americas (North and South) with products and technologies. One of the core tenets of BT Industrial’s business mission beyond profit is black empowerment. This is the only Blackowned and managed, independently funded manufacturer of pipes on the continent. But, that’s not all.

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“Unless Blacks meaningfully participate in the productive side of the economy – producing things, making things – we’re going nowhere as a country because Blacks constitute 70-percent of the population,” said Lekola. “If none of us is producing goods that are needed in order to drive the economy forward, we are going to forever be looking in from the outside.” The process of empowering people and communities starts internally at BT Industrial. This company strives to fill positions with Black members, where such jobs were previously reserved for the ruling White minority during the country’s apartheid regime. The staff complement at BT Industrial comprises 99.9-percent of Black members. BT Industrial and Lekola’s vision for South Africa (and Africa in general) is to give educated people real experience and opportunities to make a real difference in their communities, South Africa as a nation, and Africa as a powerhouse continent. All lab technicians in its on-site laboratories are Black women. In keeping with BT Industrial and Lekola’s vision, these scientists were not all recruited from universities but rather call centres and other such spaces. Despite all holding Bachelor of Science (BSc) degrees, none were able to find employment using their education before joining BT Industrial. The company trained them to meet the new standards for its products and set these Black women into the laboratories as inspired scientists and community members. From spaces where they were under-appreciated and under-utilized, these Black staff members have come to BT Industrial to find a home and fully express themselves. What’s more, all of them

Kgomotso Lekola, Founder & Group Managing Director, BT Industrial

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have one thing in common: they are making a difference in people’s lives, doing amazing things. And they excel. It is this motivation that sets them apart from their rivals. Kgomotso Lekola invited his long-time friend and business associate Kgomotso Maphai to join and drive BT Industrial’s ambitious growth objectives and to position the company’s brand of pipes to be first in mind when quality pipes are required by the industry. Maphai’s inclusive and passionate management style has been one of the key contributors to BT Industrial’s astronomic growth, supported by an experienced sales team and a “Just-In-time” logistics strategy. BT Industrial’s zero tolerance for poor quality has also made it a reputable manufacturer with repeat business from each and every one of its clients from day one. Creative sales and marketing strategies have assisted in increasing the brand’s recognition in a relatively short space of time. Maphai’s colleagues can attest to his passionate attitude which is driven by the motto, “If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re simply not big enough!” BT Industrial has in the past five years developed a strong engineering team led by Farai Chamisa. The team has been responsible for plant layout and utilities design and implementation of their operations. “We have approached every project with a “can-do” attitude. That has meant firstly starting off with a clear definition of the project and its objectives, appropriating the right resources, and adopting a structured approach to our execution.” The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted industries in unprecedented ways. BT Industrial scientists and engineers – like the rest of the world – were forced into isolation in their homes. Within the initial days of the Lockdown, it became alarmingly clear that South Africa suffered a severe shortage of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in our healthcare sectors. Imports of PPE trickled in from overseas suppliers – supplies were simply outstripped by surging demand. As scientists and engineers, and a company that focuses must benefit people by design, went to work on a solution. Within two weeks, the teams engineered methods to produce medicalgrade polypropylene medical fabrics for filters and PPE products but also designed the manufacturing line too. After three months, BT

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Industrial had also sourced raw materials locally. Thus, their medical division was born, producing world class products from 100% locally sourced raw materials. Once again, a challenge presented itself – and an opportunity was created. The quality of these products is such that BT Industrial exports those throughout Africa, Europe, and the United States. But this dynamic new medical division didn’t rest there. BT Industrial doesn’t innovate for the sake of innovation. As countries around the world were ramping up their vaccination campaigns, millions of doses of the various vaccines were being wasted because of inefficiently designed syringes. The team addressed this problem by re-imagining conventional syringe design and pioneering novel new, low-dead volume options offering the medical industry up to a 25% saving in unnecessary dose wastage. The one unifying principle of BT Industrial is that it places purpose beyond all other considerations. It values people as an end, not a means. It creates a deliberate impact on its staff, suppliers, partners, and communities as a formidable force of good, especially for South Africa and the African continent. bt-industrial BTIndustrial BTIndustrialSA

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HIRSCH’S

FOUNDED ON TRUST AND SERVICE 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 shop 43 years ago in a tiny showroom, no bigger than a bathroom, in Umhlanga Rocks Drive in Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. For a few years they sold stoves and fridges and Allan carried out repairs in the area. One day, a passing salesman popped into the shop with a new product that he’d been battling to sell. “It sat forlornly on a table in the middle of the showroom and as no one had much of a clue what it could do, it didn’t sell.” Alan explains. He discussed the problem with Margaret at home (she divided her time between looking after her two young children, Richard and Luci and helping out at the shop) and the next day she fetched the peculiar item and took it home to see how it worked. The appliance in question was the microwave oven. Margaret saw the potential in the product and started cookery schools to show the public what an amazing time saving device it was. They loved it! They also loved the fact that the Hirsch’s went out of their way to make their lives easier – from cookery demonstrations to always giving superb customer service, the name Hirsch became synonymous with service excellence. Today, Hirsch’s is the largest independent appliance and electronics retail chain in South Africa. Allan and Margaret have become two of the most well-known and well respected, award winning Entrepreneurs in the country. From the original tiny little store the size of a kitchen that they opened in 1979 with just R900 in the bank, to the billion rand company

Hirsch’s – presenting their customers with a five star shopping experience

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with 14 branches and six concept stores spread throughout KZN, Gauteng and the Cape. They have a strong, young management team, headed up by their son Richard as the CEO, Paul Brown as Managing Director and daughter Luci as Brand Manager taking the company to the next level. The Hirsch’s pride themselves in giving their staff solid training in all the appliances they sell. Each store has a team of brand ambassadors who put the staff through their paces with regards to product knowledge, so that when a customer comes in, the sales person can speak confidently about the product – with backup from the brand ambassador. Over the years they have seen the value in being the first to bring certain products into the country. Including the combined washer/dryer, for instance. They also make sure that customers know the benefits of buying energy efficient products and staff are encouraged to sell these power and cost saving products first. Another Hirsch’s innovation is the way they showcase their brands. “We have found that consumers are extremely brand conscious, so to make it easier for them at point of purchase, we display our brands on their own, uniquely designed stands.” To give customers something else to look forward to when they shop at Hirsch’s, they started networking functions 10 years ago. “We wanted our customers to get more than just a shopping

Hirsch’s win Family Business of the Year Award, 2021. KZN experience when they came into our shops, so we started Business Networking events, cooking demonstrations with celebrity chefs, health talks, entrepreneur workshops and training courses for housekeepers.” During lockdown, they went virtual with these events and managed to reach people from around the country effortlessly.

award. For the last 12 years, Margaret has been the recipient of over 45 business awards in South Africa, Africa and Globally. Her latest award was the Lifetime Achievement Award, 2021 from the Africa Women Innovation and Entrepreneurship Forum. Also in 2021, Hirsch’s won the Family Business Of the Year at the Standard Bank Group KZN Top Business Awards.

Hirsch’s have won the Your Choice Award for Customer Service in the Appliance and Electronics industry for the last 14 years in KZN and for the last five years in Gauteng. In 2019, Allan Hirsch won the Standard Bank and KZN Top Business Business Man of the year

Hirsch’s is very much a family run business. There are two generations within the company, and with five young grandsons coming up through the ranks, there will soon be three! The company’s vision for the future is just to go from strength to strength.

We will continue to open stores in South Africa (we are opening a new store in Midrand and then another one in Cape Town) and at the moment we are exporting to Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia. So exporting into Africa will be our next big venture” concludes Margaret.”

Hirsch’s 1121, Umgeni Road, Durban Tel: +27 31 564 8492 Margaret, Lifetime Achievement award

Margaret and Allan Celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this year

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I NEVER KNEW OF A MORNING IN AFRICA WHEN I WOKE UP THAT I WAS NOT HAPPY.” - ERNEST HEMINGWAY

Title: ‘Pausing History’ for the International Public Art Festival 2020, Theme: Digitalisation, produced by Baz-Art and Inti

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THE FLAMING HEART OF NANDO’S

WE ARE PROUD TO COUNT OURSELVES ONE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S MOST LOVED EXPORTS what we’ve found from early on is that what’s good for people is good for business. Here are some of the ways that we live that epithet: Nando’s is the biggest collector of contemporary Southern African art in the world. Every piece of art that hangs in every restaurant across the world is sourced and purchased in South Africa and produced by Southern African artists. Every franchisee selects art for his or her restaurant, unique to that restaurant’s design, and every piece comes from our partnership with the Spier Arts Trust who identify, nurture, educate and empower Southern African artists to the point where they can produce work as a benefit. We support five different artist career development programs and regularly purchase art from over 350 artists. This benefits us (as investors in assets that increase in value) and changes lives (by supporting artists to produce high quality work we are proud of as a nation and which then raise the international profile of those artists to their profit).

Farmers at MaXamba harvest our African Bird’s Eye Chillis 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 travelled from the rich soil and blistering sunshine of Mozambique, and that has brought flavour to Nando’s chicken ever since. 35 years later and Nando’s enjoys a global reputation as an Afro-Portuguese restaurant chain in more than 20 countries around the world and a condiment offering in over 30 countries. To optimistic and youthful South Africans, Nando’s is a born and bred local restaurant and condiment offering that brings the powerful flavour of PERi-PERi into homes, onto tables and into hearts and minds.

Through slick, smart and funny communications, Nando’s has delighted guests and consumers through high-quality meals made with real and natural ingredients, sourced locally with pride. Nando’s is also a passionate believer in Southern African creativity, which is as much of an export as our unique flavours. But behind all the wonderful creativity, world-class food and beautifully designed restaurants Nando’s has at its heart, a ‘people first’ philosophy. Emblazoned on the wall at our Johannesburg home office, Central Kitchen, is the epithet “It’s the people who make the chicken”. Great people make great chicken and

Nandocas serve guests with pride

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Nando’s started the Hot Young Designers Awards and Competition to identify and support South African designers. Nando’s Hot Young Designer is a talent search competition that opens a door for undiscovered young South African design talent to join our heartfelt celebration of local design. Entrants respond to a design brief and submit designs that are used in our restaurant builds. These designs are also potentially included on the Nando’s Portal to Africa – our global Nando’s design procurement platform. This gives designers a chance to showcase their pieces in our restaurants and to

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connect with a world of international clients who purchase their furniture designs.

Nando’s South Africa sources more than 98% of its procurement from local products particularly chicken. In doing so we can assure our consumers that they are eating high quality, fresh chicken sourced from local farms, many of whom are small and mediumsized farmers who run family and community operations. Nando’s works to help smaller South African farmers form collaborations and cooperatives so that they can size and scale their farms to deliver the amount of food we need to grill and serve in our restaurants. One of the farms we support is a female-run operation who supply us with fresh vegetables.

Nando’s supports the agricultural 4 pipeline of the African Bird’s Eye Chilli in four countries, namely Mozambique, Malawi, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Nando’s Durbanville

Nando’s Constantia Kloof

We do this by giving farmers access to the latest farming techniques, quality seedlings and finance and we commit to a fixed volume for their crop at a premium price upfront for every kilogram of chillies harvested. We work with over 1400 farmers in 18 growing regions.

ensure young creative people have a space to create work to share with the nation and the world.

Above by Thembaletu Manqunayana Opposite by Liza Grobbler

Nando’s supports a variety of charitable programs in Lorentzville, where our Central Kitchen (head office) is based. This is an impoverished community where our determined presence, built on the land that was once where our chickens were marinaded before heading to restaurants, has attracted investment and support for the people who live in Lorentzville. Support schemes range from river clean ups to waste removal to kids’ education packs and feeding schemes. There is a person employed full-time at Nando’s to run programs in Lorentzville. Our belief is that if we respect our own roots by serving those who helped us succeed at the beginning, the community pays back ten-fold in the support of the Nando’s business.

Nando’s has a long-term sustained partnership with Bridges For Music Academy, a non-profit organisation and academy that taps into the power of music to uplift, encourage, and strengthen disadvantaged communities across the world. Bridges for Music’s mission is to make a positive impact on South Africa’s music industry and help to generate an employable and entrepreneurial pipeline of music experts working in different music-related fields from sound engineering and production through to music makers. Through this commitment, Nando’s aims to

Nando’s Co-founder Robbie Brozin says most of the work we do aims to celebrate South African creativity that Nando’s has always been proud to nurture. “Our creative programmes sparked the careers of many an artist, some of whom have made it big on the international stage. There is so much hidden talent in this country and our global footprint of restaurants give us the platform to showcase South African creative talent to the world.”

Artwork by Selvin November

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Bridges for Music almuni Bonga Kwana performs at the Basha Festival fired up by Nando’s

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CHEFS WAREHOUSE WHIPPING UP A WINNING RECIPE

Maison As businesses go, restaurants aren’t for the faint of heart. The hospitality industry is one of cutthroat competition. This industry demands discipline, dedication, constant innovation, passion, opportunity, and perseverance from restaurateurs, managers, kitchen staff, and front of house staff. Creating fine-dining cuisine is as much an art form as it is the science of food. Filling the bellies of diners – and keeping them smiling and coming back – is an art perfected to a science by Chefs Warehouse’s Liam Tomlin. Liam Tomlin is an Irish-born chef that’s travelled the world in pursuit of his craft. After living and working in Australia (and opening his first restaurant, Banc, an award-winning restaurant in Sydney), Liam settled in Cape Town in 2004. Here he operated a consultancy firm assisting a variety of industries, ranging from independent restaurants, food companies and retailers, to luxury game lodges, leading urban hotels, international airlines, and wine farms.

Beau Constantia

Thali

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#jobssavelives lock down march The original Chefs Warehouse opened in 2010 as a retailer of quality kitchen equipment, unique food products, and cookbooks for both the trade and the public. He also opened a cookery school that same year. “It was a natural extension of my enthusiasm for training young chefs to the highest standards of either basic cooking or the skills required to work in the finest dining rooms in the world,” said Liam. The adrenaline rush, the passion for cooking, and the joy of working closely with people saw Liam open his first South African restaurant in 2014. The Chefs Warehouse and Cookery School pivoted into the Chefs Warehouse and Canteen for fine-dining quality global tapas to develop Liam’s now-famous “tapas for 2” menu concept. Operating five restaurants in and around Cape Town requires bucketful’s of dedication and energy. The sixth restaurant – named The Bailey on Bree Street – is set to open mid-2022. A multi-sensory three-level dining experience with an all-day casual European-inspired café with a classical French brasserie and a whiskey bar. His success today is attributable to his approach.

My ethos throughout my restaurants is to celebrate ingredients, small producers, and most importantly our staff to create happy, healthy workplaces,” said Liam. Not one to relish in the spotlight, Liam has won numerous awards and has been a judge for the San Pellegrino World’s Top 50 Restaurants and in 2013, was a member of the Eat-Out judging team, Chef of the Year and Best Eatery in the 2017 Eat Out Awards. Liam is also the author of five critically acclaimed books with another one due for release this year.

Maison The hospitality industry was the hardest hit industry in the COVID-19 pandemic. Countless restaurants, eateries, cafes, bars, and the like, closed down during the government lockdowns. COVID-19 was the catalyst for a shift in ideology to create happy and healthy workplaces. “Needing to acknowledge mental health issues globally and to create a greater sense of community in the workplace,” explained Liam. “The #jobssavelives movement was an initiative to keep the industry afloat during the lockdown and in turn to look after the clientele who supported us during COVID-19.”

Liam Tomlin Tintswalo Atlantic

Said Liam: “We lost a member of our Beau Constantia team during the lockdown and created the Mark Mbotya Internship Program in his memory. The internship aims to take in students who are not able to afford professional training and provides an old-school apprenticeship learning program that offers practical chef skills intending to pursue a cooking career.” Even in such a competitive industry, one devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and one so at the mercy of market fluctuations, Chefs Warehouse and its five restaurants maintain that people are the centre of their business and their purpose.

We need to all look after one another, be kinder and show more support.” concluded Liam.

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BOOMPLAATS ORGANIC FARM REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE

The guest rondavels with the cattle and sheep grazing in camp

Regenerative soil sample on the left vs commercial soil on the right

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 before today’s modern “short-term gain, long-term pain” systems were popularised. Boomplaats’ philosophy of regenerative farming is to – simply put – reduce inputs and increase outputs. This farm uses no fertilisers, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides, antibiotics or vaccines. Cattle and sheep are 100-percent grass-fed – you won’t find any grains or soy in their diets. To further underline the farm’s regenerative approach, it is completely off the grid: it generates all electricity from solar power and uses only solar-pumped borehole water. What marks Boomplaats as innovative? It practices rotational grazing. The 410-hectare farm’s been subdivided into 40 permanent camps that range between 5 and 30 hectares each. Cattle and sheep only graze for one day

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per 5-hectare area, meaning that one full rotation around the farm takes about three months to complete. Allowing the animals to move freely over the entire farm would lead to long-term pains. Animals are fussy eaters and if left to their own devices in a large camp, they’d continuously graze the more palatable recent growth. After years of selective grazing, these plant species will die off to negatively affect the biodiversity and quality of the pastures. By rotating the animals through the camps, it ensures the animals get fresh pasture and a balanced diet every day. Another benefit of regenerative farming is that the pastures will be grazed homogeneously. With the farm’s 250 cattle and 100 sheep grazing a different 5-hectare camp each day, the vacant camps are left idle for three months to completely recoup from the hard grazing. The high number of cattle and sheep leave behind large quantities of dung and urine, which feeds the soil’s micro-organisms, such as dung beetles and earthworms, which break down the dung into fertiliser for the pasture.

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It also naturally breaks the internal and external parasitic cycle. Parasites – such as ticks and internal worms – deposit their eggs in the fields while the animals are grazing. These parasitic eggs take one to four weeks to hatch; by the time the eggs hatch, the animals are far away in a new camp where they’re not susceptible to being hosts again. This high-impact grazing and hoof action disturbs the pasture in a positive way. The ideal grazing period would leave the pasture a third grazed, a third of the vegetation trampled into the soil, and a third left to continue to photosynthesize. The trampled vegetation, also known as mulch, performs a very important function: it provides armour to the soil to prevent soil erosion, traps moisture, feeds micro-organisms that create humus, and builds soil structure. This humus increases the carbon content in the soil – and in so doing, Boomplaats assists in the fight against climate change. Boomplaats, together with their soil consultants, are currently documenting the annual increase in carbon content in the farm’s soil to generate additional income from the carbon credit markets.

Boomplaats is certified organic through SAOSO (South African Organic Sector Organization) and their humane farming protocol is approved by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) and the farm, abattoir and outlet is audited by SAMIC (South African Meat Industry Company). Boomplaats supplies all its meat to awardwinning Impala Butchery in Northcliff, Johannesburg. Boomplaats recently also started producing the country’s first pasture-raised Chorizo and Salami product range through their online shop https://boomplaats.co.za/shop/.

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Email: admin@boomplaats.co.za

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CREATING KLEIN JAN CREATIVITY IN THE KALAHARI

The revived, century-old Boscia House 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 of the French Riviera, where his first restaurant, the universally celebrated Restaurant JAN, is located, the region’s untouched ingredients and breathtaking desert surroundings were the perfect inspiration to do something completely new, and to give food from the Kalahari the global recognition it deserves. In the years that followed, Jan Hendrik embarked on an immersive journey across the Kalahari, exploring its ingredients and traditional, local cuisine, while working on what would become his great homecoming project. “Klein Jan was what my grandmother used to call me,” he reveals, which was the inspiration behind the name, Little Jan. “I felt a deep connection to this place from my very first visit – the tiny old whitewashed house, secluded in the open vastness, brought new meaning to the word, klein. It was like I could feel my Ouma Maria’s presence, as though she had just left the farm kitchen to fetch some eggs. That was when I knew I wouldn’t want to change anything about Boscia House; she only needed to be restored.” From a rudimentary sketch on a serviette, Klein JAN began to take shape thanks to an incredible team of builders, architects and creatives, bringing every element together with the utmost care for the fragile environment in which Klein JAN lives today. It would take great skill not to upset the environment’s delicate balance, while at the same time innovating its ingredients to new heights. In fact, every grain of sand that was excavated during the construction of the restaurant’s extensions was carefully preserved and returned to cover the site when construction on the underground structure was complete.

Jan Hendrik van der Westhuizen, Michelin star chef

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From the outset, the team knew that the rarest of all ingredients in the Kalahari would also be their primary source of life, and foresaw that Klein JAN would celebrate water above all else. Alongside the revived Boscia House there now stands a plaasdam with an adjoining wind pump, an antiquated reservoir charged with collecting this precious resource from deep within the earth. Beneath the ground, in a cavity accessed through a door built into the side of a plaasdam, a helical staircase descends to a depth where the temperature drops to a steady 15°C, a contrast to the daytime temperatures outside, which can often climb well above 40°C. Here, guests of Klein JAN get a chance to engage in a tasting of products in the root cellar, stocked only with local produce acquired within a 300km radius of the restaurant, before entering a soup-and-bread kitchen where they enjoy an immersive taste

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of what farm life was like for Jan Hendrik growing up in Middelburg, Mpumalanga. The experience then culminates in a series of modern Kalahari courses enjoyed with a full view of the open-plan kitchen, while overlooking the vast plains of the area. This uniquely African experience has made such an impact that in less than a year since opening, the restaurant was awarded the title of ‘Hidden Gem’ by the world-renowned La Liste 1000, a prestigious selection of the world’s best restaurants, and has inspired the Klein JAN Cookbook, Jan Hendrik’s third culinary title and an ode to the food and people of the Kalahari. At its core, Klein JAN was inspired by a love for South Africa’s natural wealth and a desire to create, blending the chef’s innovative homecoming project with the legacy of the land.

The root cellar packed with local produce from the area

An intimate dining experience celebrating the beauty of the Kalahari

Jan Hendrik and the Klein JAN team

When I first laid eyes on Boscia House, absorbing the stark beauty of the surrounding dunes and a landscape in various complex stages of its endless life cycles, I suddenly understood the values on which Tswalu was built,” says Jan Hendrik. “To leave the world in a better state than how we found it – and the true value of creating something from nothing.” Klein JAN Tel: +27 53 781 9441 Email: reservations@restaurantkleinjan.com @restaurantkleinjan

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The ten plates, a course that showcases ten beloved South African dishes

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FLOW TRAVEL

A BOUTIQUE OFFERING OUT OF AFRICA THAT’S GOING PLACES When Tara Turkington, CEO of marketing agency Flow Communications, was asked to arrange a visit for a few people to South Africa, nobody realised it was the genesis of something remarkable. It was 2018 and Tara was at a conference held by the Women Presidents Organization in Orlando, USA, where a group of American entrepreneurs asked her if she would help them to discover South Africa. The visitors could hardly have found a better candidate for the job. Tara is herself a keen traveller (check out her Instagram account, @taraturk1), and Flow Communications is a specialist in the travel and tourism marketing arena.

Flow Travel organises exciting, immersive trips for small groups to wherever our guests lead us. We like to do things that are out of the ordinary, like this food tour through Ho Chi Minh City on the back of scooters

From promoting world-class attractions such as the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway and fivestar safari destinations, to providing marketing services to local, provincial and national tourism bodies around Southern Africa, Flow is steeped in travel.

Life is short, so you should experience as much as you can and have fun doing it. Here, a guest gets the feel of what life was like for the Viet Cong in the Cu Chi tunnels during the Vietnam War

Looking back: Flow Travel's first ever trip was for a small group of American travellers to South Africa

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Tara knew that she’d have to make it an unforgettable trip – anything else just wouldn’t do – so she studied to become a tour guide, then put together a bespoke three-week holiday.

Flow is by nature restless, and we’re always looking for new opportunities and new ways of doing things. And, as with marketing and communications, travel is in our blood – so that first request to arrange a trip was irresistible.”

By the end of their trip, the group was unanimous: Tara should create Flow Travel (they even suggested the name) and plan their next trip, this time to Asia. Flow Travel has grown quickly and is now known for its personalised service, can-do approach and creativity in designing itineraries.

To be clear, Flow Travel is not a travel agency; it doesn’t exist to book flights or package holidays. Rather, it’s a specialist provider of unique travel experiences tailored to its clients’ particular interests, allowing them to go and do, as opposed to only go and see.

It’s headed up by Janice Keeton, who has more than 30 years’ experience in the travel industry. Janice’s knowledge of global travel and her attention to detail, whether it’s in helping plan anything from flights and transfers to multicountry trips, is invaluable. Flow’s managing director, Tiffany TurkingtonPalmer, believes that Flow Travel is the perfect addition to the Flow Group, alongside Flow Communications.

It makes a lot of sense to branch into travel. For years, we’ve assisted tourism businesses to grow and be profitable, and so we’re geared to do the same for Flow Travel. True to form for us, of course, Flow Travel is not quite like any other travel operation!” says Tiffany.

So, you won’t visit Argentina to merely see the tango – you’ll learn it yourself. Or you’ll discover Vietnam through an immersive food tour. Or you’ll visit the Cradle of Humankind with a paleoanthropologist who’s helped to discover a new hominin species. Or you won’t just see the Namib Desert, you’ll enjoy a special dinner in the dunes, surrounded by hundreds of flickering candles. Flow Travel is agile, offering both inbound and outbound trips to just about anywhere. Trips already planned for 2022, for example, include Argentina, Chile, Montreal, New York, Malta, Paris, Brussels and, of course, multiple African destinations – in South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Mauritius and further afield. To make these adventures possible, Flow Travel has partnered with a network of tourism providers the world over, and supports local businesses and communities wherever its clients go. It lives out its ethical travel statement in this regard: “Our ethos is to be informed and mindful of every destination, supplier and activity that is suggested or requested to ensure there are positive choices and outcomes.’’ “We believe in supporting local entrepreneurs and communities that will benefit from the business. Activities are encouraged that do not exploit the local fauna and flora and will have little impact on the environment and habitats.”

The Zambezi River Gorge separates Zambia and Zimbabwe - two of our favourite countries to send visitors to

Flow Travel's trips are typically small, intimate and bespoke - to wherever you'd like to go in the world

This personalised approach – which is counterintuitive, considering the proliferation of online travel services – has stood Flow Travel in good stead throughout the global Covid-19 pandemic, allowing it to thrive at a time when so many other tourism-focused businesses have been devastated.

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The Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia is somewhere to put on your bucketlist! Travel is not ultimately about places or activities, it’s about people. And for Flow Travel, it’s about surprising and delighting clients with experiences and personal touches that they might never otherwise enjoy, and that they will never forget.

Life is short,” Tara points out. “So we aim to make every trip a once-in-alifetime adventure.” Janice Keeton Email: janicek@flow.travel Tel: +27 83 270 2775

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CHAPTER TEN

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EDUCATION IS THE MOST POWERFUL WEAPON WHICH YOU CAN USE TO CHANGE THE WORLD.” - NELSON MANDELA

Title: ‘I Am All Ears’, for the International Public Art Festival 2017, produced by Baz-Art and Prefix

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THE RED & YELLOW SUCCESS STORY

INSPIRING THE FUTURE OF SOUTH AFRICA’S BUSINESS LANDSCAPE THROUGH CREATIVITY 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 with innovative ideas and solutions, there’s a passion for forward-thinking education at the heart of all they do. R&Y was created to address a rapidly growing need for newly hired talent who could hit the ground running when they entered the workplace. Backed by a well-rounded education that balanced book smarts with the most relevant practical experience, they’d offer the competitive edge.

Coming to Red & Yellow this year was the best decision I’ve ever made. It has had a huge impact on the way that I think, changed how I view others, and unlocked creativity that I never even knew I had. I could not recommend this course highly enough.” – Lucy Bryant, Advanced Diploma in Copywriting Student

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Paving the way for the future The R&Y story started in 1994, when their trailblazing founders turned the industry on its head. Spearheading a game-changing solution for unprepared entry-level marketers, the three advertising mavericks from Ogilvy who raked in the awards and big-ticket brands – Roger Makin, Bob Rightford and Brian Searle-Tripp – started an incubator for creative talent. It soon grew into a world-class institution producing top-notch graduates with sought-after skills and some of the most innovative ideas in the business. To this day, all R&Y’s programmes and courses feature robust curriculums based on the approach that creative thinking and practical experience are the keys to success in the 21st-century world – especially with an eye on the tech-dominated future that’s already upon us. Added to that, each of the industryrevered accredited degrees, advanced diplomas, and certificate programmes are designed to contribute significantly to Southern Africa’s prospects, and further enforce South Africa’s prominence as a thriving hub of innovation and entrepreneurship.

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Leadership with a purpose At R&Y, successful business principles and inspired leadership aren’t just concepts that form part of the curriculum – they are part of the school’s backbone and embodied by those who are steering it towards even greater success. Andrew Allison – Chief Commercial Officer – comes with a wealth of knowledge and experience and this corporate lawyer, accountant and B-BBEE specialist is also a business problem-solver of note. R&Y’s Managing Director, Verusha Maharaj, is an industry stalwart in marketing and advertising, with vast experience in running projects for start-ups and multinationals alike. Carmen Schaefer, Head of Academics, is committed to new ideas and the power of creativity – and firmly believes that it’s not just students who should strive to keep growing and evolving, but also the school. Elizabeth Lee Ming is an award-winning Growth Marketer and her background in managing multinational accounts not only sets her apart as R&Y’s Head of Marketing – but means that she could not be a more fitting example for students pursuing careers in this field. With 17 years of experience as a Chartered Accountant in both Cape Town and London, Melanie Howe is perfectly positioned to head up R&Y’s Finance Team as Financial Manager. She’s spent almost a decade working specifically in South Africa’s education arena – which is also where she’s found her true calling.

As one of South Africa’s foremost private tertiary institutions, Red & Yellow Creative School of Business has been paving the way for the past 28 years for a business landscape that is significantly elevated and invigorated by creative minds. Minds that are stimulated by an education that merges all theoretical aspects with practical applications of the trade.”

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A range of relevant & future-fit offerings R&Y’s range of offerings essentially provide students, and companies, with a variety of ways to learn – from online short courses and qualifications to full and part-time programmes, as well as dedicated corporate training. There are tailormade offerings across the board, and golden threads are uncompromising standards of excellence, fully accredited qualifications, a dynamic focus on future-focused work-readiness, and relevant courses that meet the demands of an ever-evolving and digitally minded world. The on-campus programmes comprise a well-balanced selection of degrees, advanced diplomas and higher certificates: Two degrees are offered – a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Communication and a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing, in Association with Unilever. Both 3-year qualifications truly give graduates the competitive edge. The Bachelor of Commerce is revolutionising the tertiary landscape with its innovative, hands-on approach – combining R&Y’s three-decade legacy as an African leader in advertising and marketing education with Unilever’s global brand-building expertise. The result is an industry-relevant, practically-oriented tour de force underpinned by best-practice theory. There are three Advanced Diplomas – in Copywriting, Marketing and Advertising Communications, and in User-Centered Design. From 2022 onwards, all three of these will also be available as part-time programmes, enabling students to acquire these sought-after qualifications in a part-time capacity. Finally, R&Y offers Higher Certificates in Creating Digital Content and in Graphic Design. Both of these 1-year programmes comprise a comprehensive range of modules to fully prepare students for the work environment, with workintegrated learning being par for the course.

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With a wide selection of online education options on offer, R&Y also features advanced diplomas such as Digital Marketing, certificates like a National Certificate in Design Techniques Specialising in Design Thinking, and more than 20 short courses, ranging from Graphic Design to Project Management, User Experience Design, Sports Sponsorship Marketing and Motion Graphics – to name just a few. Producing many captains of industry who’ve reached the pinnacle of success, both locally and abroad, R&Y’s corporate offering is an empowering platform for businesses who want to provide all the necessary tools and opportunities for their teams to be upskilled and excel. Experts in creative thinking, data visualisation and user-centred design; marketing, advertising and communications; management and leadership, as well as human skills and behavioural science impart invaluable knowledge, with teams benefitting from their wealth of experience. There’s also an emphasis on the client’s desired learning outcomes throughout. What’s more, R&Y’s Digital Marketing eTextbook, which was first launched in 2008, has become such a runaway success that it’s arguably grown into the most widely used digital marketing textbook on the planet – with some of the most reputable institutions around the globe prescribing it as part of their curriculums. More perks include long-lasting industry connections, a digitally-minded approach, world-class results and a thorough understanding of B-BBEE legislation and Skills Development – as well as the importance thereof. It’s therefore no wonder that clients include JSE-listed companies across multiple sectors.

In 2020, I was planning to do an honours degree in humanities, but something told me to put a hold on that plan and to apply at Red & Yellow.

R&Y’s status as a leading provider of the most sought-after 21st-century skills has been further augmented by the school becoming a member of the Honoris United Universities network – Africa’s first and largest pan-African network of private higher institutions – in 2020.

I completed the advanced diploma in marketing and advertising communications programme and it was one of the smartest decisions that I could have ever made. You’ll learn and grow so much as a person, by the time you reach the end of your programme, you’ll be sad to say goodbye.” – Tariq Khan

It’s part of the R&Y story to continuously grow and become stronger while staying true to the premise that’s been there from the start. It’s a story that’s seen some great successes, including over 142 industry awards, but the greatest successes will always be their students. 87% find employment upon graduating and R&Y now has almost 16,000 alumni (and growing) all over the globe – all equipped with the practical knowledge and skills they need to soar in all aspects of life.

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2U’S BOLD VISION FOR THE FUTURE

FOUNDED IN 2008 IN MARYLAND WASHINGTON DC, 2U, INC. SET OUT TO CREATE THE WORLD’S BEST ONLINE EDUCATION AND THEY’VE BEEN DEFYING THE ODDS EVER SINCE. ALSO AROUND THE EXACT SAME TIME AND COINCIDING WITH THE BEGINNING OF THE MOOC REVOLUTION, GETSMARTER WAS ALSO FOUNDED.

Early on in the industry, high-quality online education wasn’t highly regarded and people doubted its quality and longevity. But at every step of the journey, 2U has been growing and evolving, and as the market evolved, the demand for lifelong learning increased. In 2017, 2U acquired GetSmarter and the combined 550+ programs have become industry-leading examples of online education done right, at scale, helping transform the lives of over 350,000 people. All while delivering great outcomes.

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In 2021, 2U, Inc. acquired edX, a world-leading online learning platform and education marketplace. The acquisition brought together the unique strengths and complementary capabilities of two major forces in online education to create one of the world’s most comprehensive free-to-degree online learning platforms. Together, 2U and edX now serve more than 230 partners, including 19 of the top 20 ranked universities globally, and offer more than 3,500 online learning opportunities to over 40 million learners, including free courses, executive education, boot camps, and undergraduate and graduate degrees. 2U’s programme offerings have helped to expand access to career relevant, executive and professional education for South Africans from great universities, like the University of Cape Town. With edX, they will now expand this access - from free courses all the way to postgraduate degrees. UCT will also join the edX platform and offer higher education solutions across this spectrum.

Expanding their South African footprint 2U has expanded their footprint in South Africa, having just built a new office in Cape Town. With that comes the continued creation of new jobs and hope to double the South African workforce through the establishment of centres of excellence in key areas of the business.

2U is committed to democratising education. In addition to their existing paid portfolio of executive education programmes, bootcamps and degrees, they now offer more than 3,000 free courses on the edX platform and are pledging $1M in grants to their nonprofit university partners to develop additional free courses that will help us all gain essential human skills for the virtual age. Many of 2U’s university partners have embraced their vision for expanding access by joining the edX Consortium and committing, for the first time, to offer free, high-quality learning experiences

on edX.org. Numerous corporate and university partners will also begin offering new disruptively priced programs in career-relevant fields This gives students a greater range of study options. 2020 and 2021 have been historic years for digital education, which saw millions of people around the globe embracing online learning out of necessity. 2U has been on a journey to eliminate the back row in higher education for 13 years. They design and develop high-quality courses with university partners that focus on desirable outcomes for students to help them accelerate their careers and thrive in an ever changing world of work. Increased access means more affordable options for students and corporations. Their courses are designed with student outcomes in mind, ensuring that key learning objectives are achieved. Many of their courses, such as the University of Cape Town’s Project Management course, have the local context in mind and have real world application. Other courses, like MIT Digital Transformation, have more global application. While most programs are offered in English, a portion of courses on edX are offered in languages such as Spanish, French, or Mandarin.

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GIRLS FLY PROGRAM AFRICA FOUNDATION AVIATION AND SPACE TECHNOLOGY FOR SOUTH AFRICAN GIRLS – UNLEASHING THEIR POTENTIAL

of poverty, inequality and unemployment. In fact, reducing the gender gap in income and employment by a mere 10% could yield an additional economic growth of 3.2%; drop unemployment by 6.5%; and reduce poverty in low-income households by an estimated 2.9%3.

GFPA Foundation

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 in both subjects1, reinforcing a long-term

education trend. This gender gap in STEAM widens in post school education and training, with less than one third (28.5%) of females graduating in STEAM-related careers2. The knock-on effect is that female participation in the labour market in these fields trails that of men. Closing the gender gap in employment is critical to addressing the triple challenges

These are the challenges that Girls fly programme Africa (GFPA) foundation seeks to address. We have created innovative programmes that are aimed at unlocking the opportunities that the STEAM with a focus on aviation and space industry offers for young, rural, township and generally disadvantaged girls in South Africa. The programme includes the use of design thinking, technology, and innovation to shape, empower, enable and support the next generation of makers and problem solvers in the aviation and space industry in Africa while entrenching the spirit of Ubuntu.

Department of Basic Education. 2019. National Senior Certificate 2018 Examination Report. Pretoria: DBE

UNESCO Institute for Statistics: 2015. http://uis.unesco.org/en/country/za

Price WaterHouse Coopers (PWC). 2018. Girls in Tech. Johannesburg: PWC

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OUR VISION , MISSION AND GOALS OUR VISION To create an Africa where every girl is educated, included, and empowered.

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We transform individuals and communities through the shaping of mindset. We create an inclusive environment where girls are empowered, enabled and supported to take up careers and innovate in the STEAM field with a focus on aviation and space. We inspire individuals and organisation to take action to act and transform communities in the spirit of ubuntu

OUR GOALS Our annual programmes are varied, exciting, stimulating, engaging, and challenging educational initiatives. Our goals are to: 4

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Develop and support programmes that encourage innovation and shaping of mindsets. Make STEAM with a focus on aviation and space a viable career choice for girls. Cultivate a culture of community building through volunteerism. Create equal opportunity through skills development and scholarships in the aviation and space industry or any other STEAM related career.

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PHASE 1: SHAPING MIND-SETS We shape mindset through our general outreach programmes, fly for STEAM Africa campaign, makerspaces, and girls tinker spaces. Through our girl’s tinker spaces learners gather to create, invent, tinker, explore and discover all sort of things using different materials. We are creating an environment where they can learn how to think as the first step to innovating solutions for their own communities and continue to use the spaces for more explorations as they go through our phase approach.

PHASE 2: EMPOWER, ENABLE AND SUPPORT EMPOWERING the next generation has been a key component of GFPA’s mission. We create awareness about the STEAM industry with a focus on aviation and space .Through our STEAM workshops, aviation & Space camp, and emerging technology such as Drones Programmes we help tomorrow’s leaders meet new challenges. We ENABLE the next generation by offering scholarships and other skills development programmes. GFPA’s scholarships directly support the professional development of women who intend to follow a career in the STEAM field with a focus on aviation and space. We partner with local universities and aviation organisation to provide excellent candidates who have a passion for the industry, with scholarships and leadership opportunities. We SUPPORT the next generation through our mentorship and Job shadowing programme. Our mentorship matches up the student with mentors in the STEAM or any other aviation and space industry to advise and assist in career development. Our job shadowing and internship matches applicants with member companies to provide excellent opportunities for professional growth and practical experience.

PHASE 3: - UBUNTU We inspire individuals and organisations to take actions to transform communities and change the world. We encourage our alumni to volunteer for our programmes or any other communitybased initiatives.

Design principle and programmes With our phased design approach, we ensure that no girl is left behind by creating a pipeline sySTEAM through focused programmes that grow in intensity and become tailored to our developing learner aspirations in the STEAM field. The foundation was featured by BBC as one of the eight innovators in Africa Girls Fly Program Africa Foundation Tel: +27 87 2657127 Email: info@gfpafoundation.org

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OMNIA SOLUTIONS

CHANGING THE FACE OF EDUCATION ACROSS SOUTH AFRICA

The demands & expectations of education have completely evolved over the last decade. Students of the new generation learn differently, and teachers need to find creative ways to retain attention, engage the student and maximize teaching & learning. I believe that Technology is best when it solves problems in a meaningful way. This philosophy led to the establishment of Omnia Solutions with the aim of changing the face of education across SA, by empowering education providers with 21st century teaching & learning methods that are underpinned by technology, classroom design and innovation.

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We have a contemporary perspective to the way education is perceived and should be received. Some of our popular technology solutions include Virtual & Augmented Reality App development, Telepresence robots, eLearning solutions, interactive projectors, smartboards, STEAM related products including Robotics, IOT kits, 3D Printing, Laser cutters & Drone technology, affordable student devices, M365 & Cloud Solutions. In addition to technology, we offer turnkey classroom design solutions that transforms the traditional classroom into a positive environment that stimulates learning, and fosters creativity & collaboration in a colourful and engaging space. Although it is often overlooked, the physical design of the learning environment is just as important as the technology you use in it. One of our latest projects in the Education Innovation space is the revolutionary iTeach Lab, which is a first of its kind in the South African Education landscape. The iTeach Lab combines elements of STEAM in a modern, collaborative, technology driven environment that aims to empower and prepare future teachers with 21st century teaching and learning techniques. Omnia Solutions believes that initiating change in South African education begins at the heart of education - the teacher, and that is what this lab is all about.

MEET THE FOUNDER Fiona Anirudh

For a virtual tour of this project, use the Global Village AR App to scan the play button in the image below.

“I was encouraged from an early age to reach for the stars and chase your dreams with all your heart. I have always been very driven and was promoted to management very early on in my career where I was offered the opportunity to travel internationally, work on strategic global projects and lead a team. Corporate life was great, but I was ready for a new challenge that allowed me to combine my flair for technology innovation with my passion for education transformation, with no limitations on creativity, and the freedom to design your own destiny. So in 2018, with a huge leap of faith, passion and determination, I embarked on my ‘Technopreneurial’ journey and established Omnia Solutions, which did an incredible seven (7) figure revenue within its first year of operation. There is nothing more satisfying than watching your business grow, and contribute to economic development”. I hold female empowerment close to my heart and I am committed to promoting the entry of women in technology. I believe that to innovate, means to break the status quo and defy all odds. “It is always such an achievement when despite the economic & technology limitations, South African entrepreneurs and businesses decide to innovate and defy the odds, and this book is a great testimony to that. Companies that want to succeed in today’s competitive economy must understand how to merge technology & innovation with strategy. You either innovate, or you stagnate.”

Omnia Solutions 21 Aurora Drive, Umhlanga, Durban Tel: 060 980 8855 Email: info@omniasolutions.co.za

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STREETSCHOOL - Journeys of Discovery AS HUMANS WE ARE STILL FORAGING, BUT INSTEAD OF TURNING OVER ROCKS IN SEARCH OF INSECTS AND NUTS, WE ARE WANTING TO UNDERSTAND IT ALL

Our search for clarity is probably the oldest quest we have. We are forever asking “what must I do”, “why are things the way they are”, and “how could my life be different?” Our deepest motivating force is to make a difference, to experience meaning and live with purpose. We want to be of service and add value to the people around us. To feel worthy and appreciated makes us happy. Covid has accentuated the preciousness of life and we are more aware than ever of the importance to make every day count. At Streetschool we facilitate journeys by bringing attention to what is important. We help people discover more clarity, a more peaceful mind, and more happiness. And we do this by facilitating journeys to the source of human inspiration – the Himalayas.

About STREETSCHOOL Streetschool was established in 2010 as a coaching company using unusual experiences to manifest internal growth. Since then, we have taken more than 500 people on 34 experiential workshops into the Himalayas and on treks to Everest base camp. The foundation of our work

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is based on Logotherapy, a meaning centred form of counselling developed by holocaust survivor Dr Viktor Frankl more famous for his book ‘man’s search for meaning’. So often people have a lot to live by, but not a lot to live for. This may result in and feelings of futility causing behavior such as aggression, addiction, and depression. Being connected to our conscience, aware of our responsibilities to life, and with the tools to discover our own unique avenues to meaning, we can each create a strong legacy and life of purpose. This is what Streetschool does. An innovation of a different kind. The innovation of thinking differently.

Service Offerings The main services offered by Streetschool are youth development journeys to India and Nepal focusing on themes such as confidence, peer group pressure, self-esteem, personal branding, values, discovering meaning and purpose; Adult mindfulness retreats to the Tibetan community in India as a spiritual audit; Expeditions to Everest Base Camp to discover personal heights within; Mindfulness leadership programs focusing on meaning and purpose at work.

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“Just because I wear a robe, don’t think I’m a religious person. I’m a mind scientist.” – Tibetan monk. Combining meaningful volunteer work with group coaching, we help school students discover a deeper sense of identity. “Teach English to Tibetan monks” is probably our most successful workshop. On this 11-day journey students volunteer at the foothills of the Indian Himalayas to teach English at Tibetan village schools, discuss the meaning of life with Tibetan monks and learn about mindfulness from the masters. This is personal innovation by mapping out a life vision and a personal brand. For adults, our “Mindfulness retreat with Tibetan monks” is most popular. On this unique journey to the exile Tibetan community in Dharamsala, we connect participants with a renewed sense of meaning and purpose. Meeting with the Dalai lama is a regular part of this experiential workshop as participants spend time with Tibetan teachers to explore the meaning of life, visit a meditation retreat and take precious time to spiritually recharge.

Mindfulness Leadership Development Program Finally, there is Streetschool’s mindfulness leadership development program for the corporate market. During this eight (8)-month program participants learn about mindfulness and how to become aware of what is meaningful at work.

at work for 3 days with such a huge sense of calm and peace about me. Something I don’t ever recall having.” From a 16 year old student: “I am going to become the best possible script writer of my own life I can be. I would like to be the type of person who doesn’t give in, and who lives life to the fullest.”

Quotes from participants: ‘Every morning to the tune of a yak bell, you step into a new personal adventure” Trekking to Everest Base camp is another popular experience and Streetschool has guided nine (9) treks in the past 10 years. During this adventure, demanding external challenges are used to reach new internal heights. In 2016 Klasie took a group of breast cancer survivors to show what is possible despite having had cancer.

“Mindfulness helped me cope with Covid.” – corporate leader

Adult Participant: “I’ve learnt to view the world through a different lens than the one I am used to, and trust that I am safe in the world.” Adult Participant: “What a privilege to have visited ‘Little Tibet’. I was so humbled by all the kindness and compassion of this community and it changed world-view to take time, to think less, and to feel more!” Adult Participant: “The trip to India was overwhelming and I am still trying to process everything we experienced. I guess the best way to explain how I feel about the experience is the noticeable changes it had on me. I have been back

From a 16 year old student: “What I’ve learnt is a lot deeper than what I can express. I’ve learnt that as a human, it’s not the tough situations we’ve been through that define us, but rather how we let those situations affect us in our lives. I’ve learnt that bad situations don’t necessarily require a bad reaction and that we have make control over our minds and lives than we choose to exercise.” Streetschool was founded by Klasie Wessels in 2010. Before starting Streetschool, Klasie spent 25 years with the Advertising Group FCB – the last 10 as Managing Director and Chairman of the Johannesburg office. Until recently he lectured Logotherapy at Unisa’s Centre of Applied Psychology and was also the Chairman of the Viktor Frankl Institute of South Africa. He is an Associate of the International Institute of Logotherapy and a qualified Leadership Business Coach.

streetschooljourneys klasiewessels streetschool Klasie@Streetschooljourneysofdiscovery

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HEAVY CHEF

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THERE’S A SAYING THAT GOES NEVER TRUST A SKINNY CHEF. THIS GOES FOR BUSINESS ADVISORS, CONSULTANTS, AND EXPERTS, TOO.

A Heavy Chef is someone that speaks authoritatively about a specific subject because they have vast experience in that area. Some of our Heavy Chefs are not internationally known but still making a notable impact in their spaces, or who’s been performing notable work in the background. It is someone that can cut to the chase of a problem, tune out the noise in the industry, and deliver the perfect recipe for entrepreneurial success.

Fred Roed, CEO

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Your company or business strategy might encompass a wide array of angles, but you just can’t put your finger on what’s missing or lacking in turning it into a sensation. Just stirring the ingredients won’t necessarily create a mouth-watering dish. Blending the ingredients at the best times, watching the pots, adjusting the heat, and adding just the right pinch of salt or pepper will transform your business idea into a business feast. Each learning pathway for every business is unique - and requires unique ingredients. Creating a hyper-relevant recipe just for you is the USP of Heavy Chef. This company has hosted hundreds of conferences with technologists, leaders, and creatives and presented to over 45,000 entrepreneurs. They offer an ever-expanding curriculum of topics and they’re always on the hunt for an epic entrepreneurial recipe to share with others. It is this inspiration that drives Heavy Chef forward: they believe entrepreneurs can change the world for the better. And, as this book showcases, South Africa’s business environment is ripe for the picking of the adventurous and ambitious person. Their business model is innovation: to be more specific, they are enablers of innovation by empowering customers with the tools and skills needed to bring innovation to their companies. Heavy Chef’s recipes are mini-courses comprising of 10 learning bites in a video focusing on one salient question, three focus points and a transcript. These recipes range from how to buy a website domain, building a website, launching your business to market, app design, robotics, tackling AI, and more. They also host monthly community gatherings where their members can meet the “chefs” too. These Heavy Chefs include Professor Cass Sunstein, President Thabo Mbeki, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nunu Ntshingila, Sir Martin Sorrell, Aisha Pandor, Katlego Maphai, Xolisa Dyeshana, Riaad Moosa, DJ Sbu, YoungstaCPT, Zolani Mahola,

Mo Flava, DJ Fresh, Rob Paddock, Sam Paddock, Andrew Smith, Robbie Brozin, Albie Sachs, Maps Maponyane, Siya Kolisi, Michael Jordaan, Adrian Gore, Jonathan Smit, Gary Kirsten, Lwando Xaso, Wendy Ackerman, Bryan Habana, Mzukisi Mbane, Bonang Mahola, Olugbenga GB Agboola and many many more. As we’ve mentioned, selling innovation is what Heavy Chef does. They don’t offer products: they empower and equip customers to reach for entrepreneurial success in the digital age. In a world of talkers, it’s the doers that are going to change it.

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

ADVERTISING & MEDIA AGENCIES Title: “Digital Analog” for the International Public Art Festival 2019 Theme: Digitalisation, produced by Baz-Art & Petra Vonk, Interntional Public Art Festival 2019

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ALWAYS DELIVER MORE THAN EXPECTED.” - LARRY PAGE

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MEDIOLOGY SMART WITH HEART

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 brand messages in environments that leverage connectivity with potential target audiences. Under the leadership of Founder and CEO Ana Carrapichano, Mediology has been instrumental in redefining how media agencies operate. Since its inception in 2006, the agency has constantly evolved and adapted to address the ever-changing needs of its clients. With years of experience in advertising and media on successful global brands like British Airways, L’Oreal, Coca-Cola, and Unilever, Ana realised the need to step away from the dominance of global agency ownership to deliver true solutions to her clients without the influence of corporate accountants and global mandates. This sharp focus on contributing positively to their client’s business has earned Mediology the distinctive recognition of being one of the top media agencies delivering real quantifiable growth to their client’s business. Mediology was identified as a “hot shop” by AdReview very soon after commencing business and have since maintained their consistent awardwinning status. The most recent accolades are the Financial Mail Media Agency of the Year 2021 and the Most Admired Media Agency of the Year 2021 by Marklives.com awards. Born from a spirit of entrepreneurship, fresh thinking and creativity have always been at the forefront of Mediology, evident in their colourful, bright, and inspiring office space which was modelled on Google, Skype, and Apple workplaces. “From the moment our clients walk into our reception area, it is immediately evident that creativity is the thread that runs through everything we do,” adds Carrapichano.

Marc Taback (Group MD), Boniswa Pezisa (Executive Director), Carl Ungerer (Managing Partner) & Michael Pearce (Managing Partner)

Leadership Driven “At Mediology we believe our people are our strongest asset – we call them Mediologists and they give us our competitive edge. We strive to

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always attract and retain the best in the business and provide all Mediologists with enough growth opportunities within the business to always make them feel that they are an integral part of our company.” says Group MD, Marc Taback. “Our senior leadership and management team are recognised both locally and globally as pivotal players in the advertising and media industry. Together we consistently collaborate and ensure that our two key agency elements – talent and culture – are always genuine, valued and meaningful to all.”

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Mediology’s foundation is based on three core pillars – transformation, humanity, and sustainability. The agency promotes brands with purpose, aligning them strategically and where possible writing social responsibility elements into their media strategies. Giving back to NPO’s and NGO’s is at the core of their business philosophy. Mediology supports a number of pro-bono clients focusing on enriching and supporting communities, and people. Constantly striving to protect the planet for future generations.

Positively Curious Human at the core Mediology is a media agency that thrives in knowing people, understanding them, their habits, their behaviours, their worries, and their passion points. They recognise the investment people make in brands and look at things from two perspectives: the ROE – return on engagement and the ROI – return on investment.

Mediology is grounded in curiosity that fuses intuition with reason - logic and magic - in pursuit of brands and people mastery. Mediology developed an approach called “Where Logic Meets Magic” at its inception. This approach combines harnessing the science of media planning that relies heavily on data analysis; the logic, then adding the creative media genius; the magic. The agency translates these insights into channel-agnostic campaignable ideas that inspire and mobilise humanity. They build sustainable and mutually beneficial connections between brands and their audience, thereby increasing the economic value of brands and the development of people.

Finding purpose The media industry has always had a shortage of talent with the same people being recycled through various agencies. The Mediology Academy is being developed to reverse this course by providing a platform for learning from experts with years of experience. The curriculum will be relevant for today and one that can be applied easily, attracting talent from all walks of life. The agency’s commitment to education is evident with its involvement in UCT’s 2021 open-source textbook - Marketing to South African Consumers. The book has already had 45 000 downloads within its first year of publication. This along with Ana’s continued focus on Social Behavioural Change Communication speaks to the team’s passion for positive change and transformation.

Emerging Tech Mediology believes their ongoing pursuit is to be ahead of the ever-changing world of media.

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Ana Carrapichano (Founder & CEO) They encourage their teams to immerse themselves in researching new ideas, every single day. “There is no shortage of innovative thinking in our industry. Global and local industries are creating extraordinary and creatively abundant campaigns. The explosion of the digital revolution is vast and allows for exploration and imagination. The future of the metaverse of limitless tech reality is impressive. It’s a very exciting time to be in media,” says Carrapichano.

Future Forward The future looks bright for Mediology. The agency is expanding its footprint in Africa and has been exploring global opportunities. They subscribe to thenetworkone, a network of independent agencies across the globe with over 2,000 members, giving Mediology a global connection while maintaining its independence. “Our focus on growth and innovation is unstoppable, we are ready and exhilarated about our future,” says Carrapichano.

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OUR PURPOSE IS GROWTH. TO BE THE FERTILE SOIL THAT GROWS OUR PEOPLE, OUR CLIENTS AND OUR COUNTRY.

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 transparent and unique ‘creative diner’, serving up some of the hottest ideas in SA. In its first year of business, Joe Public won the Financial Mail’s Emerging Agency Award and soon after was nominated as one of South Africa’s most promising companies to watch. With an ambition to strive for greatness, the agency has evolved in the last two decades to become Joe Public United (JPU), the largest black-owned independent Integrated Brand and Communications Group in South Africa. JPU is made up of key specialist divisions, complimenting the groups above-the-line and strategic expertise to provide clients with tailored integrated services from digital, PR and design to media and below-the-line.

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The group spans seven African countries, as well as Joe Public Take-Away Advertising in Amsterdam. In 2020 and 2021, JPU Cape Town and JPU Durban opened, providing further testament to JPU’s dedication to its purpose of exponential growth. As a Level 1 B-BBEE contributor, JPU is known for its ongoing commitment to transformation with a philosophy grounded in the belief that growth is a virtuous cycle. “We believe that the growth of our people is linked to the growth of our creative product, which impacts the growth of our clients, and which ultimately contributes to the growth of our country”, explains Mpume Ngobese, JPU Co-Managing Director. It is equally committed to the growth of female leaders, with all specialist divisions being led by women. When it comes to unlocking the growth of the country, JPU believes education is critical. The group is driving change by focussing on South Africa’s education system through its registered NPO, One School at a Time. “Education is what will make all the difference to South Africa’s future”, says JPU’s Group Chief Creative Officer, Pepe Marias. JPU has produced an array of stand-out, highly talkable campaigns over the years, thanks to strong partnerships with brands that share the same values as they do, as well as a dedication to drive client business growth. Its clients include AB InBev, Cell C, Chicken Licken, Clover, Nedbank and Uber, to name a few. When it comes to creative and business recognition through awards, the group sees this as a by-product of delivering on its growth purpose, and the accolades speak for themselves. JPU has been awarded Loeries Agency of the Year for three consecutive years (2018 – 2020) and won numerous global awards, including Large Agency of the Year at the FM AdFocus awards in 2020. With the 2022 creative year in full swing, we can’t wait to see what’s next for one of South Africa’s advertising gems. If you are looking to growyour brand or business with Joe Public United, get in touch on+27 10 591 7770 or visit joepublicunited.co.za for more information.

From top (left to right): Owen Maubane (Chairman), Pepe Marais (Group Integrated Chief Creative Officer), Zanele Xaba (Head of Transformation), Laurent Marty (Group Strategic Director), Xolisa Dyeshana (Chief Creative Officer), Mpume Ngobese (Co-Managing Director), Neil van der Weele (Strategic Advisor), From bottom (left to right): Thato Tsotsetsi (Head of Finance and Risk), Khuthala Gala Holten (Co-Managing Director), Gareth Leck (Group Chief Executive Officer).

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M&C SAATCHI ABEL

SINCE ITS INCEPTION, THE M&C SAATCHI ABEL STORY IS ONE OF AUDACITY, TENACITY AND AN UNWAVERING BELIEF THAT ALL PROBLEMS CAN BE SOLVED WITH HOT CREATIVITY 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 been recognised twice by Financial Mail as Agency of the Year, and won the coveted Partnership of the Year award with its clients Nando’s and the Takealot Group.

What sets us apart? Brutal Simplicity of Thought The agency is led by a philosophy that permeates the DNA of its current leaders, partners and every creative in its ranks - that of Brutal Simplicity of Thought (BST). What does this mean? It means that at the core of the business, its purpose has always been to create beautifully simple solutions in an increasingly complex world. This has been the north star that has underpinned everything the agency creates - from the sharpest of strategies to the most astounding creative work that sets out to be both highly effective and globally acclaimed.

Lord Saatchi Dinner, 10th Birthday Johannesburg 2020

A winning formula In 2015, just five years after opening its doors, the agency won Financial Mail AdFocus Agency of the Year, which it then won for a second time in 2019 on the cusp of its 10th birthday. Other key standout moments along the M&C Saatchi Abel journey include:

The Street Store

• The wins of the Heineken, Nando’s, Standard Bank and LexusAutomark accounts. • Winning two consecutive Grand Prix’s at the 2018 and 2019 Loeries for the Nando’s #RightMyName and Afro-tising campaigns respectively. • Playing a pivotal role in helping grow Takealot.com into South Africa’s largest e-tailer • Being part of a consortium to win the design bid to build the Nelson Mandela Tower of Light, a 27-storey tower representing the 27 years Mandela spent in prison. Visitors will be encouraged to climb 81 meters to the building’s top to reflect on Mandela’s life.

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• Winning the Financial Mail AdFocus Awards Industry Leader of the Year 2019 (Neo Mashigo) and Financial Mail AdFocus Awards Partnership of the Year 2019 & 2020. • Repositioning Standard Bank, African’s largest bank, and successfully building a new retail platform for their communication business during the challenging lockdown periods of 2020. • Successfully retaining 100% of jobs and salaries during two of the toughest economic years due to the Global Pandemic.

A force-for-good business | The Street Store The Street Store, a not-for-profit movement created and run by the agency, is the world’s first rent-free, premises-free, free pop-up clothing store for the homeless and has to date clothed over 500,000 homeless people around the world. In 2014, The Street Store was awarded a Gold Lion in the design category at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, and in 2020, it was named a finalist in the Best World

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Changing Idea EMEA Region and Creativity categories in Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas 2020 global awards. It also received an honourable mention in the 2020 Advertising, Spaces, Places, and Cities, Corporate Social Responsibility, and General Excellence categories.

The clarity of aligned ambitions The agency firmly stands by the belief that enduring partnerships can be the rocket fuel needed to drive creativity with impact. These types of partnerships lay the foundation for not only creating campaigns that resonate, but they nurture a strategy that boosts a partner brand’s bottom line, increases market share and builds brand equity. An example of an enduring partnership is the 11-year one between the agency and takealot. com. Pivotal in the early days of takealot. com (formally Take2) growing the e-tailer from selling DVDs from a small premises, to helping broker the ground-breaking deal between the group and Mr D Food (then Mr Delivery) which was awarded the Financial Mail AdFocus Partnership of the Year award in 2020.

Igniting the future M&C Saatchi Abel loves a good problem. Seeking ways to unlock the power of creativity will remain a priority. This includes continuing to build partnerships with clients to successfully navigate what will go down as the toughest economic climate this country has faced.

Lord Saatchi Dinner, 10th Birthday Cape Town 2020

M&C Saatchi Abel clients are in good company The agency continues to produce outstanding creative work across their broad base of clients, including Standard Bank, Nando’s, Takealot Group (including Mr D and Superbalist), MWEB, Continental, Best Drive, Namibian Breweries, Lexus, Astron Energy, and PepsiCo. M&C Saatchi Abel is a part of M&C Saatchi Group South Africa and part of the global M&C Saatchi network.

Part of a group of creative companies M&C Saatchi Group South Africa (part of a global Group network, listed on the London Stock Exchange), comprises six creative companies and more than 380 diverse and creative minds. M&C Saatchi Group South Africa creates marketing and communication solutions for some of the most loved and sought-after brands in South Africa, and across the continent. The Group’s unique Partner Model of owner-run companies fuels an entrepreneurial spirit that delivers smart and agile solutions. The companies include Razor PR, Levergy, Black & White, Connect, Dalmatian and M&C Saatchi Abel. M&C SAATCHI ABEL Johannesburg 9 8th Street, Houghton Estate Tel: +27 11 268 6388 Cape Town Media Quarter, 5th Floor, cnr Somerset & de Smit Street, de Waterkant Tel: +27 21 421 1024 Email: info@mcsaatchiabel.co.za Email: careers@mcsaatchiabel.co.za MCSaatchiAbel mcsaatchiabel m&c-saatchi-abel McsaatchiabelZaSouthAfrica

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Financial Mail AdFocus Awards 2019 - Large Agency of the Year

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“HOW FEARLESS PARTNERSHIPS DRIVE BRAND GROWTH”

BRAVE IDEAS ARE WHAT ENABLES A BRAND TO RELENTLESSLY CAPTURE THE ATTENTION AND LOYALTY OF CONSUMERS The interview was conducted in October 2021, prior to leadership changes at Ogilvy and KFC South Africa.

The key to unlocking the power of such brave ideas is putting fearlessness at the centre of the client-agency partnership.” says Suhayl Limbada, Marketing Director for KFC South Africa, and Enver Groenewald, Group CEO of Ogilvy South Africa.

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Creating a partnership based on shared responsibility enables clients and their agencies to build brands that become permanent fixtures in the hearts and minds of consumers. It is a philosophy and way of working that puts compelling brand relevance, authenticity, and relentless consistency at the centre of everything that the brand says and does. The client-agency relationship that is responsible for growing and marketing brands to iconic status is complex and filled with contestation and wariness. While the power of great ideas fuels the growth of brands, the power balance in the client-agency relationship can often stand in the way of breakthrough ideas and creativity. This is understandable since it’s the client that ultimately “hires and fires” the agency. Hence the balance of power often determines the type of creative work that the brand ultimately produces. An agency often places too much focus on the client’s opinion, with the result that a great idea gets buried before the client even sees it. “’But the client won’t like it’ has probably generated more advertising wallpaper across the world than anyone would care to imagine”, is an insight Suhayl has often shared.

that deliver great work and great brand growth have to have some tension at their centre. The debates and the discomfort that go with boldly pursuing new and extraordinary thinking are precisely what give rise to breakthrough ideas and creativity – and work that continuously surprises and delights consumers.

According to Suhayl, this is what supports the KFC appetite for greater risk-taking in brand communication. Being too conservative and playing it too safe can be more dangerous than being bold! It’s when you know you trust your creative agency partner and you stay close to your consumer that you can be brave.

But if the goal of effective brand marketing communication is to consistently deliver magic to grab the consumer’s heart, mind and spend, clients and agencies should walk in the shoes of the consumer when assessing how an idea will resonate. In underscoring this point, a key aspect of Suhayl’s brand-leadership philosophy is that we need to remove the layer of fear between clients and agencies. Creativity does not thrive in captivity. It is at its best and most powerful when it is unrestrained.

The robust, brutal honesty in our partnership and the atmosphere of fearless creativity in which we collaborate have given rise to incredibly successful KFC campaigns like “Make A Meal Of It”, “Sad Man Real Meal” and “KFC Soundbite”. These are just a few of the iconic, memorable campaigns that have driven business growth and won awards over the years.

We both agree on the shared responsibility of client and agency in putting the brand and consumer above all else. “Nothing else matters really”, says Suhayl. “If you want to drive business performance, strengthen your agency relationship and your brand will naturally benefit.”

Enver believes giant ideas that are relevant and meaningful lead to giant growth and giant value for brands. However, when we seek to create ideas using the dangerous filter of anticipating what a client might think of the idea, then giant ideas tend to become smaller and eventually disappear due to the agency’s fear of rejection.

Let giant ideas thrive The 22-year partnership between KFC and Ogilvy South Africa has not been an easy one. That’s the way it should be. Great partnerships

While it’s easy to focus only on the creative work that makes a campaign successful, the reality is that great, impactful ideas don’t come about by themselves. Underpinning an effective client-agency partnership is not technology nor greater levels of data led insights, it’s a trusting, human relationship. An environment where creatives spend time with clients building an understanding of one another as a starting point to creating an environment where creativity thrives. Being on the same page around the single-minded pursuit of big ideas and not “servicing the client” is key to building that trust and excitement as both agency and client search for opportunities for the brand to play. This is where magic lives.

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“Both KFC as the client and Ogilvy South Africa as our trusted partner must show up every day as authentic, honest partners, if we are to do our best by the KFC brand. It’s a brand that for the past 50 years has been seen as truly authentic and deeply honest by all South Africans. Our fearless partnership will ensure it continues to do so for the next 50 years”.

Ogilvy South Africa @OgilvySA @OgilvySA @OgilvySA

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MATRIX COMMUNICATIONS GROUP (PTY) LTD (MATRIX GROUP) IS AN INTEGRATED MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS HOLDING COMPANY WITH A FOOTPRINT IN PRETORIA, JOHANNESBURG, CAPE TOWN AND DURBAN IN SOUTH AFRICA WITH COLLABORATIONS WITH AGENCIES IN KENYA AND NIGERIA.

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WWW.MATRIXGROUP.CO.ZA +27 11 540 0111

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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 our model allows us to conceptualise and implement solutions individually or collaboratively. People are at the heart of what we do and this is evident in the specialist agencies we’ve acquired since we launched over a year ago. The specialist companies focus on research, shopper marketing, media, digital, production, sports and fan engagement, and our last acquisition was a creative agency, SoulProviders Collective. The group’s strategy has been to set up a vertically driven, fully integrated marketing and communications offering for our clients.

Kgaugelo Maphai: Chairperson

Dineo Mahloele: Managing Director

James Mogale: Financial Director

Tumi Makwela: Client Services Director

Our strength and ability is built on respect for self, for each other, and for others, and this allows us to connect on a human level. Our tagline ‘The sum of us’ talks to the diverse teams that enable us to elegantly achieve purpose-built solutions for our partners through real and authentic relationships. We listen, understand and engage. Our vision is to set new marketing standards by not responding to a client’s brief singularly, but with an overview of taking into consideration the consumer and the business. We believe this will allow us to build and thrive a sustainable agency matrix across Africa that will create positive societal change. Our medium-term goal is to set up a future fit business ready to position itself as a panAfrican business. To achieve this, we have partnered with Foresight Africa Consulting, with professional futurist, and Zindi, a platform with 30,000 data scientists that focuses on solving African problems.

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PARK ADVERTISING

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BORNE OUT OF A NEED TO OFFER WORLD-CLASS INNOVATIVE AND PIONEERING MEDIA OPTIONS WITHIN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MEDIA INDUSTRY, PARK ADVERTISING AND ITS SUBSIDIARIES HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL IN CONTINUALLY DRIVING THIS ETHOS FOR YEARS In 2018, Park Advertising was formalised as a new central holding company for The MediaShop and sister agency Meta Media. Chris Botha was announced as Group Managing Director of the new entity to oversee the management of both businesses. Chris says: “Park Advertising was created because we saw the value in having two independent businesses that operate independently of each other, in their own offices, with their own management team, directors and client bases. This strategy was part of our overall growth plan for our network and to provide more opportunities for our people. The fact that everything came together in the year of our 30th birthday was a bonus!”

The MediaShop The MediaShop retains its Level 1 BEE rating at 55% black ownership. In 2022, the agency celebrates its 34th year in existence, and in that time has seen numerous business wins, has three regional offices and multiple local and international industry awards under its belt.

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as a heterogenous market we can drill down to just how different consumers are when we take aspects like language, location, shopping behaviour and so much more into consideration.” Tirisano effectively utilises big data filtered through various tools, technologies and analysis to provide brand relevant outcomes that incorporate behavioural economics and predictable consumer patterns, also taking into account cognitive biases and cultural nuances.

Lucid Media It was the first independent media agency in South Africa, formed in 1988 by Dick Reed. “We all carry his sense of independence and pioneering spirit with us every day,” says Chris. “But with it comes the responsibility to make sure that we keep changing, stay pioneering, and make sure that another few decades from now that we are still around.”

Meta Media In 2019 Meta Media entered the playing field with an existing client base and management structure. “Meta Media continues to offer exciting opportunities for everyone involved in the existing network,” says Chris. Meta Media’s Managing Director Kagiso Musi says: “We are the “so what” agency. We look for the insights behind the data. We look for the story behind the story! We dig deeper to give our clients the edge and offer real media solutions, based on real insights.”

Meta Media already has numerous awards under its belt and like The MediaShop, is a Level 1 BBBEE contributor being 55% black owned and more than 40% black female owned. Services include traditional media strategy, planning and buying, digital strategy, campaign management, optimisation and reporting, econometric modelling, research, activations, OOH production, CEO/SEM and an in-house programmatic trading desk.

Tirisano Consulting

Performance media across search, social and programmatic platforms is the single fastest growing area of digital media in South Africa. In 2021, during the pandemic, Park Advertising introduced Lucid Media to focus on detailed analysis of campaign management, tagging and ad operations. Chris added that: “Lucid Media is the response to an increasing client need for a more focused and competitive digital service across our Group. Lucid Media services our businesses across the Nahana Group.”

Headed by Isla Prentis, and also launched in 2019, which was clearly a huge year for the Park Advertising team, independent intelligence consultancy Tirisano Consulting was formed to close the insights and human behavioural gaps the company needed.

Lucid is headed by Yvette Gengan who stresses that this new business unit will assist the current need in the market and is the future of not only the Nahana Group, but the entire industry.

Isla says: “We understand how important it is to move beyond analysing consumers from just a numbers point of view, but rather to gain better understanding of their behaviours and cultural insights. By seeing South Africa

Park Advertising and its subsidiaries are a great example of consistent innovation in motion and as a proudly South African business, has cemented its future in pioneering thought and data driven insight.

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IF YOU ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU ALWAYS DID, YOU WILL ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU ALWAYS GOT.” - ALBERT EINSTEIN

Title: ‘Infinite Calm’ Walls4Water project, produced by Baz-Art by Shinji for Viva con Agua

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THE INNO-GRATION AGENCY

“Inno-gration”? For Integer\Hotspot’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.

“Our work solves brand challenges to ultimately drive behaviour change, conversion and results, without which, we are wasting our time, our clients’ money and our consumers’ attention.”

INTERNATIONALLY-RECOGNISED INNOVATION THE INTEGRATION ARCHETYPE

In 2014, the international ad world began to take stock of this small, South African wave-maker when Pod won gold at the prestigious Point of Purchase Advertising International (POPAI) Marketing & Retail Awards in Las Vegas.

Integer\Hotspot’s was founded in 1999 by advertising maverick, Di Wilson as Pod Communications. From humble beginnings on her dining room table, the agency is still making waves nearly 22 years later, but relaunched as Hotspot in 2016.

“Inno-gration” was at the heart of this campaign for Hippo Insurance aggregator. By recognising an opportunity of “dead time” at local airports, Pod offered travellers some respite from terminal boredom with an eye-catching display that doubled as a user-friendly quote comparison kiosk. The activation boasted an incredible 53% conversion rate proving again that winning consumer engagement need not, and should not, be governed by channel.

After four years straddling Strategy, ATL and BTL, Wilson was one of the first to recognise the need for an objective-led rather than channel-led agency model.

INTEGRATION THROUGH INNOVATION While integrated models are a current agency trend, Hotspot owned the concept before it had a name.

INTEGRATION GOES GLOBAL Unbeknownst to the Hotspot leadership team, the world’s leading commerce agency, The Integer Group began to take notice. Relentlessly focused on delivering Great Work That Works, The Integer Group recognised Hotspot’s “inno-grated” approach and signed a partnership in 2018.

“Even when we were classified as a BTL agency, behaviour change has always been our primary objective, regardless of channel,” explains Wilson.

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“Integer was looking for a local partner that could deliver best-in-class global commerce capabilities in South Africa,” said Marc Ducnuigeen, Chief Operating Officer for The Integer Group. “Integer\Hot Spot is the South African entry door to our collective global capabilities and the commerce and shopper marketing expertise across our network.”

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Integer\Hotspot’s also conceived an entirely new brains trust platform – Brand in the Bag. Recognising the missed opportunity in big business departmental silos, Integer\Hotspot’s created a workshop format that incorporated business heavy hitters in all departments, from NPD to packaging to execution, in order to harness the collective, integrated knowledge and experience of the whole. “Inno-gration” at its finest.

INNO-GRATION FOR GROWTH INTEGRATION FOR THE LONG HAUL

While Integer\Hotspot’s was enjoying its own rapid agency expansion, growth has always been at the centre of its channel-agnostic strategies.

Testament to the “inno-gration” approach is Integer\Hotspot’s longstanding relationships with staff and clients. The key leadership team has remained unchanged for 22 years and clients such as GSK, Bic SA and Adcock Ingram have been on board for decades.

“We have never wanted to be classified as a Below-the-Line Agency. We use our understanding of the full value chain from the retail environment, challenges faced by manufacturers and communication opportunities to inform strategies that produce results. Ultimately, all this comes together to drive conversion and transaction.”

Team culture has always been paramount in creating a sustainable staff complement. Wilson describes it as, “one great big family making great things happen”. And great things did happen when the “family” secured four new clients during the Covid-19 lockdown as many other agencies closed their doors.

GETTING SHOPPERS TO BUY “Transaction. Without this final closing of the loop, all our efforts have been in vain. We have always placed shopper behaviour at the core of our strategies, long before ‘shopper marketing’ was a widely-used term,” says Wilson.

“We are truly blessed to have created and sustained long-term relationships with individuals who are as passionate about creating Great Work that Works as we are,” concludes Wilson.

“The route-to-market is useless without a route-to-basket.” This “route-to-basket” is what our strategic led team believes is the next step in shopper marketing.

INNO-GRATION BY CHANNEL An example of this “route-to-basket” is evident in Integer\Hotspot’s partnership with So Post – a London-based digital sampling platform.

INTEGER\HOTSPOT 6 Wessels Road, Rivonia, Sandton, 2128 Johannesburg, South Africa Di Wilson: +27 83 676 1822 Email: diwilson@integer.com

“Just before lockdown, we identified So Post as an alternative channel to face-to-face sampling. The platform uses social media to identify and deliver to relevant, qualified consumers to ensure our samples reach the right hands. And it was perfectly positioned to thrive across UK, Europe, the USA and now South Africa during lockdown and beyond.”

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Di Wilson, CEO

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ENTERTAINMENT IS OUR BUSINESS! IT BEGAN WITH A DINNER. AND A DREAM.

Throw in some “What if…” blue sky thinking, a good dollop of youth and passion and Cinevation was born. It was 1997 and cinemas were 35mm which meant advertising took months to produce and was so expensive that it was reserved only for the big guys. Over a glass of wine, Torrani and Bailey decided to bring the cinema medium together with innovative creative ideas and quick turnaround production and create a brand new advertising market for cinema. “With the demise of cigarette advertising, we knew a lot of inventory was going to be freed up. I had investigated many cutting edge technical tricks to circumvent the production quality problem of taking Betacam up to 35mm. With that development a whole new world opened to advertisers. We drastically shortened the production lead times and developed a basket of innovative opportunities for clients eager to access cinema audiences” says Torrani. “Clients suddenly had exciting new options like branded content, sponsored entertainment snippets, quizzes, or bespoke longform inserts to choose from. Innovations that had never been done before in cinema and clients were loving it” Torrani and Bailey then took these new content ideas and presented them to great acclaim to the Screen Advertising Worldwide Association (SAWA) in Cannes the following year. The world of cinema advertising had changed and Cinevation was buzzing with the excitement of creating new and innovative opportunities for their clients. As technology evolved and grew, so did the opportunities. Nothing was deemed impossible, including live broadcasting game drives from Djuma Game Reserve directly into cinema theatres during the ad reel. Further innovations included having the audience converse with a responsive animation character on screen, placing “smoking hot ” cinema seats to promote a fiery chilli sauce and building sensor activated talking characters in cinema tunnels.

Marisa Torrani and Karen Bailey, Founders and Joint Managing Partners

In 2005, the Nu Metro cinema circuit broke away from their previous sales house and approached Cinevation to set up and manage their new sales company, Popcorn Cinema Advertising Sales. Cinevation did this with great success, bringing their entrepreneurial skills to bear, and they quickly went on to become a significant and highly respected player in the cinema advertising sales arena.

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Local and global innovation awards For nearly 25 years, Cinevation has remained a visionary organisation, its pioneering ideas winning multiple local and international awards for media innovation and efficacy including 5 Cannes media lions. “We drove a van into cinemas to promote courier company FedEx’s payoff, ‘Whatever it takes’,” says Bailey. “We dropped the temperature in cinemas to almost freezing to promote a winter charity drive for the Salvation Army. UV light in the cinema had audiences laughing as their teeth stood out in a campaign for Dirol teeth whitening gum. We also created an immersive wind blowing cinematic experience for the launch of an Audi convertible before 4DX was invented and we launched Xbox “Need for Speed“ with the world’s first live gaming cinema advert.”

Diversifying for growth After spotting another gap in the market – this time for a specialist entertainment agency – they added additional specialist entertainment divisions - theatre, books, music artist management, film studios marketing, gaming and casinos. In keeping with their previous track record, Cinevation continued to innovate and win awards for projects such as staging live storytelling performance ads with Gcina

Mhlophe in theatres to promote Nelson Mandela Square, and building an experiential Harry Potter event for the launch of the book for Exclusive Books that won the Finweek “Ad event of the year” Bridging out into other spaces and with no limits to their imagination, Torrani and Bailey also designed and built Skoobs Theatre of Books, a groundbreaking and highly acclaimed experiential bookshop. The first of its kind bookshop wowed everyone with it’s champagne bar with baby grand piano, giant fish tank with sea themed books, origami birds aflutter in the

coffee shop and giant animal themed books shelves with slides for the kids. More recently, they designed and rolled out the Forest of Lights, a spectacular, light show set in the forests of the Cascades hotel at Sun City Resort. Always looking to grow the scope of their entertainment business, Cinevation has recently added another string to their bow in the form of international streaming and TV series, BritBox (created by BBC and ITV) and CBS. Looking to the future, Cinevation will continue to Thrive, Grow and Innovate!

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EVERYDAY SPEAK

CREATIVITY WILL MAKE THE 21ST CENTURY AFRICA’S CENTURY Founded in 2017, by Melusi Tshabalala (creative professional, entrepreneur, author, speaker, humourist, language & culture activist), Everyday Speak is a culture, dialogue, language activism, advertising and design company. Driven by the ethos – Creativity can make the 21st century Africa’s century – Everyday Speak develops ideas and solutions that touch Africans, inspiring harmony, prosperity and a celebration of this electric continent and her eclectic peoples. Having started out as a trainee copywriter in 1998, Melusi quickly became disillusioned with the advertising industry because of the way it treated and continues to indigenous (South) African languages, Afrikaans excluded. This disgruntlement and that fact that the problem was not just confined to the advertising industry would eventually lead to Everyday Speak starting a Facebook initiative called Melusi’s Everyday Zulu in 2017. Through Melusi’s Everyday Zulu, Everyday Speak uses social media to introduce people to isiZulu, using storytelling, humour and social commentary. Melusi has since also published a book – Melusi’s Everyday Zulu, and Everyday Speak runs an e-learning beginner isiZulu course www.everydayzulu.co.za

Melusi Tshabalala, Founder

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Unlike the book and the Facebook page, the e-learning portal delivers a curriculum-based beginner isiZulu course, delivered in Melusi’s unique style. The portal currently has over 1000 subscribers. Everyday Speak then launched “Everyday” initiatives in South Africa’s other indigenous languages, with Everyday Xhosa being the most successful one after Melusi’s Everyday Zulu – it even has a slot on Cape Talk. Everyday Speak also launched Ubudlelwano, which is an initiative that saw South Africans from all walks of life, getting together every first Saturday of each month to break bread, share a drink and talk about South Africa, being South African and how we can all do better to help build this country. Ubudlelwano is the isiZulu word for relationship and it means “eat together”. Ubudlelwano is currently on hold, due to Covid concerns, but will return as soon as it is safe to gather, break bread and share a drink. Hopefully it will be back by the time you read this.

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Just as Ubudlelwano came about as a result of interactions on between South Africans from all walks of life on the Melusi’s Everyday Zulu page revealing that South Africans need to talk more and get to know each other better, we also noticed there was a need for South African men to introspect on issues of gender relations, parenting and general contentiousness. This is what led to Melusi writing the book “Magenge, we need to talk”. The book also uses humour, storytelling and social commentary to talk to young men about serious issues. “Magenge, we need to talk” isn’t just a book and was not written to be one. It is a conversationstarted that allows Everyday Speak to further its mission of using creativity to touch Africans, inspiring harmony, prosperity and celebration of this electric continent of Africa and her eclectic cultures – in this instance, the target is young men. Everyday Speak continues to operate as an advertising and design agency, with a focus on social marketing projects. The agency produces through-the-line campaigns for various brands, government and NGO’s.

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CARBON1, PIONEERING SOUTH AFRICA’S DIGITAL MARKETING TRANSFORMATION Let’s start at the beginning

What we do

Back 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.

Carbon1 prides itself in guiding and enabling SA’s most reputable brands through bespoke methodologies to understand, build, implement and run a fully integrated data and scalable technology architecture. Marrying the valuable human elements involved in carefully crafting relevant marketing communication strategies and technology to efficiently collect and analyse data, Carbon1’s mandate is to equip enterprises with the tools and knowledge to take full control and ownership of their data and technologies - enabling sustainable growth of communication and engagement with their target audiences effectively.

Fast forward to 2020, incomprehensible changes to the industry were on the horizon. With limited data accessibility, existing marketing technology efficacy being called into question and future innovation being disrupted, the traditional approaches to programmatic were eclipsed, and what we came to know as the ‘marketing building blocks’ of the internet (cookies), were about to disappear for good.

What sets Carbon1 apart Born from a need for flexible, tailored Martech and Adtech solutions ungoverned by the status quo or sole concentration on revenue growth, Carbon1 was created. With the sole mandate to go beyond the standard efforts to ‘future proof’ businesses, Carbon1 is the perfect blend between an expert-led advisory and best of breed agency. Empowering people to build capabilities for brands, in-house, through innovative initiatives is where rapid growth and marketing success now lies.

Carbon1’s unique access to senior industry expertise alongside a formidable team of SA’s most experienced and successful marketers combined with world class technology platforms, culminates in an unrivalled ‘collective intelligence advisory’ which truly sets them apart. This, combined with a proven track record in the technology and datadriven space, creates the opportunity to provide Enterprises with the best possible independent advice on Martech and Adtech approach and implementation, essentially guiding businesses through their entire Digital Transformation journey.

With the need to fully leverage available data within organisations being at an all-time high, Martech and Adtech has now been established as a top priority with Marketers, Corporates, Brands and Enterprises alike.

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The key differentiator between Carbon1 and existing consultancies is the provision of comprehensive end-to-end customer, training and technology strategies, ensuring that all projects are seen all the way through implementation, activation and ongoing management alongside client teams - often where most consultancies fall short,”

About Joe Steyn-Begley, Managing Director After initially pursuing a career in Information Technology, he found his calling in Digital Marketing in 2005, working in multiple commercial roles.

Joe Steyn-Begley. To answer the needs of the local market effectively, it has been critical for Carbon1 to ensure that internationally available technologies have been streamlined and made wholly relevant to the African market, ready to roll out.

In 2009 he co-founded Mark1, pioneers in technology and datadriven media buying in the local market which has supported the majority of South Africa’s largest agencies and brands in Programmatic, Social and Search implementation, winning multiple awards and accolades along the way. In 2016 he and his business partner, Daan du Toit, acquired Primedia’s digital business assets in Dash of Lime and 365 Digital and lead a successful relaunch under a combined 365 Digital brand – an end-to-end media monetisation specialist, which was in-turn was acquired by global media specialist, Entravision in 2021.

Carbon1’s Vision Our long-term vision beyond answering our own client’s needs is to ultimately invest back into organisations that offer programs in sustainability, specifically from a food and energy perspective, as well as aid young individuals with an interest in pursuing a career in this space. Through our ‘Make Your Mark’ trust and in partnership with likeminded organisations, we hope to make a positive, sustainable impact for future generations whilst investing in initiatives to ensure marketing technology and engagement remains top of mind for aspiring youngsters.

In 2020, he, together with industry stalwart Tim Bishop launched a standalone Marketing Technology advisory out of Mark1, named Carbon1 where he takes up the role of Managing Director, stepping into a Non-Executive role on the Mark1 board. He has served on both the IAB Innovation Council and Tech Lab and has helped develop industry whitepapers on subjects such as Ad Fraud and Viewability.

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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’. I woke up in June 2020, overwhelmed with a sense of pride knowing that - for the past decade - we have developed a proprietary way of making ‘stuff go viral’. Retroviral has made more brands ‘go viral’ globally, than any other agency in Africa, and for us: ‘viral = eyeballs + conversions’. We aren’t obsessed with vanity metrics, but rather helping our clients boost their bottom line. When they do better, so do we. Below is a listicle of my top 10 campaigns that Retroviral has seeded, conceptualised or created during our decade of disruption.

The earned digital media proof point Nando’s is famous for unleashing social commentary via social media, but back in 2010, these were newspaper tactics, disseminated to Sunday readers; some of the largest traditional media audiences.

My main focus in 2010 was to give myself three months and then if this whole ‘starting an agency thing’ didn’t work out, I would apply for a job elsewhere. Fortunately my network came through for me, I picked up a small retainer by the second month for Miller Rock the Boat community management - and over the next decade we created tomorrow, what didn’t exist today.” Mike Sharman

Our cheeky upstart, startup suggested we seed via social media opinion leaders (before influencer marketing was a term). Black River FC created this gem of a tactical content piece, based on Julius Malema’s threat to closer (sic) Twitter when multiple parody Juju accounts had been opened. We convinced the iconic South African brand to leverage our network of bloggers and the ploy was so successful, we were signing NDAs 48 hours later that would see us become the official amplification agency for the grilled chicken brand for the next three years. This job became a stepping stone to iconic work. We developed an incredibly close relationship with the brand and BRFC - and it was this cohesive relationship that led to 100,000 views on the Cell C / Trevor Noah spoof for Nando’s 5GS within six days. We also won our first PR campaign gold for this piece.

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It wasn’t even 12 months later when we rocketed South African virality to the stratosphere with The Last Dictator Standing. Another BRFC pioneer and a record breaking brand achievement of 2 million views in six days and a 25% increase in sales, YOY. This campaign put us on the map. A bronze Cannes Lion, several other awards and the coveted Loeries Grand Prix (Tree of trust: I didn’t even know the significance of these awards as I had never been a ‘traditional ad man’) ensured credibility was bestowed upon us.

Bye bye red eye Because we offered such a hyper focused, creative solve, we weren’t a threat to other agencies and we were welcomed by brands as a direct supplier, as our offering didn’t step on any incumbent toes. One could argue that we were a one-trick pony and with Nando’s we had both the audience and the content to guarantee success. I believed we could apply our ‘remarkable content, seeded to the right communities, can be engineered to deliver commercial results’ mantra to any industry or brand. We took on the challenge for this Joe Public Douwe Egberts’ campaign, and based on our seeding approach and resultant coverage on the most popular sites on the planet - including Time, CNN, Huffington Post, and Mashable - we

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proved that lightning doesn’t only strike once, it strikes wherever we tell it to!

Fundraising with stories Being involved in the Put Foot Rally and the subsequent work on the Put Foot Foundation has been something close to my heart. We started out as content ambassadors on the first two rallies, and used social media to encourage viewers to donate towards our efforts of delivering school shoes to rural primary school children in SA, Namibia and Zambia. Since 2011, we’ve ensured that more than 100,000 kids have benefitted from our program.

The #5GumExperience Experimental clients who encouraged us to play was where we found our sweet spot. Jason Cederdog Cederwall’s events for his Wrigley brand were nostalgic; the Lucky Strike parties of the 2010s. Our brief was to achieve one thing - ROA - return on awesome on the digital comms and PR front! And the awesome overflowed. Our brand before band communications strategy on the first #5GumExperience we were involved in, led to an introduction to DDB for the Converse Get Out Of The Garage campaign. We did all the digital seeding and amplification for that gig. The result: the discovery of one Matthew Mole. With this song.

Jason Goliath magic Being a pure amplification agency had limitations. I had been preaching a new way of digital marketing since our inception - the Holy Trinity of Marketing - digital + PR + activation - and the confidence we had gained from the viral seeding of content opened the door for us to act as the lead agency on two projects in 2013/14 that both starred one of our country’s hottest new (at the time) comedic acts - Jason Goliath. Shout out to Glen Biderman-Pam for the cameo. South African marketers were starting to understand what ‘branded content’ was and winning awards for the above, ensured we were elevated to storyteller status. We were no longer just seen as disseminators, we were playing in the realm of strategy and creative.

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one of the most challengingly satisfying stunts at London’s Southbank location for a German savings brand that we had only ever met and pitched to, via Skype - Raisin.com

Flexing the creative muscles ‘Momentum’ has been one of the most important words for me on this journey. When you are down and taking a pounding by the market, client or pitch losses and you feel like you’ve hit rock bottom, it takes a few wins to rebuild your confidence. We play a numbers game. Sometimes it takes a 100 calls, meetings, or emails to close one deal, but winning is contagious and the more you win, the greater the quality of client is that you partner with. Up until 2017 we had executed a lot of successful, albeit small campaigns for M-Net, but Survivor Billboard tested our capabilities, 10th Street’s (our production partner) streaming tech and JCDecaux’s abilities to pull strings like no other. In short, it would have been impossible to execute this idea in Cape Town. God bless Johustleburg.

Retroactive My entrepreneurial approach is one of focus. I’ve seen founders fall over by spreading themselves too thin. I don’t believe in business plans, because it is your customers who define your business, not you. And, finally, partners who balance you are mission critical to your success or failure. We spotted a gap in 2018. Ben Karpinski, Shaka Sisulu and I launched Retroactive with Bryan Habana, as a sporting sister agency to Retroviral. We just ran with it.

#BiogenJourney This became our experimental first client for Retroactive, and I’m grateful to Hobbo for allowing us into his space to document his journey from zero kilometers run and zero Instagram followers, to completing IronMan 70.3 Durban in under 10 months. The most incredible achievement for this new agency was the Best Sponsorship of a Team or Individual category win, as well as claiming the Young Agency of the Year award at the 2019 SA Sport Industry Awards.

Level up! 2016 was the year that everything changed. We won the title of lead agency for both RocoMamas and Russell Hobbs and produced

and decimated entire industries. Thanks to my wing woman, creative director extraordinaire, Kathryn McConnachie, we have surfed this tsunami and have refused to go gentle into that good night. On the Retroactive front, we executed one of the best PR campaigns from South Africa - ever - as we told the story of Africa’s first woman to complete the Dakar Rally on a motorbike, on behalf of RYOBI Africa. This campaign reached one billion people.

I’m immensely grateful I’m privileged and grateful that this is the brand company we continue to attract and keep, as we look to begin our second decade in business. The manifesto at the start of this post is more relevant than ever. We thrive on challenger brand challenges.

2021 vision This year has been an economic bloodbath. Covid-19 has ripped through (sm)all business

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WE ARE A MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS AGENCY, HOWEVER, OUR DNA, HOW WE STARTED AND OUR REASON FOR BEING HAS ALWAYS MADE US DIFFERENT. We were never just advertising people wanting to do big TV ads, we were entrepreneurs wanting to build brands and businesses. We were also very inexperienced and naïve and while that made things much more challenging in the early years, it has made us more effective the more time has gone on. This is because we had no pre-determined ways of doing anything, we were constantly on the hunt for what was a smarter, better and more effective approach. We were humble and eager to learn and we had to work harder than others. We haven’t lost any of that drive and it means that we are constantly evolving, innovating and experimenting. We also are always looking at how we can build for the future, and investing in the people, skills and technology that we believe will be relevant two (2) to five (5) years from now. HaveYouHeard was founded by Jason Stewart and Ryan McFadyen in 2008 as a Word of Mouth Marketing agency (which, as a service, is now only a very small part of what the agency does). They both had experience in this form of marketing and were both in limbo in their careers. They’re entrepreneurs at the core who wanted to start a business and this was something thought to be easy, so they ‘fell’ into advertising and

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Results speak for themselves and year to date we’ve achieved triple digit sales growth, setting a new record week of online sales for the business in the process.” – Trotters UK

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The campaign was relevant and resonated with our target consumers to deliver a truly iconic and ground-breaking digital campaign across all touchpoints. HaveYouHeard is one of the best agencies I have ever had the pleasure of working with.” – Campari Africa line and business results that matter for brands. There are a number of factors that lead to this success – from our unique approach to insights, to our incredible creative and strategic teams that develop innovative concepts, to the myriad of skills we have that execute on these ideas.

Jason Stewart, Founder marketing because of their backgrounds. Learning very quickly that ‘easy’ would not be the case as the global recession of 2008 hit at the same time, with frozen and shrunken budgets. It has been a tough, hard journey which has become more thrilling and exciting as the years have passed. We are very proud to be South African and want to be another shining example to the world of our country’s excellence. We have come to realise that we can compete against anyone, anywhere in the world and it is our versatility, humility, creativity and work ethic that comes from a more challenging local environment, that makes us world-class.

But the overarching uniqueness is that the founders and leadership team is made up of mostly creative entrepreneurs – people who have run their own businesses before and who understand the business need for bottom line results. There is a very different attitude and spirit in someone who is willing to risk it all to build a business and those are the people we look for – they bring extra experience and a dynamic edge to the work that helps in creating solutions that truly work. We have extensive and wide ranging training and development programs for all our staff (this covers both soft and hard skills). We spend a lot of time on this, ensuring we can keep growing and pushing people positively to realise more of their talent and potential. The more we develop our team, the better for the agency and vice versa. We have been recognized by Fast Company as one of the World’s 100 Most Innovative Companies.

Vision for the future We are a communications agency immersed in culture to influence it. We uncover unique insights to create innovative ideas that influence the audience by bringing the brands we partner with to the center of culture. What this means is that we are led by insights – our research team goes into the market and uncovers the insights that will lead to a brand’s success and then our creative and strategy teams work together to develop innovative concepts and ideas that speak to these insights. We then have a very broad mix of execution specialists who bring these concepts to life and ensure a brand’s success. We are exceptional at creating brand communication that works and delivers bottom

Firstly, we want to keep on improving what we do and becoming more effective in the how of doing that. We have had an office in London for the last three (3) years, servicing clients across the UK and Europe and are currently expanding further with more work across Europe. Because of this, we are in the process of establishing a new office to service our growth. A major goal being to continue to expand our footprint, work and influence further across the globe. We are also transforming into a brand business, having successfully launched our first brand earlier this year and a few months away from our second launch, with plans for up to 10 more over the next five (5) years.

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Kirsty Bisset, Managing Director, hyh Durban

hyh was agile in their implementation, learnt from both success and failure quickly, and managed to deliver a campaign that exceeded the campaign KPIs significantly.” – Toyota South Africa The objective of this is to learn and improve what we do through being fully responsible and accountable for every element of building a brand (putting our money where our mouth is). It also gives us full creative scope to do whatever we believe is right, but to also experiment and innovate freely, with no client-imposed restrictions. The success of these brands will feed into the success of future brands, but more importantly will add to the skills, knowledge and experience we use as an agency for growing other businesses brands.

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TAG8

THE NATURAL: CREATIVE, ENTREPRENEUR AND INNOVATOR The purpose of design, ultimately, is to improve the quality of life for people and the planet.”

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Part of being optimistic is keeping one’s head pointed towards the sun, one’s feet moving forward.” - Nelson Mandela Andrew Franks is a natural marketeer, creative and entrepreneur. He is the founder of TAG8, a fast growing, purpose driven, growth consultancy, obsessed with performance. Andrew has spent the last decade helping leading organisations and brands to innovate faster and smarter. Whether via brand-led innovation, design thinking, strategy or creative content, he builds meaningful and sustainable brands for the future. Tag’s mission is to support South Africa’s smartest entrepreneurs. By combining entrepreneurial, creative and digital smarts they build sustainable brands.

Tag brings ‘ human capital, marketing smarts, with insight, experience and active involvement from industry captains. From Adventure to Botanicals, Fintech to Renewables and Wine to Wellness they are on a mission to build purpose-driven brands. Andrew’s career began as a creative at Ogilvy Cape Town, then London and he has since worked on an extensive range of brands across the globe, from the UK, US to Africa. If asked about his strengths, Andrew would rather give you an example of them at play in his creative life, than rattle off some generic bullet point list. The example of his strengths and capacity for innovation is as follows:

The model is to TAG in and TAG out of businesses and bridge the gap between strategy and performance.

‘It all started with The ‘Impressions of Africa’ Art series and Hand of Africa, a famous art piece Andrew curated for Madiba and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.

As a team of digital experts, strategic thinkers, marketing specialists, project managers and creative problem solvers.

The work featured an imprint of his right hand, which curiously formed the shape of Africa in the centre.

The future of innovation is no longer in the hands of the scientist, artist, or designer working alone in a lab, loft or studio… It is a creative, collective, humanist enterprise that seeks to find new solutions to the problems of our planet and its future.” 257

What may have seemed like a coincidence at the time, became a powerful symbol of our continent’s strength, dynamism and ingenuity - and the perfect reflection of Madiba’s amazing character. The Hand of Africa woke Andrew up to his calling: To partner with people and brands in making a purpose-led difference. From SOLA’s renewable energy for Africa to Ships for Africa with Nautic to working alongside the Shuttleworth Foundation in inspiring African youth through maths, science and technology. There’s also his own brands, namely Navigator Africa and The Natural Africa. Andrew’s business endeavours and body of work carries with it a gold thread of innovation and the desire to leave a lasting positive impact wherever he goes.

Tag8 Media Tel: +27 21 201 7259 Email: contact@tag8.co.za tag8media tag8.co.za tag-8

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THIRD-i MARKETING INTELLIGENCE

NO MORE MYSTERY SHOPPERS – THIRD-i SMART POINT OF SALE DISPLAYS – A RETAIL INNOVATION FROM SOUTH AFRICA. The third eye represents intuition and insight—an inner vision and enlightenment beyond what the physical eye can see. Modern shoppers are increasingly time-starved and brand-agnostic. It is therefore imperative for brands to understand as much as they can about the people who are buying their products and how they feel about them, so that they can target their marketing messages in ways that increase sales and enhance positive feelings towards their brand. However, gathering this data has always been a challenge. Shoppers simply don’t have the time to engage meaningfully with promoters or answer questionnaires. What is needed is a non-intrusive way to gather audience and sentiment data during the retail experience.

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Many brands have legitimate concerns that there is a disconnect between their marketing efforts and their target audiences, and this gap has come about because they lack sufficient insight into the demographics and shopping habits of the shoppers who encounter their products in retail environments.

Third-i Marketing Intelligence – the solution Third-i smart POS displays are an innovative South African solution (using technology developed in the USA) that provides powerful, data-driven answers to several key questions: • • • •

Who is buying our product? How do they engage with it? How do they feel about it? How do our marketing messages influence their behaviour and purchase decisions?

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Third-i uses advanced facial analysis technology to accurately determine the shopper’s demographic (with a 98,1% accuracy) and their sentiment (as evidenced by facial expressions) as they engage with the products on the smart display. The technology also collects data on dwell time, as this provides insights into how engaged people are with the brand or products, and could also highlight the fact that they require additional information to decide to buy or to choose between different products. Third-i is a non-intrusive system that in no way inconveniences shoppers. Equally, it respects their data privacy – no images are recorded or uploaded, and the system is calibrated to recognise types of people rather than identify specific individuals (this is the key difference between facial analysis technology as used in Third-i and facial recognition). Protection of personal information is a burgeoning area of regulation, and Third-i displays are fully compliant with South Africa’s new POPIA legislation as well as international equivalents such as the EU’s GDPR.

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Give and take

Boosted performance

Third-i smart POS displays collect information about shoppers and use the insights gleaned to serve specific content to them. Collected metrics are analysed in real-time to determine which brand messaging is most likely to interest and motivate them.

Third-i partnered with a leading energy supplement brand, Turbovite, to pilot their smart displays in a successful proof-of-concept programme.

In this way, the shopper experience can be improved, and sales can be increased. In addition, sentiment in response to tailored marketing messages can be assessed, enabling even more tightly focused messaging.

COVID-compliance Third-i smart displays have been designed to deliver excellent results in the ‘new normal’ brought about by the global pandemic. Their ability to analyse facial types and expressions is only minimally compromised by mask-wearing (reduced to 97,5% accuracy), and by taking the place of in-person promoting, they contribute to a safer, more reassuring, socially distanced shopping experience.

The breakthrough brands have been waiting for a solution With Third-i, brands can participate in – and benefit from – a valuable two-way information flow. Harvested data from retail environments (as well as transport hubs and other public spaces) can be analysed through the use of a real-time dashboard. The remote management functionality can then be used to adjust the messaging being served to shoppers.

Infinite insights Data collected by Third-i units can be used to map foot-traffic flow in stores and malls, and suggest optimised layouts, to improve the shopper’s experience and add to the shopper’s basket.

A holistic offering The partners behind Third-i offer a comprehensive suite of business and support services based on their knowledge of retail marketing and POS and their in-depth understanding of the immense potential of facial analysis technology and how it can best be deployed. Third-i’s turnkey solutions include data analysis expertise, creative design capabilities (for bespoke, branded units), and unit construction and installation capacity.

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The pilot unit was installed at a local independent pharmacy where the brand had experienced a year-on-year loss of 2%. A customised unit designed for Turbovite, it featured a responsive video screen header, dynamic LED lighting, and static on-shelf lighting. Having identified the demographic of the shopper looking at the display through facial analysis , the unit served video content that addressed the needs of each shopper in terms of recommending the most appropriate products from the Turbovite range. This would be synchronised with the dynamic LED lighting to draw attention to the recommended product. The impact of the unit was instant – in the first 2 months of installation the brand enjoyed a sales uplift of 71% through the pharmacy tills, and was able to turn its performance around for the year, with a 24% year-on-year growth.

Everyone’s a winner Third-i delivers benefits across the stakeholder spectrum. Time-pressed shoppers enjoy an improved, tailored, and streamlined shopping experience that helps them make intelligent choices . Brands gain enhanced visibility with quality contact with their shoppers, improving their ability to build loyalty amongst shoppers. Beyond that, brands gain real-time data that allows them to optimize their messaging and ranging. Retailers benefit from the increased likelihood of shoppers discovering new products and categories.

A smarter future Integrating AI into the Third-i displays will enable brands to ‘learn’ which messaging prompts positive sentiment, engagement and ultimately prompts purchases. Real time data and virtual management of the digital content allow brands to adjust messaging efficiently and effectively, allowing brands to optimize ROI of their in-store investment.

For more information about Third-i smart displays, contact: Angela@third-i.co.za

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WHYFIVE INSIGHTS - BRANDMAPP A WEALTH OF CONSUMER INSIGHTS

Where do brands and marketers looking 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.

Stuart Lowe

“We were working in media at the time”, says Lowe, “publishing magazines catering for people interested in travel, motoring, golf and wine and we quickly realized that the establishment surveys were really not able to get over the security fences and find large enough samples of relatively wealthy South Africans who were willing to take a survey. So the results we got from something like AMPS were at best, unreliable, at worst, completely useless. When we launched BrandMapp, using a 100% online methodology, it solved the problem and continues to be the go-to data set for anyone wanting to get to grips with this vital segment of the SA consumer market.” That segment is defined as the total adult population (18 years and older) living in households with a combined monthly income in excess of R10 000 per month. And according to director of storytelling Brandon de Kock, it’s ‘vital’ for good reason. “When you look at the total SA population of about 40 million adults, somewhere around 12 million live in R10K+ households”, he explains, “so just over 30%. We aren’t for a moment saying that the remaining 70% aren’t important. Of course they are. But the middleclass-and-up earn almost 80% of all income and essentially pays 100% of all personal taxes. If you’re selling new cars, or investment products, or expensive clothing, realistically that’s where the bulk of your market sits. And because we only focus our attention on them, we are able to do a much better job of it than big, broad surveys that dilute their research by trying to paint pictures of the entire SA population.”

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More than 30 000 respondents took part in BrandMapp 2021, answering over 200 questions about their lives, hopes, dreams, consumer behaviour, financial portfolio, tech and media habits and a lot more, and the resulting dataset offers an incredibly detailed view of their consumer lives. As de Kock says, “these days, brands have so much transactional data to deal with, they know exactly where, when and how much of everything they’re selling. But an enormous number of them have no real idea who is buying it. That’s where we come in.” Thus BrandMapp is best described as a ‘profiling tool’ that’s not only able to give brands and marketers a unique view of their customers, but also offer

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insights into their competitor’s customers and the relative consumer landscape. Over the past nine years, BrandMapp has reached into the hallways and boardrooms of an enviable list of clients ranging from the country’s largest grocery retailers, banking and financial institutions to media owners and marketing agencies, clothing brands and alcohol distributors. “We pride ourselves on being able to assist just about any size business, from large multi-nationals to entrepreneurs and start-ups. As consultants with decades of experience in marketing, we bring a lot more than just Excel spreadsheets to the table,” says Lowe, “and

WhyFive is a consumer insights consultancy powered by a unique South African data set called BrandMapp. At WhyFive we believe in the power of understanding the WHY behind human needs, perception and behaviour. Using an imaginative and creative online survey that sheds light on all sorts of ‘whys’, we uncover facts that lead to insights, that ultimately inform strategy. It’s how we hope to make tomorrow a little better than today.

we really believe that’s what’s needed in the current market. There’s a lot of data available, but real insight is a scarce commodity and that’s what BrandMapp is designed to deliver.” For brands with internal insight teams who run their own data, BrandMapp is available on all the regular cross-tab tools (Telmar, SoftCopy, Eighty20, Clear Decisions etc.) but specific views, data extracts and reports are also very much on the menu. And should the need arise to augment the BrandMapp view of the world, the WhyFive team, together with partners Silverstone CIS are willing and able to deliver quick turnaround bespoke surveys on demand.

We’ve always loved the idea of being small, agile and flexible” says de Kock, “so we do whatever we can to deliver on our BrandMapp promise of giving clients what everyone needs right now: an unfair advantage!”

BrandMapp Stuart Lowe Cell: +27 83 442 8111 Email: stuart@whyfive.co.za

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SKYFIELD MARKETING

WAS ESTABLISHED TO MEET THE GROWING DEMAND FOR EVENT TECHNOLOGIES AND DIGITAL EVENT BRANDING. THE COMPANY SERVICES MOSTLY ADVERTISING AGENCIES, EVENTS COMPANIES AS WELL AS LARGE CORPORATES. Digital Branding and Displays SKYFIELD provides an exciting range of digital screens and display systems to enhance exhibitions, conferences, product launches, and other events. The LCD Touchscreen Rental Digital Display - with 55” Screen and Android operating system. The screen is portrait shaped and thus different from ordinary plasma screens and is ideal for showing videos filmed in portrait format. The touchscreen makes it easy to display your website and click through to additional site pages. To display catalogues simply swipe from one page to the next. This is the perfect tool to launch new products at your next exhibition or in your showroom. Table talker multimedia display

Event WiFi Rentals Event venues often do not have adequate WiFi to service their visitors and this is where SKYFIELD will assist. At indoor events, the venue may have a fiber line but it is overloaded and slow, exhibitors often need to have fast WiFi to demonstrate their products or do other forms of business. SKYFIELD provides a fast Guest WiFi solution that provides connectivity for up to 100 people. For crowds of above a hundred, we offer to erect meshed solutions throughout the venues.

Live Streaming and Mobile WiFi Live streaming of events has become very popular and the demand is growing all the time.

SKYFIELD has configured modems that are specifically set up for streaming WiFi from just about anywhere. Due to some events being on sports fields and held outdoors, SKYFIELD have created the WiFi Wagon; a portable solution where the entire system is built into and powered from a utility vehicle.

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55 Inch LCD Touchscreen 1,8 Metres high Android Operating System WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity USB ports Built-in speakers Multi-media content enabled Screen divides into sections

The vehicle can be used as a branded or unbranded solution and can power WiFi for about 48 hours without the need for recharging the energy source - the reach of the WiFi connection being 80 meters. Alternatively, a field booth solution is also available for venues where energy outlets is a problem. In the field booth situation, SKYFIELD provides a power supply that lasts around 48 hours before it has to be recharged.

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WiFi Wagon fully fitted and branded

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Field booth at Discovery Walter Sisulu Soccer Challenge

Dual screen battery charger with video capability - charges most Android and Apple devices

Indoor lightbox

• Touchscreen links to any other designed page or URL • Rotating Ads Carousel • Video player • 220 Volt AC Power Bank available to use instead of electricity cable (optional) • WiFi Rental optional

The screen is multifunctional and can display forms, video and other messages or advertising media all on the same screen.

• Video player • 220 Volt AC Power Bank available to use instead of electricity cable (optional)

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Event Cellphone Battery Charger and Table Advertising Player

Sanitiser Rentals with Touchscreen This sanitising station is for hire as a complete solution, it automatically dispenses sanitiser via a motion sensor. It has a touchscreen which can be used for any type of form entry such as visitor registration or Covid-19 based sign in.

3 litre automatic sanitiser dispensing tub 21 Inch LCD Touchscreen 1,8 Metres high Android Operating System WiFi & Bluetooth connectivity USB ports Built-in speakers Multi-media content enabled Screen divides into sections Touchscreen links to any other designed page or URL • Rotating Ads Carousel

Event battery chargers provide a valuable and fast charging option for your staff and visitors at events. Engage your visitors and attendees with your video advertising messages while they complete charging their phones.

Indoor and Outdoor Portable Lightboxes and Table Talkers SKYFIELD offers a wide range of lightboxes and table talkers to brighten up your event. These products are ideal to use as directional signage, to promote events agenda’s or scheduled programs, advertise products and the outdoor solutions can add an unusual lit up display dimension to your field events.

Other rental options available from SKYFIELD SKYFIELD also offers its clients computer touchscreen rentals, iPad rentals, Samsung Galaxy tablet rentals and provide software services like event management applications, lead generation systems, surveys & polls as well as competition gamification to ensure you get the most out of your event. For more information contact: Leon Swartz, Chief Executive Officer Tel: +27 84 825 8000 Email: leon@skyfield.co.za LCD Touchscreen Digital Display with 55” Screen and Android operating system

Hand Sanitiser with Touchscreen Digital Display - 21 Inch Android based

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FLOW COMMUNICATIONS

WHERE MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS MAGIC HAPPENS

Flow Communications believes in working with great people, on work it loves, and on work that will make the world a better place. That’s not a glib statement. Indeed, it goes to the very heart of what kind of company Flow is: it speaks to its values and integrity, how it meshes with each of its clients, and the positive differences it sees it can make in our world – to clients, to their stakeholders and, indeed, to every one of us. “Although improving our clients’ bottom line is often of primary importance, of course, we see

the value we offer as much more than that,” says Tara Turkington, CEO and founder of Flow Communications.

We believe passionately in providing value through marketing and communications that meets clients’ specific needs. This includes brand equity, reputation building, stakeholder engagement, thought leadership, public relations, superlative design, all things digital, compelling content and much, much more.” Flow had humble beginnings, in a spare room in Tara’s home in 2005. It has since then grown quickly and strongly: today, Flow is staffed by a team of more than 70 qualified,

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experienced professionals – 70% of whom are women – based across South Africa. Flow, which boasts a level 1 B-BBEE rating, is a fully remote-working company, a strategic step it took shortly before the global Covid-19 lockdown. As a result, the agency did not only comfortably make the transition to the locked-down world; it thrived where others struggled, and it has helped its clients to do the same. Flow has a wide variety of clients on its books, in particular in the travel and tourism, education, financial services, government, non-governmental and environmental arenas. The company’s work is not restricted to South African businesses only, and it boasts an increasing number of foreign and international clients.

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“We provide every one of our clients with individual, personalised attention, backed by team problem-solving. As a result, we build close, long-lasting relationships with our clients, some of which have lasted virtually since we started the company. And our digital agility allows us to take on and service clients literally on the other side of the world,” says Tiffany Turkington-Palmer, Flow’s managing director. “The fact that several clients have also returned to us over the years – and the more than 60 prestigious awards we’ve won for them – speaks volumes about the relationships we have built with them, and the quality of work we’ve delivered,” she adds.

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Flow is an integrated communications provider, tackling clients’ marketing and communications challenges with a full suite of services. It specialises in the following: • Communications strategy development, planning and implementation • A range of workshop and training offerings • Public relations and reputation management • Social media • Video production • Graphic design • Print management • Web design and app development

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Events (virtual, hybrid and physical) Content writing and editing Photography and videography Digital marketing Branding and brand development

Behind all these services is Flow Communications’ most vital asset: its people. “Every single Flowstar (our nickname for our staff members) is an expert in their own right, be it in digital services, design, content, social media, public relations or project management. People are picked on personality as well as skill and experience – and when we combine them according to each client’s particular communications and marketing needs, that’s when magic happens,” says Tiffany. To find out everything you need to know about Flow (and then some), please visit our website or email us. Tiffany Turkington-Palmer Email: tiffany@flowsa.com Tel: +27 87 095 8182

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INNOVATION IS SEEING WHAT EVERYBODY HAS SEEN AND THINKING WHAT NOBODY HAS THOUGHT.” - DR. ALBERT SZENT-GYÖRGYI

Title: “Bone’Tie”, 100 years after WWI, produced by Baz-Art and Bart Smates for Flanders delegation

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DAILY MAVERICK SPEAKING TRUTH TO POWER

• The uncovering of Minister Zweli Mkhize’s misappropriation of R90-million by Digital Vibes as part of the R150-million Covid-19 and National Health Insurance communications contract.

Maverick Insider Team, 2021. Bottom left to right: Francesca Beighton, Styli Charalamabous, Sarah Koopman. Top right to left: Sahra Heuwel, Nicole Williamson, Nadia van der Byl Innovation is the lifeblood of Daily Maverick - from its origins as a print magazine featuring long-form current affairs, to its current form as a digital news publisher with more than five million unique visitors every month. Founded by Editor-in-chief Branko Brkic and CEO Styli Charalambous in 2009, eagle-eyed and feisty, Daily Maverick landed as an irreverent voice that did not waver in speaking truth to power: a signature that would come to define its brand of reporting.

Mission-driven With a mission to Defend Truth, the publication is a unique blend of news, information, analysis and opinion delivered from its newsrooms in Cape Town and Johannesburg, and journalists all over South Africa.

When many others contracted or closed shop, Daily Maverick chose to expand in a time of pandemic. Starting with a new narrative podcast series called “Don’t Shoot The Messenger”; the launch of a weekly print newspaper (DM168) with an innovative partnership distribution model; and their new format of audience engagement and journalism - live journalism webinars. Weekly, hundreds of readers tune in to one or more live virtual events that allow audiences real-time experience with Daily Maverick’s award-winning journalists and panels of experts discussing current affairs and lesser-known stories that deserve coverage. “In a time when misinformation and lies get halfway around the world before the truth has had breakfast, it was important for us that we view this as an opportunity to make our journalism accessible to even more people,” says Brkic.

Well known for its investigations that expose corruption and abuse of power, Daily Maverick has published numerous original stories and investigations that have been influential to democratic South Africa, such as: • Marikana Murder Fields; • R870-million paid back to the state from McKinsey as a result of the #GuptaLeaks McKinsey Dossier; • The SIU freezing R40.7-million worth of assets from 14 companies found guilty of the unlawful procurement of services uncovered during Maverick Citizen’s investigation into the decontamination of schools; • The Free State Asbestos Scandal, exposing SARS and VBS Mutual Bank corruption; Styli Charalambous receives the Nat Nakasa Award in 2021 for courage

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Notable achievements 2012: Greg Marinovich is runner-up for the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism for his work on Marikana. 2019: the publication is the joint winner of the 2019 Global Shining Light Award for its #GuptaLeaks investigative journalism. 2020: investigative journalist Pauli van Wyk wins the Standard Bank Sikuvile Journalism Award for Investigative Journalism for her work on VBS and the EFF, and is runner-up in the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism for the same work. 2021: Charalambous receives the prestigious Nat Nakasa industry award for courage. It was the first time the award has been given to a CEOpublisher. 2021: Pieter-Louis Myburgh is joint winner of the Taco Kuiper Award for Investigative Journalism for his work on the Digital Vibes expose.

Diversified Revenue Independent to its core, Daily Maverick has survived this far thanks to a diversified revenue model - innovation in and of itself. Philanthropy, commercial advertising and sponsorship and reader revenue are the three streams of income used to fuel the growth of the organisation that has tripled in size in the last 5 years. This hybrid model is somewhat unique straddling the non-profit and for-profit model of journalism, in essence, extracting the best of both worlds.

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To stay sustainable, the publication took an unorthodox avenue (especially for a South African newsroom) and turned to readers for support by launching the first continental foray into membership. There are 17,00 Daily Maverick readers who have joined the Maverick Insider community and make a recurring monthly or annual contributions that supports quality, independent journalism and keeps it free for all readers. Access to the truth, for all, is the ethos that guides everything Daily Maverick does. Along with the editorial content, webinars, and podcasts, the Daily Maverick newsletter suite is designed to deliver curated news to audiences based on the news they are most interested in receiving. The flagship newsletter is First Thing - arriving in 180,000 inboxes by 6am every day, the free morning email bulletin plugs the reader back into what happened the night before.

Innovation culture While the media sector has halved in size over the last decade, Daily Maverick has aimed to thrive in a time of survival. Despite the global disruption of the sector, layered with the political and economic challenges of the country, Daily Maverick has always prioritised its quest to be better and provide a better public service by creating a culture of innovation throughout the organisation. Pursuing an innovation mindset demands investment in training, people and product and technology. Data combined with a deep understanding of audience needs drive

Daily Maverick scooped three of 12 categories at the Vodacom journalism awards, Western Cape innovation projects that aim to create new editorial products and features for readers and improved ways of working for team members. Audience engagement and development have become critical focus areas for the Daily Maverick team, who have put into place audience listening tools on their site as well as recently appointed an Audience Development Manager, who is dedicated to optimizing the reach and impact of the work being done by the Daily Maverick newsroom.

Entrepreneurial journalism Founded on an entrepreneurial spirit in defense of truth, that essence of Daily Maverick continues to thrive despite the challenges of producing quality independent journalism in the 21st century. For journalism to be editorial independent it also needs to be financially independent. And in the modern media economy that requires a truly entrepreneurial approach as the cookie-cutter business model of media no longer exists. As a mission-driven publisher, it is imperative that those concepts are known by team members and readers alike. The vision is simple: to ensure that engaging with Daily Maverick allows every person to know more and know better than they did before. And we do that with our mission to Defend Truth. Bringing that to life requires collaboration, being adaptable, and bringing all new ideas to the table. And lots of communication and training. A challenge the Maverick team has risen to for more than a decade and will continue to do in its pursuit for every South African to have free access to the truth.

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23rd NAT NAKASA Awards

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DMG EVENTS INNOVATING THE BUSINESS OF FACE-TO-FACE EVENTS THE GLOBAL EXHIBITIONS INDUSTRY IS OF KEY ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE AND IS BY NO MEANS AN INSIGNIFICANT BUSINESS Worldwide there are approximately 32 000 exhibitions each year, featuring 4.5 million exhibiting companies and attracting over 303 million visitors. According to the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry’s (UFI) 2019 impact report, these exhibitions resulted in the US $137 billion of combined exhibitor and visitor spending; the US $325 billion in business output, and the total GPD supported by exhibitions of US $198 billion. This makes exhibitions the 56th largest economy. Leading exhibition organiser, dmg events has been a major player in the global events industry. Headquartered in Dubai, UAE since 1989 with operations in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Singapore, Canada, South Africa and the UK, dmg events attracts more than 425,000 visitors to their exhibitions each year.

Innovative approaches beyond technology The organisation has nurtured professional communities, connected, and showcased thousands of industry players by creating a multi-platform, multi-channel approach to conducting business. They have embraced the smart use of technology to support efficiencies, and to improve the overall experience before, during and after an event for all the role-players. Their events are a focal point, supported by conferences, certified workshops, technical seminars, and industry publications. They listen to more than 21 000 exhibiting

companies through focus groups and advisory panels and support them by offering services such as business matching, technology that can quickly and easily capture prospect information and webinars on best practices for exhibiting. Collaboration is one of the threads that run through their various practices across all units, and they achieve this by openly engaging with their teams, partners and suppliers incorporating a 360-degree approach that includes event content, keynote speaker participation, experiential marketing, comprehensive networking opportunities, innovation showcases and engagement with delegations which span across the globe.

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Events are economic facilitators and job creators According to Devi Paulsen-Abbott, Vice President of the South African operation, “Our approach has been to think globally but act locally and this has allowed us to serve all our partners – be they sponsors, exhibitors, delegates, or visitors. We are proud that our dynamic live and digital events, together with our media products, have made substantial contributions to the local sectors and economy by bringing the global industries to South Africa and the continent, in doing so helping to attract foreign investment.” The dmg events portfolio comprises 80 exhibitions a year ranging from transport,

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mining, energy, construction and coatings to food, trade, hospitality, and interiors. The geo-adaption of flagship events and the strategic acquisition of complementary businesses has expanded operations significantly, achieving impressive growth in both emerging and mature markets.

Construction A globally recognised brand with an international pedigree, The Big 5 portfolio has grown to become a leader in the construction industry events arena since it first launched 40 years ago. The portfolio of construction events has connected more than 100,000 global suppliers and buyers providing an exceptional opportunity to do business, network and learn. The Big 5 hosted in Dubai attracts more than 52,000 participants and is the largest construction event in the Middle East and Africa, providing the industry with an unrivalled opportunity to meet key regional buyers and do business. Regional editions are hosted in South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, and Ethiopia. The Big 5 Construct series of events in Southern Africa is a significant contributor to the economic growth, recovery and transformation within Southern Africa’s construction industry and places a special focus on facilitating faceto-face buyer and seller engagements and showcasing the most innovative solutions for the region.

Interiors, hospitality, and entertainment The dmg events’ interiors and hospitality portfolio led by flagship brands INDEX and The Hotel Show have been essential trading destinations across the Middle East for more than 30 years, connecting procurement professionals, retail buyers, hotels, and design and fit-out professionals with suppliers from across the globe. With a variety of engaging experiences, features and forums, the shows deliver quality networking and education across a variety of platforms. A regional edition takes place in South Africa. A newly launched entertainment portfolio consists of Saudi Entertainment and Amusement (SEA) Expo and the inaugural Saudi Light & Sound (SLS) Expo, offering regional and international suppliers an

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unparalleled platform to showcase their products in a dynamic and thriving investment and projects market.

Transport, mining and coatings dmg events’ award-winning Transport Evolution series of events, that take place annually in Mozambique and South Africa, attract 4,000+ attendees and showcase worldclass solutions from over 100 exhibitors. These C-Level platforms are uniquely designed and dedicated to port, rail and road infrastructure and bring together the entire value chain of suppliers and buyers to discuss multi-modal requirements and infrastructure solutions. The mining event, WAMPEX, places the spotlight on opportunities across West Africa, attracts 2,500+ professionals and features close to 100 leading suppliers from across the globe in this must-attend international B2B platform. The Coatings Group organises international coatings exhibitions and conferences in the fast-moving Asian, Middle Eastern and African markets. The events are designed to promote the latest coatings technologies for the region’s environmental, manufacturing and industrial needs.

pivoted their live offering to digital and during the recovery period are embracing hybrid solutions. Although there is a place for digital elements at exhibitions and events, live and in-person events offer opportunities that can’t be imitated digitally, which is evidenced by the exhibition re-awakening we are witnessing globally.

Energy The global energy division at dmg events includes several high-profile energy events including four flagship events, ADIPEC, Gastech, EGYPS and the Global Energy Show (GES). Their energy events are supported by many of the world’s leading NOCs, IOCs & IECs, industry service providers and key government bodies.

Nonetheless, dmg events credit technology for playing a significant function in the event evolution. Whether it is used to drive or deliver hybrid, live or digital events, innovation and technology is going to fast-track the exhibitions and events industry into the 4IR. (Think badge-less registration, automation, big-data, APPS instead of paper-based hand-outs, AI to personalise experiences, live streaming).

Food, retail, and trade Through their acquisition, strategy dmg events have acquired a suite of successful events across several industries including shows like Africa’s Big 7 (covering retail-ready food and beverage products), and SAITEX which looks at general trade with a lens specifically on the SMME sector. Market demand has fueled growth and these long-established events continue to be a gathering point for their industries, drawing loyal participants regionally and afar.

Evolving, adapting, and transforming In response to a pandemic-ridden 24 months, companies like dmg events have had to rewrite their proverbial handbook to ensure they continue providing value. Many organizers

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Final thoughts The ever-evolving post-pandemic world demands change, innovation, creativity, and resilience and dmg events have masterfully crafted these elements into their business practices across their exhibitions and events. “When people meet ideas spark, connections are made, and insights discovered. This is why we truly believe that the personal contact you gain from our events accelerates business for all of us.” Says Geoff Dickinson, CEO of dmg events.

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B2B WARRIORS ENABLE B2B INNOVATION

B2BWARRIORS.COM

The COVID-19 pandemic was a catalyst for innovation for all industries across the globe, but in many cases this innovation was sorely needed way before the advent of the pandemic, and the trade marketing (B2B) space was no exception. Traditional B2B advertising and in-person trade exhibitions have been historically expensive, effectively restricting participation of smaller businesses. Additionally, B2B marketers have had limited access to reliable data and see little value in advertising in B2B marketing initiatives that offer no quantifiable ROI. While there is ongoing market adjustment, virtual event licenses charged by virtual event platform owners are also expensive with licensing costs passed on by event owner/organizers to exhibitors. This was ultimately the inspiration that led us to conceive Xtendevent. com and B2BWarrriors.com, with the goal to establish a multi-vendor B2B marketplace with all the community-building features offered by virtual event platforms. Our vision is a leading one-stop destination for African trade professionals to attend conferences, to network with peers and engage brands owners and for manufacturers, brand managers and trade marketing professionals to grow relationships, selectively present tiered trade pricing and to sell into the trade. We consider Africa the ideal region to launch, due not only to the lack of a collective, disparate silos within the B2B sectors

across Africa but also to the sharp increase in global interest in AfCFTA initiatives, digital innovators and influencers and investment in increasingly liberalizing African economies. Xtendevent.com is a virtual trade show platform proven to deliver custom environments for organisers of virtual/hybrid conferences and exhibitions, their speakers, exhibitors, visitors, and conference attendees. Offering Always On, or perpetual industry-specific virtual tradeshows, the platform that offers customizable events also enables B2B professionals to join industry specific shows of interest, attend conferences, source products, submit and manage product specific RFQs, video call exhibitors, network with like-minded individuals by community, and share the journey into the future of each Africa country industry sector. Xtendevent will soon announce B2BWarriors.com and the ability for exhibitors and other vendors to relevantly market and sell products online. In comparison to other platforms, Xtendevent visitors can use a single login to attend any industry-specific community where they can engage peers and companies as potential customers. In addition, as owners of the Xtendevent platform, our business is not constrained by third party virtual platform provider license fees, nor extended event durations that increase license fees. Our value proposition is rather translated into competitive and tailored marketing and advertising solutions designed specifically to apply budgets that increase sales in the Customers targeted market segments.

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Phindile Khumalo CA(SA), CFO and Nick Oehley, Sales Director

We deliver as innovators and innovation enablers. In the present absence of a cohesive Africa B2B service platform, we aim to fill this vacuum and deliver B2B service continuity. The platform also functions as an innovation enabler as, by merit of marketing solutions and extended networking functionality, gives all businesses, equal opportunity to compete alongside seasoned brands offered by established companies, and the ability to help bring innovations into relevant markets. To date Xtendevent is a finalist in Demo Africa, Step Up Technology and Hack Jozi competitions and we expect to present from future competitions. Nick Oehley, an ‘Accelerate to Leadership Graduate’ with a Fortune 300 company, together with chartered accountant and finance specialist, Phindile Kumalo have assembled a network of B2B Warriors, each a highly respected talent in their respective fields and we look forward to accelerating partnerships and expanding our digital communities. Looking forward, we intend to make use of AI to personalise Customer experiences. We believe that Artificial Intelligence will spearhead innovation that will change many industries. AI will continue to advance the prediction of customer behaviour creating opportunity to create personalized experiences. Customer-centric experiences will create a deeper connection with Brands and result in a richer, more memorable experience for the prospect, perhaps even shortening the sales cycle. We are especially excited to offer our services tailored to address specific objectives and target audiences for companies across various industries and to contribute to helping the next generation of innovators to share their greatness on the continent and with the world.

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For further information please contact Nicholas Oehley Tel: +27 64 520 3522 Email: nick@b2bwarriors.com Xtendevent

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SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT CHALLENGE YOU, ENCOURAGE YOU AND HOLD YOU ACCOUNTABLE.” - DEBRA MWODZA

Title: ‘Pangolin’ for the International Public Art Festival 2018, Theme: Nature Doesn’t Need Us, We Need Nature”, produced by Baz-Art and ROA

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FLUX TRENDS

IS A BOUTIQUE TRENDS CONSULTANCY THAT SPECIALISES IN HELPING COMPANIES TO UNDERSTAND THE WORLD WE LIVE IN AND WHERE WE ARE HEADED

We identify and analyse macro trends (everything from politics, religion, youth culture, media, entertainment and technology) that influence consumer behaviour and business strategy. This allows companies to assess the current landscape and formulate innovative marketing, branding and business strategies. Dion Chang is one of South Africa’s most respected trend analysts and founded Flux Trends in 2006. He lectures Foresight and Innovation Implementation modules for executives and senior management at various business schools, including GIBS, UCT’s Graduate School of Business and Duke CE. In March 2019 Dion Chang partnered with futurist Bronwyn Williams and long-time Flux Gatekeeper Bethea Clayton to usher Flux Trends into a new chapter

Flux Trends has won three awards - “Best Business Strategy Consultancy”, “African Excellence”, and “Best One-to-One Executive Coaching & Consulting Sessions South Africa” - from MEA Markets which is a quarterly publication dedicated to researching and publicising the major moves and events as they happen across the entire Middle East & Africa. Our inaugural Summer 2020 Innovation Tour with Dion Chang as the tour guide was met with great success. We took 25 executives for a tour around Johannesburg highlighting businesses succeeding at solution-based innovation. Not only was each stop full of remarkable people and businesses, the all-important conversations that took place between stops also proved highly beneficial to the delegates, who used this as an opportunity for discussion and conversation with Mr.

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While developed economies have the luxury to embark on “innovation for innovation’s sake”, solution-based innovation is what the African continent excels at. We may not always have the infrastructure or funding that first world countries have, but we find solutions that solve problems: solutions which impact on and improve lives. In essence, I believe that Africa is set to become the epicentre of innovation for greater good.” - Dion Chang, February 2020

Chang. We are looking forward to hosting more of these unique tours in a post-COVID19 world.

including a weekly collection of informative trend cards that follows our T.R.E.N.D.S methodology to ensure that no industry is left untouched. We also produce comprehensive trend reports tailored to what your company’s area of concern is.

The Flux research methodology falls under six pillars T.R.E.N.D.S. Technology, Retail & Marketing, Economy, Natural world, Diplomacy and Sociocultural. These six pillars encapsulate all the business and consumer trends that companies need to be cognisant of.

Our team is voraciously researching the latest business and consumer trends and we combine this research with our insights to paint a picture of the short to medium term future.

We offer a variety of services, from corporate trend briefings to foresight workshops. Guided by a facilitator, our popular “Strategic Games” Foresight Workshop will allow you to tap into research that fits your brief, to produce an outcome that will set the foundation for your future strategy. Our Flux Trend Membership gives you access to a host of premium content

This knowledge will equip you to make quick, short-term strategies in a world that is constantly in a state of FLUX. We help you understand the world so that you can change it. If you would like to better prepare for the future, contact Bethea Clayton on connected@fluxtrends.co.za.

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KOLT Creatives UNTAPPED POTENTIAL

Photographer: Keagan | Meagan Shehab

Untapped potential: a breeding ground for innovation and disruption. South Africa is overflowing with infinite talent. Unlocking their potential means unlocking opportunities. Millennials are excelling by themselves and for themselves. South Africa’s students and junior talent are the very essence of untapped potential. They are breaking down barriers. Alexa Georga Byrne is one such person. Alexa founded KOLT Creatives in 2022 in Cape Town to bridge the gap between student talent and businesses. KOLT Creatives strives to reshape the creative industry and build a new generation of wealth and success by spotlighting the finest, most driven and most successful junior creatives in South Africa and, eventually, worldwide.

BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS KOLT Creatives is a platform that connects superior students and junior talents to businesses locally, nationally, and internationally. KOLT Creatives has divisions spanning fashion, photography, design, and marketing that simplify the search for visionary, talented and affordable creatives to photograph, style, create, design, and digitally market any brand or product. It merges the divide between businesses and junior freelancers to redefine the thriving creative industry by promoting creative cost efficiency and assuring optimal campaign success for businesses globally. “I knew I had stumbled across a once-in-alifetime idea,” said Alexa about starting KOLT Creatives. “Observation and innovation were

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key lessons taught by my wonderful parents from an early age. Every day was a new chance to challenge myself and broaden my abilities. Thinking outside of the box was motivated, and dreaming big was encouraged.” “In late 2020, after half a year of studying fashion, creating a fashion blog and 2019 as a year full of growth, independence and travel, I was connected to an exceptional film photographer through a mutual friend. One of his UK clients needed a ‘junior’ stylist as her budget could only accommodate an extra £100 to ensure her new clothing collection to be shot in Cape Town looked neat and perfectly styled. The photographer and I worked well together and reconnected for his next shoot in January 2022 for an Australian Clothing Company with over 350,000 followers on Instagram; Auguste The Label. “Through securing those jobs, I managed to build a great portfolio of international clients, gain amazing experience and connect with other creatives. I realized there was no platform where talented and driven students, like myself, could be recognized, hired and ultimately excel in their chosen careers by freelancing for businesses desiring affordable, higher quality and new-age ideas.”

Stylist: Alexa | Auguste the Label | *Photographer: Aubrey Ndiweni, Model: Andrea Wittenberg, Make-up Artist: Makaira Dullabh, Assistant Photographer: William Sheepskin* *Augmented Reality Video: Collaboration with Style Rotate and Luxe Lend’ When opportunity comes knocking, the youth of our society don’t need that door to be opened by anyone else; they’ll do it themselves. “I had an epiphany and realized a desperate need: a creative space for businesses to hire trustworthy and exceptional job-seeking individuals wanting to add to their portfolios, build a client base and make a name for themselves in the industry while still qualifying for their degree effectively working within clients’ budgets.”

RESHAPING THE CREATIVE INDUSTRY THROUGH STUDENT AND JUNIOR TALENT The KOLT Creatives advocates for job creation opportunities, building portfolios and connecting businesses of every size with inspired student and junior talent. The firm is devoted to enriching the South African economy through youth empowerment, with plans to expand globally. This platform establishes a community of carefully selected creatives, supporting them in developing their untapped potential and placing them at the world’s fingertips. Empowering students and junior talent through the KOLT Creatives’ platform builds enhanced portfolios, expands knowledge and skills, and provides exposure, opportunity and experience within the cut-throat creative industry.

Kolt Creatives Email: info@kolt.co.za booking@kolt.co.za @koltcreatives

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TMJ ATTORNEYS

PRACTICAL, SENSIBLE SOLUTIONS

A boutique law firm of specialist attorneys, Tomlinson Mnguni James (TMJ) takes pride in personalised services that afford clients direct access to their counsel. The hands-on directors who are not only qualified legal practitioners, but specialists in their respective fields, lead highly qualified teams and inspire a supportand-assist approach, where knowledge and expertise are shared between colleagues and departments to ensure optimum service delivery. The implementation of ideas resulting in improved services - innovation - is a methodology with which TMJ is keenly familiar.

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As a smaller firm, an adaptive strategy has been crucial for maintaining relevance in a highly competitive arena. A transition to advanced electronic systems some years ago has kindled seamless operations throughout the firm and proved markedly beneficial in client relations and productivity. These established systems have made further adaptations to the current global situation a significantly smoother process. TMJ’s origins can be traced back to 1898 and its founders and successors have always shared a resolute belief that the fundamental purpose of innovation is to uplift not only oneself but to extend the benefits to those around you. To support this, the firm makes a concerted effort to share knowledge through the regular publishing of blogs and articles made accessible to clients and the general public alike. They also share skills development, participating in numerous roadshows and training programs throughout the year. With a comprehensive range of legal services on offer, TMJ’s distinctions lie in their Conveyancing, Litigation, Fiduciary and Labour Law departments. Their Property Law Department attends to traditional Conveyancing transactions and assists

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clients with sectional title and land development matters. The Litigation department consists of a passionate team boasting an excellent reputation for dispute resolution. This department also covers Matrimonial and Family Law. The Fiduciary division focuses on estate planning, solution-driven tax advice, the drafting of wills, administration of estates and the provision of industry-leading online and face-to-face trust and company administration services. Finally, the well-versed Labour Law department consists of attorneys with specialist litigation experience, who are involved in all aspects of Employment Law. This includes the related area of collective and individual employee relations. In support, there are also trained mediators and negotiators ready to assist. Strategically placed branches across South Africa have positioned TMJ for success. Nevertheless, they strive to further expand their competitive edge to new regions in South Africa to bolster their national coverage. As poised professionals with vast skillsets and extensive experience in specific fields, the firm endeavours to persistently foster adaptability in a rapidly evolving workspace - wholeheartedly embracing change as an opportunity to keep moving forward and keep innovating.

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THE DIAMOND OF CONFERENCING CHORUS CALL IS A LEADING PROVIDER IN CONFERENCING, OFFERING AUDIO, VIDEO AND VIRTUAL EVENT SOLUTIONS. WE PROVIDE PERSONALIZED AND CUSTOMIZED SOLUTIONS TO YOUR CONFERENCING NEEDS.

Compunetix

2020 Space Tech Hall of Fame Award

Dr. Giorgio Coraluppi, founder of Compunetics, Compunetix and Chorus Call

Chorus Call founder, Dr. Giorgio Coraluppi, started with Compunetics in 1968 when they won the US Navy contract for control and communications equipment, employed in the AWS (Anti-Submarine Warfare) program. The original idea grew to three companies that provide hardware, software and conference services to the international markets. In 1990 Compnetix was formed as a separate corporation to undertake commercial applications of unique, advanced voice and data switching and conferencing technology. Chorus Call Inc. was then started to provide teleconferencing services to the general public. Chorus Call South Africa joined the international group in 2001, and is part of 14 offices in 11 countries around the world. The group of companies also hold four US Patents, and in 2020 Dr. Coraluppi and Compunetix was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame for developing a digital system for voice switching and

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voice distribution to integrate into NASA infrastructure, by allowing software-enabled switching, and eliminating the need for manual switching. This technology is what went on to build the commercial Compunetix bridge hardware used globally today by almost every major conference call provider. Chorus Call takes the guesswork out to conferencing. From team meetings to large events, we provide a solution for all situations. Every event offers secure SIP lines for higher call quality, operator assistance when you have a problem, high quality recordings available on request, and effortless booking or even just on-demand available 24/7/365.

Virtual Events suited for all types of company announcements Whatever unique needs you may have, we can customise our digital events to provide a solution that suits you that brings higher attendance and more engaging events.

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Start your visual collaboration now C-Meeting is an innovative platform that goes beyond the limits of traditional web-based communication by integrating audio and webcam support, document sharing, text chatting and more.

View of the technology behind the company

Why should location interfere with your attendance?

Managed events make your presentations more professional

From our experience, virtual events have a greater audience and higher engagement by making your event more accessible and with more intuitive ways to engage. Live streaming removes any geographical boundaries, allows you to enter a digital queue for questions so every voice can be heard, digital voting with live results and on-demand streaming for digital playback. Perfect for when you cannot have everyone physically attend the presentation or event.

We manage your conference to take the stress out of reporting. You can connect multiple sites all into a single conference for your live audience to listen to. Participants can dial into the conference centre or join themselves into your event using our Diamond Pass platform. A dedicated operator will oversee the call, make announcements, or monitor your Q&A session.

We have a variety of support resources available, including our own HD smartphone app to enhance your meetings with clarity beyond comparison. Reduce audio fatigue, decipher accents, and improve comprehension. Outlook integration to schedule your meetings with ease, instant reporting on your conference once it concludes, automated recordings available and delivered to your inbox.

Our Investor Relations services are custom-built to meet your conference needs We offer the most comprehensive portfolio in Investor Relations. From AGMs to investor briefings, we are the preferred provider of JSE listed companies. Our operations are South African-based, delivering the highest quality product in conferencing.

Take your event to the next level with webcasting We have developed our feature-rich platform, which we have been delivering webcasts globally for over 15 years; and partner with the leaders in the webcasting business today to bring you the best possible experience.

Various awards and accomplishments by the group of companies Chorus Call Tel: +27 11 305 2000 Email: salesafrica@choruscall.com

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Redefining People Management In Africa.

Mponeng Seshea Managing Director

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 and can support you from strategy all through to service delivery including operating your end-to-end People Function. Our capabilities include Sourcing and Staffing, Payroll, Advisory and Consulting and Outsourced People Management. The founders of the company, Yolisa Tshabalala and Mponeng Seshea, have over 21 years of combined experience in the industry and have gained the insight to understand the innovative solutions needed to propel the industry to greater heights. Our approach is to always work with the prescribed customer way of working and methodologies, while using our expertise to always advise and guide where needed. By doing this, we deliver purpose-built solutions that minimise costs and maximise efficiency. We use a collaborative approach to add value by creating, transferring, sharing, and applying skills, expertise, and knowledge.

Yolisa Tshabalala Finance and Operations Director

GET IN TOUCH info@imizizi.co.za

Through caring, sharing and helping others, we promote growth, education, and learning. It is a continual choice to be a business that is founded, and continues to grow and thrive through giving, creating support and reinforcement solutions for our clients. Imizizi helps businesses, big and small, with the required reinforcement.

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We are the difference

Our next growth

Imizizi has founders that have walked the journey. We offer digitized, integrated, and flexible solutions to meet all our clients’ needs. We have a full understanding of the technical and human dimensions involved which means managing, analysing, and solving for business problems faced by clients combined with managing interpersonal relationships to ensure that we are enhancing client learning while implementing new changes. By connecting people with their purpose, we are growing a prosperity mindset that impacts companies from the ground up.

In the coming years we aim to become thought leaders in the people management and consulting industry. We want to set trends and not only follow them. We want to develop, digitize solutions and new ways of working for both our clients and employees to enable efficiency.

Our passion is rooted in Africa and its people. We believe in the power of our roots, heritage, connections, and partnerships. We ensure efficiency by listening to our clients and by investing in the continuous development of our people and exposing them to industry trends, research, and learnings. That’s why we are always proficient and ready to support you. The years spent being service driven have equipped us with the necessary capability to provide client determined quality service.

How are we helping others grow? We choose to be a business that continues to grow by providing required support to those that need it We believe in empowering other small businesses and organizations to grow and develop in the different sectors they service. We want to help because we want people to be self-sufficient and to grow which will lead to a better economy. Lao Tsu said that if you give a hungry man a fish, you feed him for a day, but if you teach him how to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.

We offer digitized, integrated, and flexible solutions to meet all your needs. By leveraging on the relationships we have with our partners, we can provide a robust people management service offering to our clients.”

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GLOBAL E-TALENT

MEETING YOUR TALENT ACQUISITION NEEDS Global e-Talent Pty Ltd (GeT) is a young Sandton, Johannesburg-based talent search, placement, and on-boarding 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 strong proposition that seeks to alleviate the problem of unemployed youths of this country.

Global e-Talent Pty Ltd is committed to playing a pivotal part in developing the graduates by linking them to Learnership programs that are sponsored by the private and public entities.” Says founder Nokuthula Molepo, who hails from Pinetown, KwaZuluNatal.

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Molepo completed BA Psychology studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and is driven by a strong passion to help people, particularly the young. That philanthropic drive is what after 15 years as a human capital practitioner in various sectors inspired the genesis of the company. A company whose vision ties closely with the development of young talent in South Africa and the continent. The recruitment specialists are at the forefront of availing recruitment and placement solutions to the niche talent sourcing market. With the company is a strong belief that every private or public organisation deserves the best of a specialist recruitment player. GeT takes care of talent acquisition requirements through the proven capabilities it has acquired over years. Its talent acquisition capabilities are segmented into core competencies, including but not limited to Executive Search – job specification development/refinement, talent/market mapping, long listing, interviews, and individual profile compilation, shortlisting, integrity verifications, placement; Staffing Solutions – job specification refinement, talent sourcing, talent screening (interviews and/or assessments), short listing and CV submissions, placement with a guarantee. Also offered is Management and Candidate On-Boarding which involves partnering with organisations to close a fair compensation deal between employer and the candidate, and where pay is a hygiene factor that shouldn’t stand in the way of you finding the right talent. During on-boarding, the executive is led through a careful post-induction process in the first 90 days of employment with the help of a network of executive coaches. This sets up the

Nokuthula Molepo Managing Director executive for a smooth transition and quicker assimilation into their new work environment.

Finding the right talent GeT management has a combined experience of over four decades of talent acquisition experience. Absolute confidence in capabilities and ability to deliver results is abundant, whatever the industry or talent is. Making it easy to find the right talent, at the right time for the right position is made easy. “We care about the employer brand and EVP. It is for this reason that we always work closely with your hiring HR representative(s), hiring line manager, or executive to gain an intimate understanding of your business, culture, and talent strategy,” said Nokuthula Molepo. Noting that they always prioritise the elevation and treatment of employers with due respect throughout the search process, from the inception of relationship to accessing the candidate market on clients’ behalf, when approaching candidates, when interviewing, and finally when selecting candidates suitable for business and the specific role.

Complementing the above is that GeT runs an automated candidate administration and verification processes, as well as, a seamless offer management process. For Executive Search, the company has invested in strategic partnership networks throughout the globe, not least of which have proven research capabilities for Executive and C-Suite talent!

New markets and the future Since its formation, the recruitment experts have always had an ambitious and pioneering developmental spirit. Plans are to continue to accelerate the growth of the recruitment sector in all African target markets in the future. There has already been an exploration of the Botswana and Namibia markets, with new opportunities enjoyed. Expansion into the SubSaharan region market will then follow. With Africa moving towards integration, in addition to being young, dynamic, and ambitious, young people will seek professional talent scouting services to enter the job markets on the continent. Therefore, the company has the opportunity to continue harnessing the expertise and leveraging networks. This will strengthen the brand, and grow its footprint through best-in-class recruitment processes. The strategy is to build the largest and most valuable recruitment brand; through maintaining and growing partnerships while leveraging the emerging brand as the most trusted and valued in South Africa and beyond.

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THE GOAL IN LIFE ISN’T TO LIVE FOREVER; RATHER, IT IS TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT WILL.” - SIMEON ORIKO

Title: ‘Keeping Grounded’, re-discover life after Covid, produced by Baz-Art and Dbongz for Philippi Village Business Hub

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SHARKS RUGBY UNION 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 for screen time and luxury spending. The radical change of this sport and its business model has left the field of play leaner and stronger – and more diverse, inclusive, and innovative. Stadium tickets, boerewors rolls, and beers no longer generate the income streams rugby franchises can rely upon.

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that. Transformation has become the measure of their success: the more inclusive and diverse their team is, the greater their dedication to their mission of transformation. From this, their squads will grow deeper in talent and continue their on-pitch successes.

Beyond the Pitch Behind the scenes at the Shark Tank, the next phase of the players’ lives are shaped. The Sharks Entrepreneurship Academy is an innovative programme with a mission to assist players in transitioning from the pitch into an established and sustainable economic future. This educational development initiative equips players with the tools to run their businesses, while also helping them source the franchise, finance, and putting a management team in place to oversee the business until the players move on to the next chapter of their lives.

Beyond the Sport

Disruption. Innovation. Inclusivity. Transformation. These aren’t bywords or fads at Hollywoodbets Kings Park – better known as the Shark Tank. Those are the codes of the culture at the Sharks Rugby Union. “Without a strategy that firmly underpins the solutions for innovation and transformation, a business can run backwards; you go to innovation for a purpose and a reason, not for the sake of innovation and change,” said Dr Eduard Coetzee, CEO of the Sharks Rugby Union. “Even in COVID-19, we grew our sponsorship revenue by 55-percent by restructuring our business model. We kept in line with transformation and stretched our business. We try to push our boundaries positively to be progressive.”

Beyond the Game Dr Coetzee believes that innovation can only happen in an innovative environment. This develops from encouraging discussion and inspiring creativity. It makes the Sharks more desirable to corporate sponsors and players alike. It’s most beautifully demonstrated by the Sharks’ innovative ‘I See Colour’ movement. From Dr Coetzee: “We’re not all the same. We must stop trying to be the same. Our strength is actually in our diversity.” The ‘I See Colour’ movement celebrates the colours, stories, and backgrounds of its players, staff, and management. It is a belief that celebrating diversity brings racial inclusion into the spotlight as a force for good and not as a punishment. South Africa is blessed with a diverse community – everyone has a colour. The ‘I See Colour’ movement is a lens through how we see the world and how we treat each other. For the Sharks, this is more than a marketing campaign, it’s a movement. Every player on the pitch earned his place by merit. That most of the squad is made up of players of colour highlights the depth of talent in South Africa, however, this is yet to be fully untapped. In the high stakes world of elite sports and professional athletes, winning is the only metric by which they are measured. However, the Sharks’ ‘I See Colour’ movement has subverted

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The Sharks Business Centre is another such outlet for its mission of social change. During the peak of COVID-19, it opened a hot-desking space designed for use by previously disadvantaged people. This business centre is equipped with high-speed Internet access, boardrooms, printers, copiers, computers, stationery, and more. It operates on an application process: it is open to formal students, unemployed people, members of previously disadvantaged communities. Corporate business partners sponsor the business centre and there is no cost to the user. Today, it is a thriving business hub. The Sharks are not only one of the most racially transformed rugby teams in South Africa, but one of the most transformative and progress in sport. Full stop.

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RED-LINED INTERNATIONAL MOTORSPORT ADVENTURE

The CEO and founder of Red-Lined International Terence Marsh had a goal of competing on the world stage at Dakar and established the business in 2013. We set out into the international market in search of a race car and returned to South Africa disillusioned at what the market had to offer. We realised South Africa had so much to offer the international market and decided to start building our own race car.

2013 the VK50 2019 evolution to the VK56 2021 further evolution to the REVO The business evolved to become one of the leading manufacturers of T1 Dakar race cars in the world today. Unlike the rest of the international market, we also provide the following: driver, and navigational and technical training to our international customer base.

Our target market • • • • •

Between 35- and 65-year-old Multi-millionaires Highly influential Decision makers Adventurers

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Our customer base has successfully competed and finished all the major international cross country motor racing events around the world. In Dakar we have achieved 12 finishers from 14 starts for an overall finishing record of 86% of which our cars started 168 stages and completed 164 stages. This gives us a 98% stage finishing record. Through our Celebrity programme we have hosted many celebrities over the years like Derek Watts, Leanne Manas, John Smith, Neil Tovey, Jonty Rhodes, Stefan Terblanche, Letshego Zulu, DJ Fresh, Jeannie D, Fanie de Villiers, Mark Tob, Natalie du Toit, Tony Ndoro and Barry Hilton, to mention a few. We have more than 15 years of experience in providing corporate South Africa our unique and impactful form of corporate entertainment.

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Our key focus areas • Design and manufacturing of FIA/Dakar approved T1 race cars • Providing strategy, management, and technical services to our international customer base • Providing our international customers with a race car rental option whereby we offer them an ‘arrive & drive’ package within various locations around the world • Providing driver and navigational training programs across multiple terrain (Dakar preparation) • Providing Technical training and services to our customer base • Providing exclusive corporate entertainment packages within the UAE and Southern Africa • Participating in selected international events around the world • Successfully managing a Celebrity Programme where we identify key celebrities with extensive impact/reach and then give them a bucket-list experience which is shared with all their respective media/fans/followers creating BIG and meaningful exposure!

Our differentiation is that our business focuses on the customers’ journey and adventure and not only on the end result. Into the future we will continue to innovate around the new FIA and Dakar regulations to ensure that our international customer base is kept at the sharp end of our industry.

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FRIENDS AND ALLIES, SCALLYWAGS CLIMBING CLIMBING IS A WELCOMING SPORT AND A UNIQUE AND DIVERSE WAY OF LIFE, WHICH IS A REFLECTION OF THE PEOPLE THAT CHOOSE TO SPEND THEIR TIME HERE

This journey all started with a boo boo. The excitement of climbing and over doing it leads to cuts, scrapes and worn down finger tips. With the psyche high to continue climbing I mixed a concoction of ingredients that I thought would help nourish my tender tips and treat any scrapes and bumps. After playing around with this concoction for several months we arrived at our first product: Boo Boo Butter. A 100% all natural, locally sourced hand balm to help nourish and repair those delicate hands

of yours. Along with our first product came Scallywags Climbing, it was at the end of 2018 that I wanted to pursue making climbing products and have a positive impact on the SA climbing scene. We started to produce portable hangboards (a training tool for finger strength for climbers) to compete with the international market. The SWANK Board was born, and not long after, the Dapper board. We soon found ourselves stocked in every climbing gym and gear store in the country as one of SA’s first dedicated climbing brands. Since then we have brought out an array of products as well as in person and online coaching programmes. In the middle of 2020, Made in Workshop, the shared makerspace where we manufacture our products was moving, and so were we. We found our new home in Strydom Park, not too far from the old spot. Bigger and better they say. Through the coffee shop, up the stairs and first door on the right, we find workshop 6, the home of the Scallywags.

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We had been planning on opening a climbing gym for about a year now. We believe that expanding into a facility will help us reach the goal of having a positive impact on South African Climbing. We looked at this little 180sqm place and saw all the potential we needed to strike up a deal with Henry Levine, owner of Made in Workshop. It made all the sense in the world to build a high-end training facility above the factory where we make our products. We are excited and proud of the fact that the gym and all its parts were built in-house.

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I feel that one of the main reasons our community has such a deep connection to the gym and the people in it is because many of them were involved in the build in some way. With a tight budget and few hands we reached out to the community to help finish the gym. Tim Slab led a team of three welders to put in the frame and my brother Mitchell Antonites and I started on cladding the climbing walls. Soon it was Christmas and the gym was taking shape. We finished the cladding at the beginning of January 2021 and shortly after the gym was filled with people sanding, painting and drilling. Many nights were spent sleeping and working in the gym, all to get it done to open our doors to the public on the 1st of February 2021. We are not your typical climbing gym that most South African climbers know. I think that is the main difference. We are fun and welcoming and want to create a space that encourages all. Our space is small so it forces people to share and interact with each other. So many people were involved in the build of the gym and have a deep connection with it, everybody knows everybody’s names and are extremely welcoming to newcomers. Furthermore, the gym and community helps facilitate getting people climbing outdoors which is something we think is very important. The companies of Friends and Allies (2021) and Scallywags Climbing (2018) were both founded by Wesley Antonites. Both companies fill a need for South African climbers. Why? For us it was the next logical step, luckily there was a demand for it as the sport grows to meet our growth and a need for diversity in climbing

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in Johannesburg. We provide a space to train for climbing with some of the world’s best holds. We use the space to inspire, connect and educate people. Our services go beyond just our gym, with training programmes, outdoor festivals and climbing competitions to name a few. The building is a hub of creativity and we’re so excited to see what it will look like in a few years. Made in Workshop is a makerspace where people can come use and learn how to make whatever they desire, from welding workshops, knife making classes and a manufacturing area for small businesses. The Ideamongery downstairs is a design studio that specialises in bringing ideas to life and they’re always up for a chat about a problem we’re having. In the middle of July we opened the Spark Cape, a coffee shop, taproom and creative space where people can sit and plan a new product or adventure. Coffee has made its way into the hearts of climbers around the world and it’s common to see climbers brewing up at the base of the cliffs in between climbs. Scallywags has a range of coffee for the dirtbag in all of us. Something coming soon is Omsight, our studio space for yoga and movement. Climbing is part of our healthy lifestyles and adding the value of healthy fuel for our bodies and a space to move and care for them made a lot of sense. We are all deeply involved and invested. We are extremely passionate about what we do and we are on the floor, doing the work and talking to the customers. If you come by, you will meet the people behind the brand and we are eager to listen and to hear what you have to say.

Scallywags Climbing has worked with Dream Higher, which is a nonprofit based in Cape Town that takes underprivileged youth out climbing and helps them develop an appreciation for the natural world, building confidence and bridging social divides along the way. Having a business has allowed us to get more involved than we’d have been able to in our personal capacities. Get yourself a Dream Higher Mono finger training device and support their good work. This year Friends and Allies was involved in the Mayhem Mountain Festival, which is a climbing and highlining and slacklining festival based in Waterval Boven in Mpumalanga. We are also working closely with the Mountain Club of South Africa to grow the outdoor community in a responsible manner and facilitate people getting outdoors and out of their comfort zones. We are eager for our brands to grow and expand in the current location. We have plans to expand the gym to new locations so we can expand our reach and the positive effect on climbing. We want to be at the forefront of shaping climbing in South Africa, and bringing the international climbing world tour to SA. Climbing is growing at a rapid pace and we think that’s only going to accelerate, we’re psyched for the future, the effect climbing can have on people and working with people to grow the sport.

Opening Hours Monday to Thursday: 14h00-22h00 Tuesday and Thursday: 6h00–9h00 (members only) Friday: 14h00–20h00 Saturday: 9h00–18h00 Sunday: Closed (go climb a rock) Public holiday (contact us for events)

Friends and Allies, Scallywags Climbing 10 Naaf Street, Strydompark Randburg, Johannesburg Tel: +27 66 506 0828 Email: info@friendsandallies.co.za

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I TRAVELLED TO ANFIELD JUST BEFORE THE HARD LOCKDOWN. I’M A HUGE LIVERPOOL FAN AND WANTED TO WATCH THE TEAM PLAY AT HOME BEFORE THEY WON THE LEAGUE, WHICH – FORTUNATELY – THEY DID. SO I RETURNED HOME ON A HIGH, BUT THEN GLOBAL AND LOCAL SPORT CAME TO A GRINDING HALT. If you play for Liverpool, you earn enough money through your salary and sponsorships to carry you through lockdown. But what about the athletes at national and community level who only make money when they play and don’t have sponsorships to rely on? Co-founders: Mike Sharman, Bryan Habana and Ben Karpinski Statistically, the average athlete is bankrupt within five years of retiring. The big-league athletes get used to a certain lifestyle that they can’t sustain when they retire and find it difficult to adapt to life after sport and a more frugal way of living.

Bryan Habana, who co-founded Retroactive with me in 2018, was the poster child for MatchKit, being a savvy businessman and the epitome of personal branding which is why he’s sponsored by the likes of Mastercard, Oakley, HSBC, and Land Rover.

We came up with MatchKit as way to help athletes with their personal marketing and to generate additional income through merchandise sales and crowdfunding. Like a digital CV and ecosystem for athletes that incorporates the social aspects of Instagram and Facebook.

We were unique in that we had a fintech aspect within a sports universe. Probably only 1% of athletes have personal websites – people like Serena Williams, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Lewis Hamilton. But they also have teams and agents to support them with that. Even Siya Kolisi, who became the most marketable rugby player in the world overnight because of what his captainship meant for our country,

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our nation, and also for other rugby playing nations around the world, didn’t have a website. MatchKit makes personal branding relevant and accessible and it’s easy for athletes to share a link to their profiles through any other social platform.

golfers, and a world champion body boarder. It’s quite a mix.

MatchKit is a platform for athletes to manage their brands, earn more, and engage with fans and sponsors. It offers all the features of a full-blown website with the ease of a social media account, plus e-commerce and automated reporting, giving athlete’s full control of their digital brands. There’s also a merchandise element where the athlete uploads a logo and MatchKit sources clothing and handles shipping and returns.

We were also accepted into the AlphaCode Incubate fintech accelerator programme and made it into the top four and unlocked a further R500,000 in funding, so we really hit the ground running. It’s been a rollercoaster. The year has flown by but we are super proud of what we’ve achieved.

Heavy Chef named MatchKit among the top five start-ups of 2020 and we won the Gold award for MMA Smarties best app of the year.

Future Vision Campaign Approach We coordinated a PR campaign that allowed us to leverage our founders’ social media followers. Between us, we have 1.5 million to 2 million followers across various channels. With Bryan Habana being a global sporting icon and our credible co-founder, we went to market by targeting the rugby media. We approached local sports writers, rugby writers in Australasia, Asia, Europe, and South America, and a few niche writers in the United States. We launched MatchKit on 3 June 2020. In the first month, we signed up athletes with a collective global social media fandom of about 2.7 million people, so it exploded right out of the gate. We signed up the South American Rugby Championship players who came from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.

We have just launched our new education module, which we’re very excited about. It includes videos on things like ‘Social Media 101 for athletes’, how to post on the various channels, and how to make better content for Instagram. We also have a financial literacy section that will deal with things like planning and investing for your future. We joke about being the Avengers of Sport because so many of our experiences, our networks, and our ‘powers’ have combined to form this. We have Bryan, Ben Karpinski with his ultimate understanding of sports fandom, Shaka Sisulu’s insights and intimate knowledge about crowdfunding and my digital and PR experience, and we’re bringing it all together to help athletes. Athletes can go to matchkit.co, and set up a MatchKit website in five minutes.

A year later and we’re really making an impact and gaining traction. Collectively, the athletes we’ve signed up have reached 6.9 million fans around the world and their MatchKit profiles have been viewed 97,000 times.

They simply register and connect their Facebook and Instagram accounts. Instagram should be set to a ‘Business’ or ‘Creator’ account to enable the platform’s analytics functionality through secure APIs.

Rugby players form our largest user base, followed by hockey, cycling, football, and water polo. We’ve signed the USA Olympic swimming team,

For now, MatchKit is only available as a mobile web app, via matchkit.co. We’re still thinking about creating a full-blown app.

@yourmatchkit MatchKit

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THE RESILIENCE FACTORY THE RESILIENCE FACTORY DOES WHAT IT SAYS IT DOES

Certified Life-Coaches, Facilitators and Founders of The Resilience Factory Gabi Lowe (left) and Pippa Shaper (right)

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 healthy mental outlook. The dynamic duo behind The Resilience Factory offer an incredible wealth of life experience and business acumen. Prior to founding The Resilience Factory in 2018, Gabi spent nearly 30 years in media and marketing and Pippa enjoyed a successful career in retail in the United Kingdom and in the non-profit

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sector in South Africa. Both have overcome tremendous ongoing tragedies in their lives and were brought together by life-altering events. Gabi is the author of the best-selling book “Get Me to 21” following the painful loss of her eldest daughter Jenna in 2015. She is an international medical activist for organ donation and Pulmonary Hypertension in South Africa and is the founder of the Jenna Lowe Trust, a nonprofit organization to continue Jenna’s work and legacy. Pippa has tragically lost two children, as well as several close family members, including her first husband and sister. Following the death of

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her son in 2015, she began her training as an integral coach. Together they co-authored a model called The Ten R’s of Authentic Resilience, a framework that teaches people and business leaders the tools and strategies needed to cope with anything that life throws at them.

The Power to Overcome The Ten R’s of Authentic Resilience is a grounded theory model underpinned by many academic and psychological theories. Gabi and Pippa learned resilience the hard way: they are leading examples of the power of Authentic Resilience. Essentially, the Ten Rs’ model teaches people advanced life skills to enable them to bridge the psychological divide between surviving adversity and living a joyfilled life of thriving once again. Their strategy and roadmap are proven to work for individuals, businesses, and organizations. It teaches individuals that they can choose their responses despite their circumstances and equip themselves with the insight to recognize opportunities that come with challenges.

Identifying and Harnessing Resilience The Ten R’s of Authentic Resilience teaches people to defeat hopelessness, be it personal or professional. For businesses and organizations, times of difficulty can make or break their future. Being overwhelmed in the face of adversity may see a company miss an opportunity to adapt. To highlight the need for resilience education and training, The Resilience Factory conducted a deep study during the COVID-19 pandemic of 33,000 middle-class South Africans, providing crucial insights for individuals, businesses, and organizations. See SIDEBAR.

Brands that have benefitted from The Resilience Factory’s coaching and training include Old Mutual, Engen, Discovery Health, Platinum Property Partners, YPO, Skybound Capital, University of Cape Town, Western Cape Department of Education, Allan Gray, Hollard and more.

A Future Fantastic While The Authentic Resilience Report uncovered incredible data, The Resilience Factory’s research has highlighted a shortcoming in society: our youth are not resilient. To address this, The Resilience Factory is finding ways to teach its tools to South Africa’s youth. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly shaped and changed workplaces, it has also dramatically upended education and childhoods. Starting with these generations, teaching and coaching resilience will lead to better functioning members of our society. In the pipeline, The Resilience Factory is working on a documentary as well as penning a book on the power of Authentic Resilience.

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The Authentic Resilience Report Click here to access The Authentic Resilience Report: https://www.theresiliencefactory.com/ report/ The Authentic Resilience Report reveals fascinating insights into the specific resilient behaviours to enable Gabi and Pippa to draw a Resilience Index Rating. These cast a light on the demographic segments (such as age, gender, education, and income), while also offering psychographic measures of how these resilient people think, feel, and behave – as well as providing invaluable insight into why these are your most valuable team members, employees, and customers. The Authentic Resilience Report – an enlightening joint venture with BrandMapp at WhyFive.

The Resilience Factory Email: info@theresiliencefactory.com theresiliencefactory @theresiliencefactory Online Self-Study course: https://www.authentic-resilience.com

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NAYLOR AND CROY PHYSIOTHERAPY SMARTS FOR SPORT

Young girls can dare to dream big and aspire to greatness. Rene Naylor has 130 caps as part of the Springbok Rugby’s medical and management team. While Naylor is a physiotherapist, she is also a motivational speaker taking her story to girls and boys from all walks of life in South Africa that they too can aspire to be on the world’s stage and achieve their dreams.

SMARTS WITH SPORT “It’s not just coaches who are focused on performance,” said Naylor. “For any team, it’s ultimately about winning, even the medical team. I’d be very concerned if I worked in a medical team where you walked off the pitch and lost the match, and one of my colleagues comes up to me

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and says that we shouldn’t be worried because we didn’t sustain any injuries. I’d immediately think we didn’t have injuries because we didn’t tackle, didn’t do well in the collisions, and weren’t playing and performing. It’s still about winning, and that’s why I’ve always done my homework on what makes teams win.” The world of elite sports requires advanced support systems. Athletes need innovative medical treatment and support to sustain high levels of performance. Naylor worked almost exclusively with rugby players from amateur to elite level for nearly three decades as a physiotherapist. She developed an injury risk profiling system through research of rugby players: this is BOKSMART. It is a programme devised

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from musculoskeletal tests to create injury risk profiles of players and identify injury intervention support to keep players on the field – and off the medical beds. The Springboks’ triumph at the 2019 Rugby World Cup could be attributed to several key factors, one of which was its players’ low injury rate. That was her third Rugby World Cup with the Springboks. For the 2019 tournament, Naylor’s physiotherapy team helped to reduce injury and recovery time and increase playing time for more tries and trophies. “Today, my vision is to bridge the gap of injury management and prevention between professional and amateur rugby teams, coupled with the will to blaze a trail in a traditionally male-dominated space,” said Naylor. “This has resulted in me being regarded as one of the foremost practitioners in sports physiotherapy globally, an accolade of that I am immensely proud. In my career, I have been fortunate enough to have the best seat in the house and take a position on the sidelines of over 100 Springbok games. I’ve also featured in a management team boasting the highest staff complement made up of women seen at a Rugby World Cup tournament – and my dedication to women empowerment and advancing sports injury prevention has not wavered.”

SMARTS WITH GOLD Her qualifications include a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy from the University of Western Cape, an Orthopaedic Manipulative Therapy (OMT1) certificate and an MPhil in Sports Physiotherapy from the University of Cape Town. Naylor’s focus on injury management

and prevention has achieved several awards, including the Ministerial Recognition Award for Outstanding Women in their field at the Momentum Gsport Awards 2020 and a SAMSA Honorary Award for outstanding contribution in Sports Medicine in 2018. Naylor offers advisory and consultancy physiotherapy services, academic programming and lecturing, online fitness video productions, women’s sports advocacy, motivational speaking, and corporate engagements.

SMARTS WITH HEART “Whilst professionally, I’m known as a physiotherapist, motivational speaker and thought leader, I’m also a mother and a woman; other ‘titles’ and responsibilities that I take very seriously,” said Naylor. “One of my most public “places of employment” is the Springbok Rugby medical team, where both of these latter roles are embraced in a family-like culture, and one in which more women than ever before were in a Rugby World Cup squad at the 2019 tournament.

This is a testament to how far we have come to own our space and to marry excellence on the field with a happy and well-balanced, extended team off of it.” Naylor and Croy Physiotherapy operate in the heart of Cape Town, targeting corporate clients and sportspeople. Rene Naylor Physiotherapists in Mitchells Plain was a community service helping bridge the cost and access gaps in injury management and prevention in this previously disadvantaged community. Naylor grew up on Cape Flats and plays a leading role in challenging the norm in her community through sports and social upliftment. “For me, challenging the norm is not a foreign concept,” said Naylor. “I have and will continue to innovate and push the boundaries in all of my spheres of influence, from medical science to female empowerment, from youth development to corporate conversations, and a whole lot more. Although I have realised many of my dreams on the global stage, I continue to pursue excellence in everything I do.”

Rene Naylor Email: rene@naylorandcroy.com Rene-Naylor rene_naylor Rene_Naylor

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IT IS HEALTH THAT IS REAL WEALTH AND NOT PIECES OF GOLD AND SILVER.” - MAHATMA GANDHI

Title: ‘Digital Is The Future’, for the International Public Art Festival, Theme: 100% Sustainable”, produced by Baz-Art and Dbongz

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SHOUT-IT-NOW (SHOUT)

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 that leverages innovative digital tools and engaging mobile bus clinics to deliver health services to vulnerable communities. Since 2007, we have leveraged private sector principles to design services that are client centric, creating a friendly environment that empowers clients to make informed choices about their health and future. To-date, more than 1.2 million South Africans have learned their HIV status through Shout programming. Currently our package of free, youth-friendly, community-based services includes:

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As a local South African organisation, we are dedicated to ending the HIV epidemic by providing HIV prevention services to vulnerable population groups and empowering our clients to take ownership of their own health outcomes. South Africa has the largest HIV epidemic in the world – with 1 in 5 people living with HIV and close to 200 young women becoming HIV positive each day. Additionally, 1 in 3 women experience intimate partner violence and 8 women report an incidence of gender-based violence (GBV) every hour in South Africa. Due to the disproportionate impact of HIV and GBV among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), our primary focus is reaching this

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population group with comprehensive health services in non-clinical settings in a way that is friendly, non-judgmental, and convenient. Our professional staff are recruited from the communities we serve, allowing Shout to offer services for youth, by youth. Our model has been designed to use technology to ensure efficiency, quality, and scalability at every step — from registration (using biometrics) to case management (Connect Hub call center) to knowledge transfer and ongoing virtual engagement (iSHOUT! data-free mobile app). Our paperless system ensures speed of service and enables us to gather data efficiently

to inform decision-making and program development, while ensuring streamlined and agile operations. Shout has developed an approach that is more engaging for clients, more effective in achieving positive health outcomes, and more efficient for funders. Taking a social entrepreneurship approach – Shout is driven to provide quality services, focusing on client satisfaction and continuous improvement. We aim to equip our clients with the tools needed to ensure they have an empowered and independent future. We will leverage our success providing friendly services at the community level to broaden our reach and move into additional healthcare service areas that are most essential for the communities we serve.

Shout-It-Now (Shout) 1st Floor, 39 Tokai Rd, Kirstenhof Cape Town, 7945 Tel: +27 21 713 4414 Emial: Info@shoutitnow.org

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THE CENTRE FOR HIV-AIDS PREVENTION STUDIES (CHAPS)

THE CENTRE FOR HIV-AIDS PREVENTION STUDIES WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2010 WHEN A GROUP OF VISIONARIES SAW A GAP IN THE PUBLIC HEALTH ARENA WHICH COULD BE FILLED BY A NON-PROFIT PROVIDING VOLUNTARY MEDICAL MALE CIRCUMCISION (VMMC) TO THE PUBLIC

Built off the cutting-edge Orange Farm research demonstrating that medical male circumcision led to a 60% reduction in HIV transmission, CHAPS is now one of the most recognized, proudly South African, non-profit companies (NPC) focused on innovative, community-based healthcare access and provision. Through collaborative projects focusing on COVID-19, CHAPS has diversified its services to include COVID-19 testing and vaccination. As of February 2022, the Aurum Group administered over 136 000 vaccines in rural and remote areas, of which CHAPS contributed over 49 000.

technical support to the country’s MMC programme. In Eswatini, CHAPS supported the same programme until January 2021. The team now operates independently. CHAPS’ offers onsite and mobile services to communities and renders efficient and innovative services. CHAPS supports several sub-Saharan African countries with public health programme design, community mobilisation, health system strengthening, training, service provision, and quality assurance.

Partnerships/Affiliations: The organisation has offices in South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia, where it operates in partnership with Abt Associates and provides

CHAPS is affiliated with The Aurum Institute as a member of The Aurum Group, but operates independently. CHAPS Stakeholders include: » » » » » » »

Abt Associates Accenture South Africa JSI South Africa (John Snow Inc.) Matchboxology National Department of Health PEPFAR Rand Merchant Bank

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» Right To Care » The Aurum Institute » The Center for Disease Control and Prevention » UNICEF South Africa » USAID » WITS RHI (Reproductive Health Institute) » Youth Health Africa

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Services: Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC) • CHAPS provides this service from numerous locations around Gauteng, Free State and North-West Province. • Along with implementation, CHAPS provides technical support to other organisations, training and qualitative analysis, and demand creation best practice. COVID-19 Services • CHAPS provides COVID-19 testing and vaccination services. • CHAPS conducted training for COVID-19 readiness at government care homes during 2020. Research • CHAPS Research Department is involved in conducting research on a variety of topics including HIV prevention, psychosocial issues, epidemiology, and gender-based violence. HIV Testing and Counselling • CHAPS conducts HIV testing, index testing and counselling, as well as screening for other sexually transmitted infections. Training • CHAPS provides SAMA accredited training in the following disciplines: VMMC, HIV Testing (Counsellors), Demand Creation for VMMC, Adverse Event Management (in VMMC), Continued Quality Improvement (CQI), Infection Prevention Control (VMMC and COVID-19), Basic Life Support and Emergency.

Awards: Certificate of Appreciation – Department of Social Development • Awarded for services provided during 2020 lockdown – COVID-19 readiness training (supported by Rand Merchant Bank) for government care homes.

Special Projects: • Delivery of Chronic Medication through the use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs/ Drones) in the District of Ekurhuleni, South Africa. The Aurum Institute started a home delivery service to bring chronic medication to patients, instead of having patients visit a clinic. This approach allows for reduced social contact between high-risk patients, decongests clinics, and protects staff and patients against COVID-19. The home delivery project has brought medication to patients since mid-April 2020. Its performance has improved as more clinics are added and the workflow improves, but it is not yet sustainable in the long term. Kusasa Aerospace, as part of the larger dronedelivery project, observed the teams’ operations first-hand to find ways to boost efficiency, reducing the total cost.

Project Summary: • CHAPS and the Aurum Institute recognized

that by offering a delivery service for chronic and HIV medication, they thereby offer a potential solution for patients that default on collecting medication due to lack of transport, time, location, stigma, etc. • In partnership with Kusasa Aerospace, the team developed a solution by delivering medication directly to them via drones, with no cost to the patient. • In South Africa, the only barrier to using drones has been the development of a feasible model and the relevant regulatory approvals for medication delivery. • Pending approval from the National Department of Health, and the South African Medical Association, the next phase of the project will be launched which will be the safe and effective delivery of medication using drones.

FUTURE VISION Our mission is to be an agile and responsive leader in the building and implementation of quality healthcare interventions to address public health challenges and to drive feasible, efficient, and non-discriminatory solutions to strengthen community health: Your Health, Our Mission. Our purpose as an organisation is to continue developing our experience and expertise to improve the quality of healthcare provision and to support the health of people and communities.

The Centre for HIV-AIDS Prevention Studies Chairperson: Dorothy Sekhukhune CEO: Jacqueline Paterson 25 St Johns Rd, Houghton Estate Johannesburg, 2198 Tel: +27 11 484 8068

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TRANSPORT, LOGISTICS & SUPPLY CHAIN THE ONLY WAY TO DISCOVER THE LIMITS OF THE POSSIBLE IS TO GO BEYOND THEM INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE.” - ARTHUR C. CLARKE

Title: ‘African Geometry’ The International Public Art Festival; 2020: Theme: 100% Sustainable”, produced by Baz-Art and Silas

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THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD (SANRAL)

IN LINE WITH GOVERNMENT’S COMMITMENT TO TRANSFORM THE PUBLIC SECTOR, THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL ROADS AGENCY SOC LTD (SANRAL) WAS ESTABLISHED IN APRIL 1998 BY AN ACT OF PARLIAMENT, AS AN INDEPENDENT STATUTORY COMPANY OPERATING ALONG COMMERCIAL LINES AND AT ARM’S LENGTH FROM GOVERNMENT. WITH A MANDATE TO FINANCE, DEVELOP AND MAINTAIN THE NATIONAL ROAD NETWORK OF OVER 22 000 KM, SANRAL LEADS THE WAY ON INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT IN A POST-COVID SOUTH AFRICA. Innovation is at the forefront of SANRAL’s agenda in the infrastructure development space. In recent years the Agency has increasingly embraced technological advances and innovation opportunities throughout the organisation.

From traffic systems that save lives to improved public transport and environmentally responsible construction, SANRAL has prioritised innovation for safer, smarter and greener roads.

Safer Roads In its commitment to the development of South Africa’s knowledge economy, SANRAL has rooted innovation firmly in its operating model through business streams that drive innovation and technology, such as the Technical Innovation Hub (TIH) and intelligent transport systems (ITS), as well as through many other streams where critical thinking, process improvement and a push towards best practice are prioritised.

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THE ‘SAFE SYSTEM’ APPROACH SANRAL has always strived to be progressive in identifying and implementing road safety solutions. This includes embracing the ‘Safe System’ approach to providing a secure and forgiving road environment that caters for the needs of all road users, including the most vulnerable.

The Safe System approach to eliminating deaths and serious injuries on the road has been adopted by road agencies around the world. It is guided by the principle that everyone – including planners, engineers, law enforcement and road users – share responsibility for creating a safer road environment.

THE FREEWAY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM SANRAL’s innovative Freeway Management System (FMS) allows for real-time monitoring and management of the road network. Using intelligent transport systems (ITS) technologies, it relays information on the flow of traffic, which is then displayed on variable message signs and sent to various radio stations for broadcast to the public and online platforms.

This integrated system also allows for effective engagement with road users in a bid to respond to an array of incidents that occur on busy freeways across the country. Over the past five years, the FMS has improved incident management, reduced congestion and increased road safety.

TECHNICAL INNOVATION HUB One major innovation highlight for SANRAL in recent years was the launch of its Technical Innovation Hub (TIH). The TIH is not a physical space, but rather a thinktank of young intellectuals mentored by senior professional engineers.

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When the TIH was first introduced to industry in early 2019, the team showcased some of the innovation-focused pilot projects that were then in the development phase, including the use of a robotic flagger at road construction sites, intelligent road studs to provide additional guidance to the road user and the planned use of 3D road markings. Over the years, these projects have evolved to also include: • • • • • • •

Video analytics for vehicle inspection and pedestrian detection Drones for engineering applications Floating car data Road sensors Electrical and automated vehicles Alternative materials, i.e., nanotechnologies Augmented/virtual reality

SANRAL is at the forefront of harnessing technology and machine learning to improve road safety, reduce congestion and promote progressive development in road transport and infrastructure.

ENGINEERING 4.0 November 2020 marked an innovation highlight for SANRAL with the launch of the state-of-the-art Engineering 4.0 facility, a collaboration between the Agency, the

Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), York Timbers and the University of Pretoria (UP), where the facility is housed in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT).

Engineering 4.0 features • The SANRAL National Certification Laboratory, which will ensure the independent certification of all material testers responsible for quality control testing on road construction sites • The SANRAL National Reference Laboratory, which will ensure the independent certification of conformality to ISO test standards of all local road laboratories responsible for testing road construction materials • A training laboratory to train and certify road materials technicians employed by various testing laboratories • A concrete laboratory consisting of preparation areas, curing and humidity rooms, and a test floor for various concrete and structural testing • The accelerated pavement testing (APT) track for the construction of different pavement structures and their accelerated evaluation using a mobile APT device

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Engineering 4.0 optimises current facilities and staff available at the UP, SANRAL and CSIR through a managed partnership and unified effort to train engineers, technologists, technicians and materials testers for the transport engineering sector. This will deliver skilled professionals that have been exposed to the latest technologies and methods, who will be taken up in government, roads agencies and industry in South Africa and beyond.

Engineering 4.0 benefits • Increased availability of technical skills in transportation engineering • Improved skills among transportation engineers, technologists and technicians • Cost savings due to improvements in design, construction, maintenance and management of transportation infrastructure • Better transportation infrastructure due to improved quality control and the associated reduction in user operating costs • Lower environmental impact from transport infrastructure construction and maintenance

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CASHLESS COMMUTING SANRAL has developed and successfully tested an innovative ticketing system to enable commuters to use a smartcard to pay for different modes of transport, eliminating the need for multiple cards, paper-based ticketing or paying cash for journeys. SANRAL’s contactless, cashless account-based ticketing (ABT) system will mean tapping just one smartcard to pay for all transport costs – whether travelling by taxi, train, or bus. Once the new technology is launched, commuters will be able to avoid long queues and manage their travel costs more efficiently. Operators can look forward to cost savings, as well as improved reliability and security for their businesses.

SuRF-ing TO GREENER ROADS SANRAL, together with its stakeholders, is planning to adopt a rating system for road projects that promotes the use of sustainable best practices in the planning, design and construction of roads. A first for South Africa, the Sustainable Roads Forum (SuRF) rating tool allows road authorities to set sustainability intervention targets for their projects and to start measuring and reporting them in a clear and transparent manner. SuRF provides a list of design and construction interventions, guidance for implementation and a unified method of reporting. It also introduces the concept of a carbon footprint and attempts to start quantifying the reduction in the carbon footprint resulting from interventions. Uniquely, the tool also focuses on the socioeconomic impact of road projects in the context of South Africa’s inequality, unemployment challenges, skills development and history of restricted movement. The SuRF tool has been piloted on the N3 corridor upgrade between Durban and Pietermaritzburg in KwaZuluNatal. It allows road authorities to set targets for relevant credits they wish to apply to specific projects for use by their service providers. These are then used for progress reporting purposes and final scoring on completion of the project phases.

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THE TRANSPORT FORUM IS A COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM PROVIDING CONTENT AND OPPORTUNITY FOR NETWORKING TO DECISION-MAKERS IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR

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We have an active attendance of over 2400 delegates at our events annually. Our website engages with over 7000 active users monthly and of that figure over 65% are previously disadvantaged individuals. We offer all this at no cost to all attendees. Transport is an extremely wide industry and covers industries such as freight & logistics, public transport, tourism, etc. Each one of these industries is complex, specialised and holds its own sub-sectors, which are interrelated to other sub-sectors in the supply chain. To take the marine ports as an example; you have ports authorities being the landlords in the ports, but they are also responsible to pilot the vessels safely into the port. The port terminals sector takes care of the ports operations and depos within the port are managed by different stakeholders. Cargo is uploaded/offloaded from the vessels by terminal operators using specialised infrastructure and cargo is moved out of the port via different modes of transport such as trucks and trains. The latter being specialised industries as well. To a large extent, all these sectors share the same infrastructure; roads are used by trucks, busses and cars and railways share the same

Harry van Huyssteen, Custodian, Transport Forum tracks as those of freight, and passenger trains. There are important realities such as regulations, labour relations, and politics that have an impact on all of these. Should one of these sectors experience, or cause a bottleneck, it has a knock-on effect on the entire supply chain and in turn has a negative effect on the GDP of the country. The Transport Forum was born 15 years ago from an industry in dire need for closer collaboration. The big challenge being the value proposition for executives from different sectors to contribute and collaborate. How do you bring all of them together under one roof at the same time? Innovation was, and is, crucial and through sheer innovation the Transport Forum remains alive today. It was soon realised that the following imperatives should be adhered to: •

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Success is not rooted within itself; it is not a closed system. Success is a result of multidisciplinary, progressive, and collaborative initiatives achieving the same goal. The Transport Forum offers this platform to executives to share challenges, vision casting and collaboration. Quick to market. Whatever is done should not be paralyzed by reluctant delays. Delay is perceived as disrespect and unprofessionalism. Should the Transport

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Forum have an event, all content is uploaded immediately to the web; should there be a brand change with one of the sponsoring organisations, it is updated on our side immediately. Feedback is provided to all stakeholders and contributors immediately after interventions. Get closer to your customer. Never make the customer feel that someone else will take care of his, or her needs. Make the effort to better understand your customer’s world and challenges; you might be busy and do not have much time to engage with the customer as much as you like, but when you do, use his/her language, talk about things that really matter, including his/her family. Be effective. Achieve your customers’ goals and cut out the rest. Set goals and prioritise continuously. Make sure you keep up to date with industry news and associate with thought leaders to confirm and guide your goals. Be an effective copycat. Learn from others’ successes and leapfrog by improving on that. Your customer has already noticed them and is expecting you to put him in the

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lead. Do not always try to reinvent the wheel; rather make your customer feel that he was part of the process, making the competitor’s efforts obsolete. Be a platform for commerce. As much as it is important to be an expert in a specific discipline and to know what you are doing; your doing makes sense when it empowers others to generate revenue and to learn. In-service-training is the best type of training one can have. The Transport Forum empowers SMEs, also as a transformation effort, by outsourcing business opportunities to others. Hence, the powerful Transport Forum brand brings in new business creating opportunities for others to deliver and generate revenue.

The Transport Forum became unique in delivering a sustainable, but complimentary platform to major stakeholders in the transport sector. It became an asset where all parties can easily collaborate without any red tape, but still experience content of a high and specialised nature. The specialised, professional, and well-supported nature of the platform itself became the driver for revenue. Organisations buy exposure to have their brands associated with the success story. Various role players can be seen engaging in the Transport Forum’s Special Interest Groups (SIG); these are the likes of government; from all levels, state owned enterprises, private business and, industry business management, regulatory bodies, research institutions, academic institutions, as well as ICT solution providers. Collaboration and communication between these various stakeholders bring about superior solutions to create a more efficient and competitive transport sector. Topics are chosen for each monthly SIG and various credible industry players are invited to take the platform and speak to the participants. Further access to the information given by the speakers is dispelled through the Transport Forum website, www. transportsig.com, which allows attendees to share the knowledge imparted on them. Private sector and public sector experience a place where they can engage on a constructive manner to voice challenges and remain informed on policy changes.

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The Transport Forum commenced in March 2007 under the state-owned arivia.kom and was later acquired by T-Systems. In June 2018, the Transport Forum became a private company. Innovation, based on the imperatives listed above, contributed to establishing good relationships with professional bodies in the transport sector. These are essential verticals in the private sector representing members in lobbying government for effective infrastructure provision, policy formation and regulation. The Transport Forum became a federal platform for many of these bodies as a united voice in transport. This was achieved by adhering to an open system offering value to stakeholders. A great achievement was when major bodies such as the South Africa Association for Freight Forwarders (SAAFF), South African Express Parcel Association (SAEPA), South African Bus Operations Association (SABOA) and the Chartered Institute for Logistics and Transport (CILTSA) all signed up at the beginning of 2021 as formal industry alliances to the Transport Forum. The Transport Forum aims to promote: • Two-way communication between the state and stakeholders • Interest in collaboration • Agendas debated objectively • Opportunities for academics, practitioners and thought leaders to meet • Exposure of participants to the latest research, development and training programmes to build local capacity • Opportunities to take informed and welldebated decisions • The identification of best practices • Well-planned and governed mentorship programmes • The prioritisation of national transport needs

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An environment conducive to international cooperation Joint knowledge generation Industrial competitiveness

With topics of national interest being distilled, journalists have been part of the Transport Forum from the onset. Effort is made to have strong relationships with journalists and publications to assist in sharing content contributing to their mandate for accurate and contemporary reporting. A great achievement was that specialised media houses such as Freight News and Railways Africa magazines formally signed up to be associated with the Transport Forum and to date these relationships continue. If we can keep on building this platform for collaboration offering real value to stakeholders, the Transport Forum will achieve its goal and vision for the future: to be a sustainable hub based on sound innovation and business principles helping to grow our economy and create jobs for all citizens in our country.

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INNOVATION IN THE PORT SECTOR

TRANSNET PORT TERMINALS (TPT)

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 moves efficiently across the quay walls daily so that South Africa’s economy keeps pumping. The TPT Innovation Committee (TICO) provides a collaborative platform for employees to share their enthused ideas on a regular basis. The head office TICO chaired by Willie Coetsee coordinates the initiatives and contributions from regional TICO’s. The regional committees consist of volunteers representing the different departments and functional streams within the business – from operations to support functions such as finance, procurement, IT, Risk management and people management and are chaired by Innovation Champions. Such a structure allows for diversity in the ideation process.

INNOVATION IN SOUTH AFRICA’S PORTS Authored by: Willie Coetsee

It all started about three years ago when the business recognized the need to create a channel for employees to share their ideas. An innovation strategy was compiled explaining the purpose of innovation, providing an understanding of the different types of innovation, aligning to other functions such as continuous improvement, structures, processes, and procedures as well as creating a recognition and reward system. Initially a small team was put together to ensure that the function receives the necessary attention and gathers momentum. Currently, this team has been redeployed and the process is fully reliant on volunteers. However, the function provides a great deal of value adding services, such as: • Training and development: One of the team members, Aneesa Nassar attended a Design Thinking (DT) training programme at UCT’s D-School. She subsequently recommended that TPT trains Innovation Champions and other interested employees on this human-centered design approach at all terminals across the country. This team of trained employees then assisted in embedding the Design Thinking Methodology through workshops and ‘Think Tank’ sessions that were facilitated in-house. These initiatives resulted not only in savings of training costs but also expanded the DT mindset at TPT. • Innovation Campaigns: TPT HQ Innovations initiated and managed campaigns that resulted in significant ideas and solutions, such as the COVID-19 campaign. Ideas generated from these campaigns were implemented and have resulted in effective processes at the terminals during the pandemic to reduce absenteeism and improve safety practices. • In Durban TPT ran a campaign to understand how employees experience their jobs during bad weather and how employees’ working lives could be improved whilst serving customers and other stakeholders better. • Another DT Workshop in Durban assisted in generating solutions to enhance safety in terminal operations. • Saldanha DT Workshop assisted in generating Environmental solutions

“Creating opportunities for others to share their ideas”

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a team of engineers under Rofhiwa Takalani that are developing the concept and design of semi-automated equipment. TPT’s information technology team is also continuously looking at ways to better utilize operating systems.

for the Iron ore concerns at the terminal. • An East London DT Workshop identified socio-economic issues surrounding the port and through engagement with the community, were able to formulate practical and sustainable solutions. • These business units have expressed their appreciation of the benefits of having a TPT Innovations team. A team that supports the business and adds value by approaching problem solving from a different perspective. • Support to regional champions: regional champions have core deliverables and are unable to focus solely on their terminal innovations. Having a HQ structure affords them the support they need to gain traction on innovations and ensure the reporting of innovations. • Marketing Innovative thinking at TPT through Internal Alerts: These are ways to motivate others to innovate but also highlights great work done by TPT employees. These have been further shared with Transnet Group for a wider audience, contributing to TPT’s positive image, especially with competitors and clients. • Assists with research that are pertinent to driving Innovations at TPT. The real heroes are not the team that provided the structure, but the actual people that identified the opportunities to improve the workplace. Over the three years, TPT has seen ordinary people come up with extra-ordinary ideas. TPT celebrated these contributions through awards to recognize their creativity and efforts towards TPT. One of our first innovation winners was Riaan Drotskie who developed a Belt Tear & Ore spillage Detector. TPT experienced an incident in the Saldanha port where a piece of metal was wedged on the conveyor belt that transports iron ore from the stockpile 2km away to the ship. The piece of metal created a tear across a large section of the belt costing TPT R26 million

to fix. Riaan and his team developed a machine that holds an arm over the iron ore and when a protruding piece pushes against it, it trips the conveyor belt before it can cause any damage.

Collaboration with key stakeholders in the innovation space is important for growth and synergy. TPT has been working closely with Innovate Durban and the eThekwini city on innovation. TPT joined DUT, EMC, Aurecon, Innovate Durban, TIA, Oracle and Adams & Adams in the Durban Youth Innovation Challenge.

After an unfortunate incident in Richards Bay where an employee lost his life working on a conveyor belt, TPT installed guardrails on the sides of the belt. However these were not tamper proof and the guards could simply be removed without stopping the belt. Siyabulela Diya developed an alarm that would trigger when the guardrails were tampered with without stopping the system, thus preventing further loss of life.

Nearly 100 youths had been shortlisted to participate in this three-month long challenge. The Maritime Youth Innovation Challenge allowed young people of eThekwini to present practical ground-breaking solutions to existing problems facing the port, using a design thinking methodology and technology. The participants were given 21 challenges across the themes of infrastructure, transport, logistics, environment, and capacity.

Thulani Khombisa developed a paperless system for the Eastern Cape after calculating the cost and time involved in printing.

Workshops were held over a six-month period to assist the learners to develop innovative ideas to address the Durban port issues. Teams were given the opportunity to pitch their solutions to panels consisting of members within the maritime sector and the winners of this challenge were awarded with further exposure opportunities and support to develop themselves.

Kesvan Naidoo from TPT’s Durban terminals developed a FTC Mobile Rostering System that saved on overtime and created a more equitable overtime schedule. Ebrahim Salasa developed a system that would convey wind data from sensors on our port equipment directly to cellphones. This assists us with accurate monitoring of weather conditions, especially in a port like Cape Town where we can’t afford unnecessary stoppages whilst the wind is not exceeding safe operating speeds. There are other innovations that have been identified and the team is working on now. Cargo Connect is one such innovation. Cargo Connect is an online platform, developed under the leadership of Dr. Darren Fraser that integrates comprehensive logistics information and facilitates the rapid identification of optimal providers for required logistics services as well as providing much needed sight of cargo movements within the port. Equipment automation is a contentious issue in a labour intensive environment, but TPT has

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TPT is in the process of expanding the good relations built with UCT to other universities and institutions of technology. TPT acknowledges the need for students to acquire essential innovative skills over and above their core qualifications, that will help develop and sustain the South African economy. Innovations have proven to be a vital component in business, developing resilience through challenging times such as our current experiences in South Africa and across the world. To rise above uncertainties and setbacks, organizations need to be creative and agile. Embracing an innovative mindset positions businesses in the global supply chain with a competitive edge and inspires the way forward, one idea at a time!

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RAILRUNNER

NECESSITY IS ONE OF THE DRIVERS OF INNOVATION, INITIATED BY CHANGE IN CIRCUMSTANCES, FACTORS OF INFLUENCE, ECONOMIC REQUIREMENTS AND JUST A DESIRE TO WORK BETTER AND SMARTER

With the rapid growth of the logistics industry, it became necessary to develop systems limiting the handling of cargo to speed up the delivery process. During the 1990’s the late Harry Wicks, of Buffalo, NY, USA developed and patented early RailRunner concepts for a bimodal transportation system designed to take advantage of the lower cost rail transportation whilst eliminating the high cost of terminals associated with traditional intermodal. In 2000, RailRunner N.A. Inc. a shareholder and partner of RailRunner South Africa acquired the sole rights to Wick’s intellectual property for RailRunner and has since developed and patented many improvements and enhancements for worldwide use. In 2015, RailRunner N.A. entered into an agreement with RailRunner South Africa for the exclusive manufacture and distribution of RailRunner systems

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in South Africa and throughout the SADC territory. RailRunner South Africa is offering lower cost terminals, faster loading and unloading, higher payload density and reduced carbon footprint for multiple logistics markets with its Cape Gauge RailRunner product line. Mike Daniel, who has worked within the mining sector for decades believes that introducing the RailRunner system into Africa will revolutionise the mining and freight sector. In a continent with limited rail infrastructure, crumbling road infrastructure and limited governmental financial resources, RailRunner will require far less capital equipment cost for operating terminals (Terminal Anywhere)® which can be located close to points of collection and/or delivery no matter how remote. This is particularly pertinent for raw material mining or farming areas without previously existing rail infrastructure. This road- and railready intermodal transport system simplifies transport to market with supply of goods and equipment on backhaul. The RailRunner system allows easy assembly to form trains for rail, whilst allowing for road transport for first and last miles using the same trailer. Application in the SACD region is intended to provide economic freedom by providing access to market to previously un-serviced areas as well as seamless international transportation facilitated by improved border and custom systems. Also, in line with the South African government and Transnet’s strategy to move

freight from road to low-cost rail by offering open rail access, benefits to the cost of the supply chain, contribute to limiting inflationary pressures, whilst providing increased security of transport by avoiding the volatility of unrest situations as experienced during July 2021. Using RailRunner can alleviate pressure on road infrastructure and cost of maintenance thereof and contribute to fewer road accidents for which South Africa is notorious. RailRunner lowers logistics costs, reducing prices for consumers and making South African manufacturers and producers more competitive worldwide.

Benefits other than estimated cost savings of up to 20% on transportation costs are the reduction of CO2 outputs by up to 40% and the elimination of long-haul driving and associated driver fatigue/COVID infection. Various corridors have been identified to benefit from RailRunner technology: • North/South Corridor, transporting DRC copper to SA ports with backhaul of fuel & chemicals • Central/West corridor, transporting manganese ore from Kathu to Luderitz, Namibia again with backhaul of fuel • North West/East corridor, transporting chrome from NW province to SADC ports • Cape/Gauteng corridor, transporting foodstuffs and white goods from Cape warehousing to Gauteng stores • Durban/Gauteng corridor, presently transporting the bulk of goods inland, a system heavily constrained by delays and volatility In conclusion, RailRunner intermodal service will do for African logistics what cell phone companies have done for African communications!

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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

REAL ESTATE

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A MAN TRAVELS THE WORLD OVER IN SEARCH OF WHAT HE NEEDS AND RETURNS HOME TO FIND IT.” - GEORGE MOORE

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BLYTHEDALE COASTAL ESTATE – THE FUTURE OF ESTATE LIVING ON THE NORTH COAST OF KZN

POSITIONED ON WHAT IS ARGUABLY THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SITE ALONG THE NORTH COAST OF KZN 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 with education being a key element to the social needs of the community. The estate will offer Entertainment, Adventure, Leisure and Professional Sport as some key elements in the development. The Estate will pride itself in six (6) Internal Villages of Ocean, Beach Resort, Forest, Golf, Equestrian and Blythedale Hills which itself will offer 1,300 Affordable Homes of unique design and offering ensuring a sustainable village.

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An Eco Smart City Concept being the backbone to the utility of the development, making Blythedale self-sufficient. With its 3kms of coastline, 2.9kms of river frontage, 320 hectares of indigenous coastal forest, and only 35kms from King Shaka International Airport, this is a natural beauty and will be home to Land, Air and Water Safaris to add to the tourist’s experience.

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What is vital is the unlocking of one of Africa’s largest developments in job creation and small business opportunities. Blythedale will be home to 10,000 permanent jobs, over 4,000 small business opportunities and 110,000 construction jobs. The Socio-Economic impact to this region is immense.

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Blythedale Coastal Estate will soon be launching product to the market that will be aimed at all tiers of the market. The product will be limited so stay close to the project on our website to ensure that you receive regular updates. Expect to hear big news soon as the project comes online.

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SIMBITHI COUNTRY CLUB Sagila Lane, Simbithi Eco Estate, Dolphin Coast, 4399 Tel: +27 32 946 3244 blythedalecoastalestate BlythedaleE

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FLOW IS FLIPPING THE PROPERTY INDUSTRY

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 COSTEFFECTIVE PROCESS. THE FACE OF TECHNOLOGY CAN STILL BE HUMAN - AND FLOW MAKES SURE THAT ESTATE AGENTS ARE CENTRAL TO THESE MASSIVE TRANSACTIONS, TO GUIDE AND SUPPORT BUYERS.

Daniel Levy and Gil Sperling, Co-Founders and Co-CEO of Flow Flow connects estate agents to fast-evolving, hyper-connected consumers who are spending more time on digital channels. The real estate industry was being left behind in the world of online relationships that people have with businesses and services because of their complex and expensive nature - it’s a massively-fragmented space. Flow works for buyers, giving them the opportunity to experience discovering relevant properties with trusted agents who can guide them through what is likely the most expensive transaction of their lives.

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Flow flips the traditional ways of finding property on its head, enabling a massive industry which impacts agents’ income and buyers’ experience in finding their properties.

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Using social media to sell and rent property is a totally new concept in most countries in the world. Flow has delivered 30 percent month-onmonth growth, and the team has seen 10x growth in property-related social spend during the last 12 months - and expect that trend to continue. Some agents are now relying on Flow for around 90 percent of their leads.

“Our technology creates dynamic ads and automated listings at a scale otherwise impossible for estate agents and developers to do. We wanted to incorporate speed and efficiency into the way that people find property to ensure prospective buyers and tenants view relevant, personalised content and listings to match them with the right, tech-savvy agents and developers who are experts in those chosen areas,” says Flow Co-Founder and Co-CEO Daniel Levy. “The way the property market works in South Africa hasn’t changed in decades – it doesn’t make use of the hyperconnected world that digital natives, i.e. most people, are used to” Flow allows agents to laser-target specific properties to people who are looking in a particular geographical area, price range and with specific features, on the platforms where they spend hours every day.

An agent needs to build their brand on social media – because the major social currency of the agent/client relationship is trust. Flow allows agents to establish this area expertise with the power of Facebook targeting. Flow also extends the benefit of online visibility to trusted partners of agents, who can use their platform to direct buyers and sellers to experts in the rest of the property ecosystem – mortgage originators, conveyancing and transferring attorneys, insurers and the like. “Alongside geographic expansion, our long-term goal is to connect the entire property ecosystem. Searching for a property is only one component of a move – we’ve plugged in products from home & contents insurance to mortgage origination, deposit loan solutions, furniture sourcing, appliance maintenance and legal services,” says Sperling. “It’s an exciting journey to be on, designing a tool that fundamentally eases the complex, stressful and expensive process for a new buyer or tenant”.

There are 26 million South Africans currently on Facebook and Instagram and eight million on LinkedIn – and agents and developers in the country hadn’t been capitalising on that audience. Flow connects both sides of the market more effectively, at scale and automatically allowing agents and developers to focus on doing deals. It does so by harnessing behavioural data about how buyers and tenants go about their search process. “We identified a huge gap in the market for a tool that can generate insights and create positive change in so many areas of an archaic system,” says Flow Co-Founder and Co-CEO Gil Sperling.

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SOCIAL INNOVATION

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COMING TOGETHER IS A BEGINNING; KEEPING TOGETHER IS PROGRESS; WORKING TOGETHER IS SUCCESS.” - HENRY FORD

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THE GOOD THINGS GUY

THE GOOD THINGS GUY IS BEST KNOWN AS A SOURCE OF GOOD NEWS AND INSPIRATIONAL STORIES BY SOUTH AFRICANS FOR SOUTH AFRICANS. SPARKED BY AN ONLINE VIRAL MOVEMENT, THE GOOD THINGS GUY IS NOW A GLOBAL MULTI-PLATFORM MEDIA COMPANY DELIVERING GOOD NEWS DAILY TO SOUTH AFRICANS.

Kindness is the only thing that matters South 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 August 2015 to change the national conversation to bring a balanced view and perception of South Africa for South Africans through inspirational stories and good news.

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Brent put a spin on Neknominations drinking game. Instead of nominating other people to down drinks, he turned his nomination into an opportunity for a random act of kindness (RAK). The RAK initiative saw him give a homeless person an R20 meal and posted it to social media to “pay it forward.” This act of kindness turned into a global event called the RAK initiative and created the international #ChangeOneThing movement.

The power of positivity The Good Things Guy publishes more than 10 articles every day across its website and social media channels, reaching more than 1 million people per month. It also hosts a podcast series and has launched a live-stream show on the Skyroom platform.

Purpose and passion South Africans have proven their appetite for good news and inspirational stories with their support of the Good Things Guy. Brent has also created a team of journalists and storytellers to help him craft and shape their message of positivity and kindness to the world.

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Brent has been featured on Carte Blanche, eNCA, Mashable, CNN, Sky News, Oprah and Ellen DeGeneres, and many more. A quarter of their followers and readers are based overseas – proving that good news spreads. The Good Things Guy shows that good news does sell. It has won Top Blog of the Year awards a number of times in South Africa, one of the top 100 best global websites to follow as voted by international readers, and its podcast is rated as one of the best in South Africa. The Good Things Guy has more than 400,000 followers across Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Youtube daily. Their top five news stories are also displayed on various indoor and outdoor digital screens across the country to further inspire people’s days for the better.

Raising kindness in society as a priority

A force for good

As with the rest of South Africa – and the world – Brent found himself isolating at home during the COVID-19 lockdown. He and his team went into overdrive to scour the country for uplifting stories of people, the environment, business, fun, and sport – and have brought wonderful travel tales as the borders and access has opened up around our provinces and borders.

The Good Things Guy became a beacon of hope – and has firmly rooted itself in the South African psyche. Leveraging its readers, the Good Things Guy serves as a network to crowdsource aid for homeless and hunger initiatives across South Africa.

The Good Things Guy and Brent have racked up numerous awards and accolades since 2014. Brent was selected as a LeadSA Hero, one of Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs and also chosen as one of the prestigious Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South Africans.

For Brent and his team, the Good Things Guy is more than just a website and social media content. It is a way of life for them. The Good Things Guy is an advocate for kindness in South Africa – and beyond.

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CREATIVITYWILLSAVEUS - NEED WE SAY MORE? HOPE IS THE ULTIMATE CREATIVE ACT. TO MAKE SOMETHING FROM NOTHING. TO IMAGINE A REALITY THAT DOESN’T EXIST - YET. Hope is one of the most powerful forces in our lives. Without it, we struggle to move forward, to progress, to thrive. But when we do have a sense of hope - a belief that better is possible, whether it’s tomorrow, next year or even in generations to come - we are more likely to withstand even the toughest of times, both personally and collectively. Resilience goes hand in hand with hope. They feed each other. If hope is a lighthouse shining light into the darkness and guiding us to safety, resilience is the life-raft that keeps us afloat and buffers us against the harshest of storms. And creativity plays a key role in this. In fact, creativity plays a much more significant role in our lives, our choices and our society than many of us realise. After all, almost everything that we see and hear around us is made or designed by creatives, and directly impacts our sentiment - the way we think and feel. And our sentiment largely determines our choices and actions - from investments to self-care, how we treat each other and our environment. However, most of the intentional creative work that surrounds us is made or designed with the aim of maximising sales of specific products or services and increasing brand awareness, and is generally targeted at only certain sectors of society, often overlooking large numbers of individuals and communities. Not any more. CreativityWillSaveUs designs simple, creative social impact strategies and interventions which address complex socio-economic issues, increase community resilience and contribute towards a thriving, sustainable and integrated society across the African continent. These campaigns and initiatives are targeted and amplified for maximum positive impact where it is most needed.

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The team at CreativityWillSaveUs is also building a platform that connects creatives and catalyses socially relevant, collaborative work that changes the way we think and feel about ourselves, each other, our past and most importantly, our future. This aims to foster alliances and create an ecosystem with exponential capacity for creative innovation to master our current challenges ranging from climate change to inequality, genderbased violence and access to healthcare.

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“We focus on creative exploration and experimental appropriation of new and innovative technologies to contribute to the development of social and business models that will establish more sustainable and equitable solutions and strategies for long-term impact across our society” says Lene Øverland - Chief Integrity Officer at CreativityWillSaveUs. The devastating impact of Covid-19 has rippled across all segments of society, affecting every single individual, family, community and socioeconomic sector. Jobs have been lost. Businesses have closed. Schools, hospitals and other essential services are still struggling to play the critical roles that we all need in order to function optimally. Mental health issues including depression and anxiety have also increased significantly, regardless of age, culture, religion or income status. Now, more than ever, we need to harness our collective creativity - possibly our greatest human resource - and find new ways of fortifying all segments of our society, not just in order to get through challenging times, but also to look to the future and start working towards co-creating the Africa of our dreams - a resilient, robust, sustainable and fully integrated society. Creativity impacts sentiment. Sentiment impacts economy. Need we say more?

#CreativityWillSaveUs “By investing in the creative community, deepening connections across disciplines, and creating selfsustaining platforms for ongoing collaboration on meaningful, socially relevant projects, we have a better chance of getting through these tumultuous and uncertain times” says Aron Halevi - founder of CreativityWillSaveUs and best known for starting one of Africa’s most successful bands and brands, Freshlyground. “We believe that intentional and strategic creativity can change our sentiment - both

individually and collectively. And by changing our sentiment - the way we think and feel - we can change our future.” CreativityWillSaveUs also collaborates with companies, organisations and brands who are looking for new, creative ways to shift attitudes and behaviour in relation to challenging issues across our society - work which is becoming more and more critical as time goes by.

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ART SPEAKS LOUDER THAN WORDS BAZ-ART CREATES PUBLIC INTERACTION THROUGH URBAN ART Co-founders Alexandre Tilmans (Sales, Marketing and Financial Director)

Urban Art: Baz-Art creates engagement and marketing content through urban art. The co-founders noticed a need for organisations to tell truthful and impactful stories. Due to the amount of online content that seemingly could become repetitive, there was a need to be bold and stand out. Because of this, we serve the marketing needs of institutions, corporates, and organisations by facilitating the work of artists and converting it to digital content.

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. Over the years, Alexandre and Melissa have built a management team that brings over 80 years experience in entrepreneurship, financial management, project management, and artistic abilities, which is why our team believes no art project is impossible.

Community: The remarkable aspect of public art is that it is open to the public and can be enjoyed by or ignite a feeling in any passer-by. This is why we work as a non-profit in communities and schools to promote public dialogue and engagement and positively impact people’s physical, emotional, and social environments.

Our vision is to showcase the power of street art across the African continent and its ability to generate conversations among individuals and communities. All our actions are based on the respect of three pillars: Urban Art, Community and Education.

Education: At Baz-Art, we fervently promote dialogue. By speaking to one another, we educate one another, learning about each other’s worldviews, values and cultural backgrounds. Producing a public artwork is an incredible form of education, with a myriad of learning opportunities – technical skills transfer, interpersonal development, artist development and exposure to conceptual artistic thinking, amongst many other forms of learning. Since 2017, Baz- Art has held the International Public Art Festival (IPAF) in Cape Town. This annual festival is the largest street art festival in Africa and has included 180 artists worldwide. IPAF 2022 had a national reach of 12 million people, and added to these numbers was our international press coverage.

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After five years in business, here is what our clients have to say: Swiss Embassy: “The Baz Art Team has shown exemplary leadership from budgeting, over planning to implementation and they were highly respected by all stakeholders.” Business and Arts South Africa: “There is no doubt in my mind that the success of these projects added value to society and communities where these projects were carried out. It is for these reasons that BASA wholeheartedly supports Baz-Art and highly recommends for any support and funding.”

Melissa Cucci Co-Founder

UNICEF: “UNICEF will continue to partner and support BAZ-ART and its progress, as their work is an important contribution to humanitarian aid and development to build sustainable communities.” Baz-Art will continue to grow as a company and organisation by establishing flagship offices across Europe and the USA. Our in-house team will grow with the demands of our clients to ensure we continually offer a wide range of services in both project management and marketing. There are many talented street artists who we would still like to work with and many street artists we want to guide to a place of global recognition. We will raise standards without the fear of experimenting. We will keep educating along the way by expanding our art workshops into more areas. We will continually push boundaries with our projects and generate memorable street art pieces to add to cityscapes across the continent and globe. Because we believe art speaks louder than words, we know our murals will last for years to come. We are still at the beginning of our journey.

Alexandre Tilmans Co-Founder

Tel: +27 71 370 1246 Email: hello@baz-art.co.za Alexandre Tilmans

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IT’S TIME TO SAY GOODBYE, TO MALARIA GOODBYE MALARIA

Mosquitoes. For most people around the world, their buzzing is merely an irritation and a disruption to sleep. For many in Africa, it is a deadly killer. Of all the beautiful, awe-inspiring and scary animals across this continent, one of its smallest insects wreaks the most tragedy and pain. To think that this is preventable: nearly every minute, a child under the age of 5 dies from malaria, and this silent killer takes over 600,000 souls a year in sub-Saharan Africa. Mosquitoes: Africa’s curse. “We can’t kill mosquitoes, but we can end malaria,” believes Sherwin Charles, co-founder and CEO of Goodbye Malaria, an Africanrun social benefit organisation with the goal of eliminating malaria in Southern Africa.

“Elimination is achievable. Our generation can create innovative solutions for problems that ultimately change the way the world sees Africa – and kill off this preventable disease.” Such hefty aspirations aren’t expressed without purpose and passion. Those are potent motivators. These solve humanities’ worst problems, send people into space, and empower billions of people through new technologies. Moreover, malaria presents a unique opportunity to Africa and Africans: the development of new technologies, fresh thinking, and a deep-rooted sense of ‘we can do it better ourselves.’ That’s what underpinned Sherwin Charles, Robbie Brozin and Kim Lazarus uniting to found Goodbye Malaria. This is Africa’s time to rise. Goodbye Malaria’s programmes reached fever pitch in 2009 in the run-up to South Africa’s 2010 FIFA World Cup, marking it as a global watershed moment for Africa. The soldiers in the war on malaria weren’t losing energy. “We said to ourselves that we can prove to the world that we can implement solutions,” said Sherwin. “But, we will also have the world take notice of Africa with the excellence and world-class solutions that can come out of Africa – as well as showing the world we’re capable of solving our own challenges.”

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In 2010, during the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, ‘United Against Malaria’ gained a groundswell of media attention and support from across the globe. With famous footballers bringing attention to the plight of malaria. People around the world bought a ‘United Against Malaria’ bracelet – with $10 million raised from this project alone. This campaign helped position Goodbye Malaria for international support to make a local difference. The initiative facilitates public-private partnerships, bringing together the private sector, the governments of Mozambique, Eswatini and South Africa and The Global Fund whilst supporting and catalysing on-the-ground malaria elimination programmes. “Through our public-private partnership, we have brought private sector skills and mindset, fostering an impact driven culture to tackle a public health challenge.” Said Sherwin. Goodbye Malaria’s flagship programme is LSDI2, a cross-border, regional programme working in the MOSASWA (South Africa, Eswatini and Mozambique) region.

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Mozambique is among the six countries that accounted for more than half of all malaria cases and deaths worldwide as a high malaria transmission country, while Eswatini and South Africa are low transmission countries. This makes it a strategic area to tackle if elimination in Southern Africa is to be achieved. Most of the work undertaken by the programme is therefore focused on Southern Mozambique. The key malaria intervention of the programme is Indoor Residual Spraying (IRS). During the last year, with a dedicated team of over 3 000 (majority female) boots on the ground sprayed, Goodbye Malaria has protected the lives of over 3 million people in the region. Not only do their initiatives protect the community from malaria, but spray operators are recruited locally, creating much-needed employment. The programme’s success lies in its utilising communities and implementing role-players at ground level. “As we continue to make impressive gains in the fight against malaria we need to ensure malaria programme’ continue to be proactive in generating and sustaining community support for elimination activities. Ensuring we build a broader awareness of continued malaria risk despite reductions in cases. Communities affected by the disease will ultimately achieve Zero Malaria. For this to happen, the community itself must define, believe in, and commit to strategies to interrupt transmission.” explained Sherwin. The African continent has also learned from the COVID-19 pandemic. With the evolution of vaccines and rollout programmes, African based medical manufacturers are key to supplying treatment for Africans. The speed – and technology - with which a vaccine can be brought to market means that such a medication could become feasible for malaria across the continent. Africans are inspired more than ever – and spurred on by the successes of Goodbye Malaria – to find solutions right here. Eliminating malaria in South Africa is achievable. Goodbye Malaria’s results were unimaginable a decade ago. They’re changing the face of Africa for Africans – and the way the world sees the continent, too. Goodbye, Malaria.

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Left to right: Sherwin Charles, Robbie Brozin, Kingsley Holgate, and Kim Lazarus (Founders of Goodbye Malaria) The organisation aims to raise further awareness and funding for malaria programs by driving cause-related marketing actions through their range of causal merchandise made by local communities and crafters via social entrepreneurship groups to shape societal transformations through education and economic empowerment. Shop to contribute towards meaningful change at one of Goodbye Malaria carts located at OR Tambo International airport, Cape Town or George Airport or visit them online with proceeds from the sale of each item going towards malaria elimination efforts in the region. “Eliminating malaria by 2030 in Southern Africa is an audacious goal ,” said Sherwin. “But it can be achieved. There’s a lot of work to be done, more so with the proliferation of COVID-19. With care, integrity and true grit, we truly believe as Africans, we can say hamba kahle, sala kakuhle, adios and Goodbye, Malaria. For good.”

“Zero Malaria starts with me” is a global white label campaign that Goodbye Malaria is part of, but it is their modus operandi to solving Africa’s curse. Goodbye Malaria can only sustain its gains through community involvement. Involving communities on-the-ground are the key to this project’s success. Every donation to Goodbye Malaria from the wider community makes a difference. We urge you to help eliminate malaria with your support. Visit their website:

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EDS PROJECTS

INNOVATIVE IDEAS BACKED BY PRODUCTS WITH REAL SOLUTIONS

“EDS” is an acronym for Enterprise Development Solutions, our holding company, and the foundation for the business. We are proud to state that our passion lies in social entrepreneurship (education, social or family), hygiene, nutrition and health. South Africa is in need of a second economy and this can only be achieved through unique enterprise development models. Each project that is launched will increase productivity, competition, innovation and assist people within their communities to reach sustainable livelihoods.

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Handover of desks and chairs to a school in Zandspruit Together with its numerous affiliates EDS has developed sustainable enterprise development projects and models centred on the supply of fortified foods, skills development and job creation.

OUR PURPOSE For a number of years now, EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd has worked closely with the Department of Social Development, we have developed sustainable enterprise development projects centred on the supply of fortified foods, skills development and job creation, building capacity and empowerment of communities in urban and rural areas, assisting in creating a second economy, especially in depressed regions.

EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd 2017 Business of the Year Gold Winner in the Business Community Support Organisation Category

EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd not only participates but also initiates and drives numerous self-funded projects, including blanket and toy drives to those in need, setup of disaster relief programmes, supports and sponsors community sport development programmes in hockey, rugby, karate, body building, masters swimming and golf, and provides annual Christmas hampers to child headed homes.

OUR AMBITIONS • Help 65 000 children live a healthy active lifestyle • Help to improve 80 000 livelihoods in communities directly connected to our business initiatives • Strive for zero environmental impact in our operations

OUR SUCCESS • EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd 2017 Business of the Year Gold Winner in the Business Community Support Organisation Category • EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd 2016 Business of the Year Gold Winner in the Business Community Support Organisation Category • EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd 2016 Business of the Year Silver Winner in the Large Business Category • EDS Projects (Pty) Ltd 2015 Business of the Year Gold Winner in the Business Community Support Organisation Category Nelson Mandela Day Drive

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EDS Projects Staff EDS projects is also the proud holding company of the following affiliates:

SIO2

Sakhu Indhlu Development and Construction (Pty) Ltd is a silica mine located in the Free State. Silica sand which is in short supply nationally and a key mineral for the country’s growth has been earmarked for further youth development, creating secondary sustainable jobs for unskilled labourers in Gauteng and the Free State. The Department of Health & Social Development under the banner of Sustainable Livelihoods endorses the project setup by Sweet Sensations Vaal Sand (Pty) Ltd. The uniqueness of the project lies in the fact that silica sand will be bagged either on site or in areas where we need to stimulate local economies thus creating employment for those in need. We fall under the Construction, Development and Mining industry sector.

Power Foods Power Foods (Pty) Ltd is a proudly South African company that manufactures, supplies and distributes dry blended fortified foods, groceries, consumables, toiletries and fresh produce to bulk feeding programs. To date Power Foods (Pty) has delivered over 250 million fortified meals including breakfast, midmorning juice and a lunchtime meal to necessary recipients through feeding schemes and enterprise development initiatives. Power Foods is packed with complete quality nutrition, it is safe and beneficial for everyone from children of 12 months old to adults over the age of 60. Care Buckets prepared for Ramadan

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EDS Chemicals – GP2 EDS Chemicals (Pty) Ltd is a global company that manufactures and sells premium environmentally friendly degreasers and sanitising cleaning agents. Why choose GP2 products over other cleaning products? • The GP2 product range is proudly supplied to Europe, Asia, Middle East and African diplomatic missions and embassies • The lab tested GP2 product range offers a safe, eco-friendly, water soluble solution with excellent anti-bacterial qualities • 99.999% Bio kill rate as determined by an independent SANAS laboratory over a 48-hour period • A non-alcohol based, non-flammable and non-toxic sanitiser that is safe to be used by persons of all ages • GP2 is FDA Compliant, SABS: SANS 1828 as well as EN1276 accredited as a virus and pathogen eradicator

Kirinox NPC Kirinox was born to implement projects based on donations from our own internal businesses and corporate CSI (Corporate Social Investment) spend. We are dedicated to facilitating change in South Africa by drawing from years of experience in our commercial entities. Our company and its’ affiliates have a proven track record in training, mentoring and implementing sustainable co-operatives for various corporate undertakings, departmental divisions and social development initiatives. Some Kirinox Programs: 1. Power Foods for Hope Program 2. Sport, Recreational, Art and Cultural Programs 3. Environmental Health Awareness Programs 4. Education Support Programs

Eco-Edu Pencils Eco-Edu Pencils are proudly South African manufactured timber-less pencils that have a 3 x longer lifespan than your ordinary wooden pencils. As Eco-Edu pencils are manufactured out of 90% recycled synthetic composite graphite it eliminates the need to cut down trees to produce pencils whilst having an improved writing capability given that the pencil writes in a smoother manner. Eco-Edu Pencils are also Food Grade Compliant and has SGS Certification meaning that there are no harmful or toxic chemicals used in the making of the pencils. Due to its environmentally friendly manufacturing process all shavings that come from Eco-Edu Pencils can be recycled. Tel: +27 11 801 3200

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GP2 Product Range

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KOLISI FOUNDATION REMEMBER THE ONE, ONE BY ONE

Gary van Wyk, Black Bean Productions

Rachel and Siya Kolisi founded the Kolisi Foundation with this belief in mind: it is through the power of listening that positive change can happen in South Africa. We need to listen to what people dealing with challenging circumstances really need. We need to listen to the people already working in the community, the other NPOs and NGOs, in order to both learn from them and to better support them. Listening is the first step. Understanding and action must follow in order to make a meaningful difference. Doing this collaboratively is far more efficient and effective than striding out on one’s own. The commitment to listen, learn, action and collaboration are some of the core values of the Kolisi Foundation.

Started in 2020, in the middle of a global and devasting pandemic when everyone was talking about a “new normal”, the Kolisi Foundation is working towards a better normal. Partnering with organisations that are already working with the communities that the Kolisi Foundation wants to serve, enables the foundation to be more strategic with its time and resources. Reciprocally, this collaboration helps the foundation learn, grow and develop so that it can help create sustainable and more impactful change within its work.

and the development of the youth through education and sport. These focus areas do not exist in isolation, they are interconnected with deep significance for human flourishing.

Whilst it is tempting to help in every way one can, effectiveness comes through focus. The Foundation’s focus is on three inter-related areas: food security, gender-based violence,

It is a humble and sincere philosophy that has already led to connecting with thousands of under-resourced individuals working for change in their communities.

Chris Joubert, Black Bean Productions

Gary van Wyk, Black Bean Productions

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People - are not looking for handouts. What they need are opportunities.” - Rachel Kolisi Remember the one, one by one.

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It all starts with food

Since April 2020, the Kolisi Foundation has distributed more than 42 700 grocery parcels. Each grocery parcel weighs 56kgs and includes dry good staples, fresh fruit and vegetables, household cleaning items and sanitary products. In addition to this, the foundation has partnered with eight community kitchens. One of these is Lungisa’s community kitchens which supports more than a 1 000 children every day in Gugulethu, Khayelitsha, Dunoon and Joe Slovo.

For many of the children who come to Lungi’s Kitchen, this is their only meal of the day. The partnership with the Kolisi Foundation has helped double the number of children being served each day.

Addressing gender-based violence According to women’s rights practitioners in South Africa, one of the most common responses from survivors of gender-based violence is “I wish I had been able to at least protect myself.” In response to this, the Kolisi Foundation, together with NPOs and community organisations, sourced and put together Power2You Packs to hand out to women in order to put power back in their hands. The packs contain pepper-spray, a whistle, as well as a journal that has resourceful information about seeking justice, legal help and healing. Since August 2020, the Kolisi Foundation has distributed more than 12 000 Power2You Packs. In addition, the Foundation runs regular public awareness campaigns, highlighting the

work of gender-based violence organisations working in the areas of trauma response, containment, victim rights advocacy, shelter and empowerment. The Kolisi Foundation funds a 24/7 trauma support line through the Community Intervention Centre and a social worker for the Justice Desk’s intervention programmes with girls and boys.

Bringing hope through sport Siya believes that “equipping kids with a better infrastructure to live their dreams will bring hope and offer that little bit of encouragement they may need.” The focus of the Foundation in 2022 is therefore on further developing its Education and Sports Development programmes, with a particular focus on Zwide, Gqeberha, as a flagship project for its ongoing programmatic work. The Foundation wants to help more schools and sporting clubs be able to offer highquality training facilities and equipment. Its aim is to give more children equitable access to opportunities where they can excel in academic, sporting and recreational activities within their communities.

The story continues

Gary van Wyk, Black Bean Productions

The biggest ramification of lack of employment (greatly amplified by the lockdown of 2020) is food insecurity, so addressing this was the first focus of the Kolisi Foundation. Through the assistance of NPOs across the country, the Kolisi Foundation identified the communities that were struggling the most. They assisted families in these communities by delivering groceries monthly. This was a continuous short-term intervention but Siya and Rachel are fully cognizant of the fact that the delivery of grocery parcels and any other form of immediate food relief is not going to solve the problem of food insecurity in South Africa. These parcels are, however, a great opportunity for families to take a breath and then get back on their feet.

Carli-Ann Smith

Just focus on the one heart, the one person and the one life that you are changing. To remember that counts. That is more important than anything else.” Rachel Kolisi

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The journey of the Kolisi Foundation is about stories, collaboration and change. It’s about making a difference, one by one. One person, one community, and hopefully one country at a time. Should you wish to collaborate with the Kolisi Foundation, or find out more, please visit the foundation’s website.

kolisifoundation.org

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NAHANA FOUNDATION CREATIVITY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD

The Nahana Foundation is the CSI arm of the Nahana Communications Group and a first of its kind in South Africa. The Nahana Communications Group is a collective of leading specialist agencies that provide creative solutions across the marketing ecosystem. The Foundation leverages Nahana’s rich creative experience to maximise non-profit clients’ marketing efforts in order to influence positive change in South Africa. The Foundation was born in 2016 after we identified a problem within the non-profit sector, too many organisations lacked a clear brand and marketing strategy which is easily understandable and moves people to action. The Foundation is a registered NPC & PBO who connect clients who ordinarily wouldn’t have the budget for best-ofbreed advertising agencies with marketing experts from the Group.

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In facilitating these relationships we are able to give our clients the exposure they need to make an even greater impact, for good. The job of the Nahana Foundation is a unique one. We exist in a space between the advertising industry and the non-profit sector. Two completely different worlds. Worlds that for the most part, seem really far apart. But, it’s our job to put those two worlds together, because we know that magic can happen in that space. The type of magic that brings about meaningful change. We have assisted organisations such as The Tomorrow Trust, Empowervate, Hope Risen, JET Services, Aluwani, The National Mentorship Movement, CANSA, Groote Schuur Hospital Trust, Gen V and Ark. We have also had great success in creating our own flagship projects in the form of The Giant Flag, The Royal Block and ReSpek Nature. We aren’t swayed by how big or small the organisation is or the reach it has. What we want to do is ensure that deserving organisations in the nonprofit community benefit from the same quality of communications and brand development as that of the commercial world.

We were founded on the unwavering belief that creativity can change the world. The reason we exist is to make sure that creativity does change the world.”

Nahana Foundation Katie Andrews (Managing Director) Email: Katie.andrews@nahanafoundation.org Tel: +27 82 4628807

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FARM SANCTUARY SA: PIGCASSO INSPIRING A KINDER, MORE SUSTAINABLE WORLD

potential talent. Using positive reinforcement and noticing her passion for the brush, it wasn’t long before ‘Pigcasso’ began to paint - and paint. Today, at 700 kilograms, she is the biggest artist in the world! Every original is signed by Pigcasso’s nosetip, countersigned by Lefson and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. Pigcasso and Lefson also represent the first human-animal art collaboration of its kind and has captured the worlds’ imagination. Their unrivalled story has been prominently featured on all leading media networks and their art is collected by celebrities and environmentalists, including Jane Goodall and Sir David Attenborough. Amongst a number of international endorsements, Pigcasso designed the sold-out 2019 SWATCH watch and a wine label from the grapes that have survived her robust appetite at the sanctuary was released in 2020. OINK! The gallery showcasing the artworks of Pigcasso and Lefson opened in Amsterdam in September 2021. Pigcasso’s artworks have sold for millions of Rands around the world and proceeds from the sale of every artwork benefit Farm Sanctuary SA where the fine swine resides. This directly supports the organizations rescue, education and rehabilitation efforts while also providing a solid foundation of sustainability for the longterm vision. The sanctuary is open daily and it facilitates a positive connection between the general public and the lives of farm animals.

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.

Through their extraordinary partnership, the creatives aim to challenge the status quo; igniting debate on the definition of art, while highlighting the detrimental effects of animal agriculture on the welfare of farm animals and the environment in order to inspire a kinder, more sustainable world for all.

For more information Farm Sanctuary SA: When South African Joanne Lefson rescued a small piglet from a local industrialized hog facility in 2016, she knew this pig was destined to become an international art sensation. When Joanne noticed that Pigcasso ate or destroyed everything except some old paint brushes that were laying in her stall, she decided to nurture the pig’s

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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 continents in 2009 in order to inspire people to adopt shelter dogs, Through dynamic design, innovative marketing and providing an unrivalled dog adoption experience, WOOF Project is dramatically increasing adoption rates and changing the status quo. Oscars Arc selects healthy adjusted dogs from existing shelters and takes them ‘to the people’ – placing them at WOOF Project – the ‘green’ container that moves within convenient and inspired locations every weekend. Here, they are given the invaluable exposure they need to get a home - and a life. The adoption process is both positive and efficient. Those interested in adopting a dog complete a brief application and same-day home check, each dog is ready to go.

Every dog is microchipped, vaccinated and sterilized and WOOF Project also includes a Name Your Price Adoption Fee – and the guarantee that the adoption is a ‘perfect match’, for life. Since its inception in March 2017, WOOF Project operated for 213 weekends and has taken over 3704 shelter dogs off death row and placed them into forever homes. WOOF Project has drastically increased the Western Cape adoption rate by 41% and aims to increase the dog adoption rates within the Western Cape by 50% in 2023 and to ultimately develop WOOF project as a global platform with the ultimate goal ‘to home them all’. View the brief video of WOOF Project here: http://www.oscarsarc.org/woof-project.html

Oscars Arc Tel: +27 81 3470784 Email: adopt@oscarsarc.org oscarsarc oscarsarc

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THE #RAREBEARPROJECT

THERE ARE SOME PROJECTS THAT YOU’LL WORK ON IN YOUR LIFETIME THAT MAKE POSITIVE CHANGE IN OTHER PEOPLE’S LIVES – BY UPLIFTING, EMPOWERING AND EDUCATING. AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE THAT, SIMPLY BY THEIR NATURE, INEXPLICABLY CHANGE YOUR OWN LIFE FOREVER. WHEN YOUR PASSION BECOMES YOUR PURPOSE AND YOUR CAREER YOUR CALLING. Introducing the Rare Bear Project The Rare Bear Project was established in 2015 by Rare Diseases South Africa (RDSA). A registered NPO and PBO which aims to advocate for and assist those living with rare and congenital disorders to receive access to life-saving treatment and supportive care for improved quality of life. Many rare conditions require frequent hospitalisation – often for extended periods of time – with a large percentage of patients being paediatrics and minors. RDSA decided to commission companion bears for newly registered patients which would be gifted to them as a source of comfort and encouragement throughout their rare disease journey. The only premise – to find bears unlike any others – that accurately reflected the unique, one-of-a-kind individuals whom we represented. Bears that were RARE.

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At the same time a local community project were looking to host a skills clinic for unemployed ladies within the Kya Sands community. The timing couldn’t have been more serendipitous and the rest, as they say, is history.

Impact of the Rare Bear Project To date, this project has seen over 60 women upskilled in the art of crocheting, and provided them with a sustainable revenue source. The Rare Bears are handmade which, simply by the nature of it, means that each is unique in appearance. Where others saw design flaws, RDSA celebrated beauty in difference.

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The impact of the Rare Bear Project is threefold: a. Creation of a “community of love” for Rare Diseases SA patients whereby #RareBears are bought and donated to rare disease patients via the #Care4Rare programme. b. Upskilling and empowering the ladies of KyaSands, providing them with a skill, platform and opportunity to become selfemployed and enable them to provide for their families on an on-going basis. c. Generating income which is reinvested in the program to ensure longevity for the benefit of both the patients and the makers. For every donation received, 2/3 is paid to the creator of the bear, and 1/3 is placed into improving the marketing platform and distribution of the overall project to ensure long-term sustainability. Inevitably, the project is all about supporting and uplifting our community. By supporting the Rare Bear Project through the purchase or donation of a bear, you not only bring hope and happiness to a #RareWarrior, but to a community of women, sisters and mothers who’s futures may otherwise have been significantly bleaker.

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MASICORP

SUPPORTING EDUCATION IN MASIPHUMELELE – REAL CHANGE IS A TEAM EFFORT 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 during a time of apartheid segregation, when black people were moved to settlements away from white areas. This re-settlement had devastating effects on the people who were uprooted. The Thompson’s visit sparked an urgent desire for them to get involved and help the residents who were living in this community. They started with several small volunteer-driven building projects, and later went on to establish the non-profit organisation ‘’Masicorp’’. Almost 23 years later, Masicorp’s projects are reaching nearly 4 000 members of the community through a wide range of education and skills development programmes. Today Masi is home to over 40 000 people living in a space of only 2km2. High levels of unemployment, overcrowding, crime, informal housing, and lack of access to water, electricity and sanitation – are just some of the challenges that residents here face - all impact on a poverty-stricken community struggling to survive and support their families.

Masiphumelele, a township in Cape Town, is home to over 40 000 people

Meet Milli Firth – Managing Director of Masicorp ‘’My work at as a remedial teacher specialising in language difficulties led me to volunteer at Masiphumelele Library in 2004’’, explains Milli. ‘’This became my learning ground for community work. Together with the Head Librarian, Sue Alexander, we established a number of learning-outreach programmes at the Masi Library.’’

Milli Firth Masicorp MD

Milli works with children from Masiphumelele needing extra language support

Inspired by Masicorp’s passionate leadership and long-term commitment to the community, Milli joined the Masicorp team as a volunteer in 2009. Over the next few years, she was involved in a wide variety of Masicorp’s educational programmes, becoming Deputy Managing Director in 2014, then later appointed as Managing Director in 2017.

Education changes lives All Masicorp’s programmes focus on providing opportunities through education and skills

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Unemployed men and women living in Masiphumelele are learning valuable sewing skills Masicorp operates Maths and English Learning Labs at Ukhanyo Primary School. A school of nearly 2000 learners development, for children and adults – as a means towards a sustainable future and a route out of poverty. From early childhood education initiatives, primary & high school numeracy & literacy, to adult skills development – each programme aims to uplift and support – working with and run by the people of Masi themselves. In fact, most of Masicorp’s staff live in the Masi community.

“Neuroscience tells us that pre-school education changes the lives of individuals, families and communities and has a long-lasting impact into further schooling. Masicorp places a huge amount of our resources in this area. In 2021 we were able to open our third new pre-school and significantly expand our support to the informal crèches in Masi”, says Milli.

COVID’s blight on learning Planting seeds for future learning Masicorp has committed to providing highquality early-childhood education and care to prepare young children under six years of age for successful school careers. During Milli’s time with Masicorp, she has seen this programme grow to reach six hundred preschool age children each year. In fact, one-third of Masicorp’s annual budget is spent on earlychildhood development initiatives, including the training of ECD teachers living in Masi.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, learning in SA is close to one school year behind. Rotational attendance has resulted in schoolchildren losing valuable learning time. In under-resourced schools in communities like Masi, the gaps are even wider. In 2022 Masicorp’s Primary and High School numeracy and literacy programmes are working hard to regain lost ground. One of the Masicorp programmes Milli is particularly passionate about is literacy support for Masi children attending schools outside of the community. These children attend weekly sessions with ‘’Teacher Milli’’, who helps them improve their reading and literacy skills. This kind of support is vital for children to succeed in all their subjects, not just English. “The most rewarding part of what I do, is when the children proudly share t heir report card with me and seeing how they have improved in all their subjects’’, says Milli.

Over 70% of the graduates of the Masicorp free computer training courses are women Masicorp believes that learning how to learn and taking on new skills are essential tools to help people work towards being able to support their families.

Masicorp is a light in Masiphumelele that has been shining for 23 years’’, says Milli, ‘’By continuing to provide support, encouragement and opportunities, we look forward to seeing a brighter future for people living in this resilient community.’’ For more information about Masicorp programmes, and how to get involved visit our website or give us a call.

Skills for a brighter future

Masicorp's pre-school programmes also provide two cooked nutritional meals per day for the children

Through partnerships with various other community organisations Masicorp also helps to fill the gap in skills transfer, life skills and gender equality in Masiphumelele. Training in computers, sewing and art is offered to teen and adult community members free of charge.

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Masicorp Tel: +27 21 7851923 MASICORP masicorp.org

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BRIDGES FOR MUSIC

CHANGING LIVES THROUGH CREATIVE EDUCATION AND MUSIC

It was nine years ago that, ignited by a recognition of the tremendous talent and the tremendous hardship that exists in South Africa’s township communities, Bridges for Music was launched as a dream of connecting the broader music industry with young creatives from underserved communities. Since then, the dream has been realised in a multitude of creative and inspiring ways! From connecting communities with artists such as Ed Sheeran, Skrillex, Bonobo, Sho Madjozi, Zolani Mahola or Richie Hawtin in the form of educational workshops to the construction of the Bridges Academy, a forward-thinking

creative school in the heart of Langa, the dream has grown beyond one of its founding members Thulani Headman (aka Fosta) dreams “At first we wanted to connect international artists with our communities, hosting workshops that could attract people from the city into the township to be able to collaborate and connect, leaving behind stigmas from the past. Then we started sponsoring local artists from the communities to perform with these artists at international festivals in the UK, Netherlands, Spain and many more… and now we are running an incredible school in Langa and we are looking at replicating the model in other townships. Sometimes I can´t believe what has happened over the past nine years.” The profound, and complex, challenges the youth faces have sadly not diminished in the

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Thulani Headman aka FOSTA, Founding Member and Operations Manager, Bridges for Music

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intervening years; poverty, crime and violence, a severe dearth of employment and quality educational opportunities combined with highly compromised social support structures have left most young people from underserved communities deeply discouraged and with few opportunities to transcend the structural inequalities so effectively wrought under the apartheid regime on their parent’s generations. This is particularly true for those with more creative aptitudes. In words of Fosta “I’m the prime example of this reinforcing cycle in the townships, I got caught up in the wrong side of things when I was young and would like to save that to other young people who often end up doing the wrong things because they don’t know otherwise.” The building of the Bridges Academy in 2017 was a huge accomplishment, signaling the fulfilment of our vision to create a permanent space in Langa that could become a beacon of

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light and through which BFM could provide ongoing support for young people. Today the Bridges Academy is standing firmly in Langa and has already seen hundreds of students benefiting from the various programs run on a yearly basis. Music remains central to the offerings at the Bridges Academy and indeed is why it has had such success in drawing young people in and keeping them engaged on the programs, but it is just one part of their offering. A focus on developing work readiness, an entrepreneurial mindset and mental and emotional resilience is foundational to what they do and the broader social impact. Ex-students are now passing on their learnings to other young people in their communities; sharing the skills they have learnt, hosting meditations and healing circles, and thinking about how they could play a role in creating positive change in their own communities. That is the true ripple effect and impact that BFM is creating.

Bridges for Music 16 MOFFAT ST LANGA Email: IG @bridgesformusic connect@bridgesformusic.org

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CHAPTER TWENTY

CONSERVATION & ENVIRONMENT 356

THE GREATEST THREAT TO THE PLANET IS THE BELIEF THAT SOMEONE ELSE WILL SAVE IT.” - ROBERT SWAN

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GREENPOP

COMMITTED TO GETTING ACTIVE (NOT ANXIOUS) FOR THE FUTURE OF OUR PLANET A short while later, Misha and Lauren Teasdale and one of the first 10 friends, Jeremy Hewitt (a.k.a. Jeremy Loops) officially founded Greenpop, on the basis that with passion and horsepower, anything is possible. The organisation grew organically and now, 12 years after its birth, they have planted over 175 000 trees, hosted over 550 workshops and events, planted 10 school fynbos gardens, painted 26 nature-themed murals, won a plethora of awards, appeared in countless media articles and implemented projects for WWF, IUCN and other international NGOs.

Their Vision A TREEvolution - a world where people and nature thrive together.

Their Mission They’re on a mission to plant trees, green communities and empower environmental stewards across Sub-Saharan Africa.

In 2010, Misha was traveling around the world doing a media job with his friend Rowan Pybus. They racked up a lot of carbon emissions – about 360 000 air miles worth – and wanted to do something real about it, something big. At a dinner party in Cape Town shortly afterwards, the idea was fleshed out and in September 2010, Misha, Lauren and 10 friends set themselves the challenge of planting 1000 trees in one month. They succeeded; the phone wouldn’t stop ringing and the idea that this could work as a social enterprise began to form – individuals and companies wanted to get involved in tree-planting and they believed they could creatively make that happen.

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If we fall in love with nature, we will naturally protect it. We are nature, not separate from it,” says Lauren.

Juliette Bisset

Misha & Lauren Teasdale from Greenpop have dedicated their lives to getting active (not anxious) and promoting positive environmentalism through their organisation, Greenpop.

They work to restore ecosystems and empower environmental stewards through forest restoration, urban greening, food gardens and environmental awareness. But their approach is what sets them apart - their work is impactful, measured and aligned with global goals but it’s also full of fun. It attracts thousands of people from all walks of life and invites them to reconnect with nature.

Lauren and Misha Teasdale with their son

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Some 2021 Accolades

Their Offerings Greenpop has two entities: The Greenpop Foundation and Greenpop Experiences. Through The Greenpop Foundation they run various projects under four themes with the following goals: Forest restoration Goal: To restore and protect forest ecosystems across Sub-Saharan Africa using an integrated ecosystem restoration and sustainable development approach. Urban greening Goal: To increase urban green space and nature appreciation in cities through indigenous gardening and environmental education. Food gardens Goal: To increase access to fresh produce for communities in urban and rural areas through community gardens, backyard gardens, and permaculture gardens. Environmental awareness Goal: To increase environmental awareness, stewardship, and collective action amongst individuals, communities, organisations, businesses, and government bodies globally. Through Greenpop Experiences, they run festivals, expeditions and school camps. Some are tailor made to suit the group and two are annual events:

The Reforest Fest: a weekend gathering of approximately 700 people coming together to plant up to 7000 trees, enjoy local live music, camp out, attend sustainability workshops and more.

• Greenpop was named an official supporting partner of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021 - 2030 (https://www. decadeonrestoration.org/partners) • Their Uilenkraal Valley Ecosystem Restoration Project was chosen as one of the Founding 50 restoration initiatives for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (https://implementers.decadeonrestoration. org/implementers) • Two team members were named as winners in the Mail & Guardian Greening the Future Awards. Category: Preservation of Natural Habitats • Greenpop won silver in the Eco-Logic Awards Eco Innovation category for their Family Food Gardens Project in collaboration with Urban Harvest • They were awarded grant funding from the British Council for an in-real-life and virtual reality environmental art project in collaboration with Cooperative Innovations on the impacts of plastic resulting in the creation of a virtual Museum of Plastic

Testimonials: The Eden Festival of Action: an immersive experience where people come and “live sustainability” for a week in the beautiful Eden district of South Africa, with nature-based activities and workshops every day, delicious plant-based food, film screenings, talks and physical activity.

“Beyond project deliverables, I have learned enough about Greenpop to recognise it as a values-based organisation dedicated to the betterment of our world. I do not hesitate to recommend Greenpop as a capable and committed conservation partner.” ~ Head of Urban Alliance - IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)

Their Approach Greenpop believes that climate change should be seen not only as an environmental issue, but also as an issue of social justice in South Africa — and that without a focus on mitigating and adapting to climate change, social and economic development gains will be short-lived. In 2020, Greenpop set an ambitious goal to plant 500 000 trees by 2025 and one million trees by 2030.

“The Greenpop Foundation NPC has displayed high levels of accountability, integrity, honesty and dedication to their project and have proven their ability to deliver a high standard of work and conduct sound financial management.” ~ Manager of The Table Mountain Fund

Their ambitions are made possible by centering their work around people. They believe in making greening POPular in order to achieve far-reaching goals. Countless volunteers, friends, family and community members have helped to build Greenpop into a movement. “You can’t achieve everything on your own. Building a team and strong community is so important for long-term success,” says Misha.

DO great things: Don’t just talk about them. Innovate, activate and make great things happen! Now is the time for action. Have the courage to contribute. Show us your magic.

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Greenpop’s 8th company value sums them up well:

Greenpop greenpopsa GreenpopTreevolution

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THE GIANT FLAG

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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 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 precinct and a 20-megawatt solar field, on a previously barren tract of land on the outskirts of Graaff-Reinet. Featured as one of the CNN 10 Ideas to Change the World, at 66 hectares the Giant Flag will be viewable from space. The project will not only claim its place as a natural wonder, but also as a new model of economic stimulus for previously-disadvantaged communities. The township communities in and around Graaff-Reinet have for generations been living on or below the poverty line. Jobs are scarce, many are uneducated or semi-literate, social ills are common, and hard, cheap drugs are pushed throughout the community. The rape and murder statistics equal the national levels, which are high, and the gini-coefficient is the highest in South Africa. Ecologically, the Karoo is semi-arid, and while much of the preserved areas are healthy, many decades of farming and overgrazing have had its effects, especially on the land that makes up the municipal commonage. This includes the land where

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Artists impression

the Giant Flag is located, which is denuded and eroded. Spekboom, as the original endemic thicket, is an ideal approach to restoring balance to the damaged soil, and will make up the 22 hectare green ‘Y’ in the Flag. Politically, Graaff-Reinet is a microcosm of South Africa. As the fourth oldest town in the country, all the past inequities were present in the community. The Giant Flag Trust is focusing entirely on addressing the needs of the poorest of the poor, and it is from that group that we hire our staff. The Giant Flag proposes to create 300 permanent and diverse jobs, including tourism, agriculture, botanical, technological, solar, management and security. 60% employed would be women, which is double the national standard. It will be the first commercial scale solar field to harvest water, to be stored in an 11 million-liter reservoir on site.

Leading up to and since its public launch, the Giant Flag has received the support of various sponsors, including Investec Bank, Google, Toyota, Montego Pet Nutrition, the Lottery Foundation, creative agency Nahana Group and satellite company Geo Data Design. There have also been several government departments adding their support at varying levels, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa, the Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform, the Eastern Cape Development Corporation and SANParks (South African National Parks). We also have strategic partners in the local municipality, Dr Beyers Naude, as well as Nelson Mandela University. In addition, there have been major media accolades internationally including features in Forbes and Fast Company. Locally, SABC TV and DStv have been media partners to the project. To find out more about this remarkable project, please visit:

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GATEWAY TO AFRICA 362

AFRICA IS THE FUTURE.” - YOUSSOU N’DOUR

Title: ‘Cape Leopardendangered’ for the International Public Art Festival; 2020: Theme: 100% Sustainable”, produced by Baz-Art and Sonny

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GOOGLE

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 daily. Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has pledged to invest $1billion in the next five years to cover a range of initiatives, from improved connectivity to investments in startups. Google has seen how technology can be a lifeline as a leading tech company. The company takes action by developing products and creating partnerships to effect social change. Universal accessibility and usefulness are fundamental ingredients for building Africa. That is the core of Google’s mission. “Expanding opportunity through technology is deeply personal to me,” said Pichai. “That’s because I grew up without much access to it. Every new technology — from the rotary phone to the television — changed my family’s life for the better. That’s why I’m a technology optimist. I believe in how people can harness it for good.” Africa is a cradle of opportunity: innovation is increasingly beginning in Africa and then mushrooming worldwide. Africa is a place of early adopters; let’s not forget that people in Africa were among the first to access the internet through a phone rather than a computer; mobile money was ubiquitous in East Africa before the world adopted it. Over 300 million people will come online in Africa over the next five years. Many of these will be young, creative, and entrepreneurial – and they’ll be ready to drive new innovation and opportunity across the continent.

Google and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai

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Google’s Equiano subsea cable will improve connectivity, resilience and latency for people living and working in Africa. Said Pichai: “It’s been incredible to see the rapid pace of change in a short amount of time, and be a partner on that journey. Since we opened our first offices in Africa, we’ve enabled 100 million Africans to access the internet for the first time and empowered millions of businesses and creators with digital tools.” “A big focus has been on expanding opportunity through digital skills. In 2017, we committed to help 10 million Africans get the digital skills they need to grow their careers and businesses. So far, we’ve trained six million people. We’ve also trained 80,000 developers from every country in Africa and supported more than 80 startups to raise global venture capital funding, creating thousands of jobs.” In 2018, Google opened an artificial intelligence (AI) research centre in Accra, Ghana. The team is focused on solving challenges relevant to Africa and the world, like using AI to map buildings that are hard to detect using traditional tools and adding 200,000 kilometres of roads on Google Maps. Google continually builds for Africa’s unique needs. Products like Android Go and Files Go ensure that everyone can have a great smartphone experience. On YouTube, it supports Black creators and artists with its Black Voices Fund. With its USD $1-billion investment over five years, it will cover a range of initiatives to reach even more people through digital transformation in four key areas: • Enabling affordable access and building products for every kind of African user • Helping businesses with their digital transformation • Investing in entrepreneurs to spur next-generation technologies • Supporting non-profits working to improve lives across Africa Google partners with African governments, policymakers, educators, entrepreneurs and businesses. Opportunities abound for Africa to shape the next wave of innovation with Google products, support, and initiatives empowering millions of Africa’s people.

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HYBR

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. Vuyisa Qabaka

HYBR is a unique social enterprise founded in Africa with the mission to scale good and beautiful solutions for businesses and people of the continent. Founded in 2018, the organisation is headed by Charles Ojei with partners Vuyisa Qabaka and Scott Walker. Based in Nigeria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, respectively, HYBR offers clients and project partners insights and solutions

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with local and global relevance. Its focus lies in agriculture, education, healthcare, financial inclusion, FMCG, and energy. HYBR works in unison with African innovation ecosystems established and fostered to scale business solutions. How does HYBR tackle these challenges? Innovation isn’t a term used lightly by HYBR. These are critical responses to generational societal challenges. Through discovery, design and deployment, it studies, analyses, and creates commercially viable scalable solutions. It develops these from three innovation missions to fulfil its purpose: the Circular Economy, Inclusion, and, Sustainable Lives.

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The Circular Economy is a mission to accelerate Africa’s adoption of circular economy principles and actions. Those key tenets are re-localised, regenerative, and restorative by design. They devise solutions that optimise resources, reduce the consumption of raw materials, and recover waste throughout the supply chain. This exemplifies HYBR’s approach: business actions are rooted in the principles of being a force for good that can sustainably drive social, economic, and environmental change in Africa. The second of their innovation missions is creating opportunities that enable inclusive

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African societies for the benefit of many, especially women, the youth, and those affected by inequalities. HYBR’s third innovation mission it injects into its projects is called Sustainable Lives. This objective is to improve the quality of life, health, and well-being of all Africans. Networking is as old as the African continent – and one of the most fundamental business resource tools HYBR uses. Its core team comprises innovation specialists and project managers with broad cross-category expertise. It taps into a deep network for expert resources. For specialised projects,

it supplements its core team with in-depth proficiencies of dedicated subject matter authorities or niche experts with highly specialised skills. It also calls on its network advisors: world authorities and renowned experts in specialised fields to further advance projects’ impact and scale. HYBR provides three services to create a lasting impact: Venture Builder, Innovation Partner and System Enabler. The Venture Builder service creates and supports scalable ventures that develop new solutions that shift key markets. With its Innovation Partner service, HYBR designs, tests, and scales innovation solutions that move the impact needle. Its System Enabler creates bespoke structures that solve multi-faceted challenges. Together with AfriLabs and ATCG (Africa Tech and Creative Group), HYBR has partnered and assisted large corporates such as Coca-Cola, Facebook, Google, Sage, IBM, Samsung, Merck, Safaricom, and Deloitte to not only penetrate African markets but drive sustainable social change. HYBR typifies how business in Africa thrives when it purposefully benefits people and communities.

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HKLM

BLAZING A TRAIL FOR AFRICAN BRANDING Africa and its people; and armed with the vision to dismantle the status quo. “Historically we had been told that the world’s best strategy and creative work came out of London, New York and Tokyo. But why not Africa? We decided the best would now come from Africa too, and used our can-do attitude to make that happen,” says McCoy. This beginning was fertile ground for pushing the envelope in developing truly original African branding and design that was unlike anything the continent had seen before. HKLM quickly picked up its first Nigerian client, the brand new telecoms outfit Glo. With its eye for deeply inspired branding, the HKLM team launched Glo in the market to much acclaim – a feat that stood the test of time, as Glo today ranks as Nigeria’s second largest network operator. Soon blue-chip clients were seeking out the Joburg-based agency to build their wholly African brands in an increasingly competitive market. It was Africa’s time to shine, and big brands wanted HKLM to help them do just that. McCoy says it was what they fondly called ‘the business school of Lagos’ that shaped their distinctive, innovative and successful approach to African branding. “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 had just happened to us. A far cry from our boardroom of Sandton back in Johannesburg, we had been dropped into a colourful, vibrant, crazy, hustle and bustle of a city. It was inspiring, mesmerising and intoxicating all at once. We instantly knew we wanted to run a branding agency that tapped into that energy; an agency run by Africans for Africans,” recalls Sean McCoy, founder and executive director of HKLM, one of Africa’s leading, independent strategic brand consultancies. It was with this immersive beginning that HKLM took its first breath, and just weeks later the talents of architect Graham Leigh and accountant Paul Kirsten were enlisted - Leigh to lend his environmental branding expertise, and Kirsten to oversee the financial side. The result was a multidisciplinary branding and design agency founded with a trailblazing, entrepreneurial spirit; fuelled by a deep passion for

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“Fancy degrees mean little when it comes to working in Africa. If you want to really learn your trade, try working in a busy, frenetic city like Lagos. That place teaches you patience, humility and resilience. It’s the real school of hard knocks where you learn as you go. If you can hustle and make it work in Lagos, you’ve earned your stripes,” says McCoy. It was from these early experiences that HKLM coined the phrase, ‘if you can brand in Africa, you can brand anywhere in the world’, referring to the complexities of working in culturally, geographically, socially, religiously, economically diverse African countries with hundreds of subtle nuances that must be taken into account. This, to ensure communications remain relevant and are not tone deaf, as is often the case with multinationals based outside of Africa. From this emerged HKLM’s trademark approach of embarking on partnerships with its clients, of working together – not top down – to solve branding challenges, and of immersing the branding team in the heady sights, sounds, colours and vibrancy of the African markets in which they work. Every HKLM job involves on-the-ground research of that country, of walking the streets, the markets and the malls to get to grips with the inherent flavour of each place, and then bringing pieces of that back home to Joburg to recreate the energy of that country in the office there.

This highly engaging approach has seen the award-winning HKLM land big brands such as the Bank of Abyssinia in Ethiopia, MUA across East Africa, MCel in Mozambique, Wilderness Safaris across the SADC region and of course Glo, which is still a client 20 years on. “There’s no one-size fits all here,” concludes McCoy. “You can’t sell Lagos from a laptop in Sandton. You have to truly understand Africa to work with Africa.” Given its track record on the continent, it’s clear HKLM aspires to do just that.

ZAHRA MIRZA | Tel: +27 76 959 9389 | Email: zmirza@hklmgroup.com GARY HARWOOD | Tel: +27 83 441 0174 | Email: gharwood@hklmgroup.com DR. SEAN MCCOY | Tel: +27 82 558 5080 | Email: smccoy@hklmgroup.com

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WHO ARE THE FINCLUSION GROUP?

FINCLUSION GROUP IS ENHANCING FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN AFRICA BY COMBINING A WORLD-CLASS PRODUCT OFFERING WITH TOP OF THE LINE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES TO CATER FOR THE NEEDS OF THOSE TRADITIONALLY EXCLUDED FROM THE FORMAL FINANCIAL SECTOR.

Finclusion Group is a diverse team of fintech professionals and entrepreneurs. They are passionate about building products that help make financial tools more accessible to all Africans.

the continent. Finclusion Group is excited about building the future of African financial technology and becoming its first and favourite neo-bank.

By leveraging risk, credit, and technology expertise, they aim to be at the forefront of the fintech sector in Africa and pride themselves on their supervised machine learning and AI capabilities. These tools give Finclusion Group the ability to make highly informed predictions on credit applications in seconds; based on financial and psychometric data.

The businesses in the Group leverage financial, credit risk and technological expertise to innovatively provide fintech solutions safely using advanced, proprietary AI algorithms. Their key focus areas for the moment are financial wellness, credit-scoring and direct lending, operating through multiple brands.

Our Story So, what does this mean? Finclusion Group can serve those bypassed by traditional banking and financial infrastructure by making loans, insurance, Buy Now Pay Later, and others more accessible. Their product offering focuses on creating value for employers, employees and consumers while closing the credit gap that persists on

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After spending ten years in Sub-Saharan Africa in financial services, CEO Timothy Nuy founded Finclusion Group after noticing a gap in the market for a fintech solution that better meets the needs of its employed population. This gap provided an opportunity to maximise societal impact whilst making no compromise in the business case.

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Formal western financial services have decades of financial user data to assess. Western consumers are well-adjusted to operating in the developed world with their high-speed internet connections, multiple bank branches and several sources of financial data readily available. All of this is needed to access formal financial services. Assuming Africans will automatically fit into these western business models is a pipe dream, far removed from the realities of life in Africa.

Timothy Nuy, Founder / Chief Executive Officer To this end, Finclusion Group looks to leverage experiences within the SSA financial services space to curate a set of scalable fintech verticals that form a fully cohesive fintech ecosystem to monetise the African paycheque. Tim established Finclusion Group to maintain its core values of responsible finance and customer-centricity. Doing business in Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, is difficult; the region still hosts the world’s largest underbanked population, with many such individuals only recently establishing some form of mobile or internet connectivity. Finclusion Group’s team is particularly aware of this, having structured the business to overcome two significant obstacles standing in the way of inclusive financial services: overcoming Africa’s distribution gap and understanding the credit risk profile of the population with limited financial records.

Unfortunately, this has been the case for many years leaving Sub-Saharan Africa underserved with few financial solutions suitable for their needs and accessible through their current means. The key to Finclusion Group’s success is their understanding of the Sub-Saharan African consumer and their needs and how best to service them. Too often have entrepreneurs promised to revolutionise the continent by re-cycling developed market innovations, with the promise of unlocking the areas economic capacity. But unfortunately, these businesses most often fall short due to the business model lacking economic viability within an African context or through underwhelming market uptake by consumers. Connecting with our customers is what Finclusion Group does best; the Group has looked to maximise the number of consumer touchpoints where possible, employing user-centric web and mobile applications. Finclusion Group has looked to simplify user interaction with their financial service provider, providing greater insight into their financial situation and allowing them to take back control of their financial wellbeing. The Group have activated several consumer touchpoints, including internet connectivity and mobile access to all users, consistently looking to leverage the true power of fintech, which can provide distribution channels that allow the Group to optimise accessibility, profitability and user experience. Finclusion Group would not do what they do without state-of-the-art credit risk models, which underpin their financial innovations. Housed within Fractal Labs, the groups proprietary AI algorithms harness both alternative and traditional financial data sources to provide an accurate credit risk analysis of even the thinnest filled individuals in a socially responsible manner.

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The Group has processed over 6m loan applications and granted >$1bn of credit. Their credit risk and data science capabilities provide the competitive advantage that Finclusion Group leverage in each of their offerings. Combined with a holistic set of financial solutions, these models allow greater insight into consumers financial status, presenting the opportunity to customise the product offering to meet each customer’s needs. Finclusion Group will provide the springboard to allow every African the opportunity to leapfrog the need for traditional banking institutions by catering to their needs with innovative and genuinely Afrocentric financial solutions. The Finclusion Group believes that digitised fintech offerings will soon become default financial solutions in Africa. By maximising their products’ impact, the Group will broaden their offering to provide holistically financial solutions and become Africa’s one-stop-fintech-shop to meet every African financial need.

finclusiongroup.com

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KINGSLEY HOLGATE FOUNDATION

KINGSLEY HOLGATE IS RIGHTFULLY REGARDED AS THE MOST TRAVELLED PERSON IN AFRICA

Kingsley and his Foundation team have driven across the continent over hundreds of thousands of kilometres through all 54 countries over the last three decades, distributing mosquito bed nets and other much-needed healthcare relief to the remotest parts of the continent. Kingsley isn’t only inspired by adventure: he’s a humanitarian and a proud African ambassador. For the Holgate family, malaria prevention and treatment have been at the forefront of their 40 expeditions after seeing the ravaging effects of this disease firsthand in remote villages. “Africa endures 95-percent of all cases and deaths worldwide, and 14 of the world’s most vulnerable countries are in sub-Saharan Africa. Our expedition team has also suffered from constant bouts of this silent killer – I have had malaria over 50 times.

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So, as a family and team and using our own funding initially, we started distributing life-saving mosquito bed nets and malaria prevention education to pregnant mums and mothers with children under the age of five. Land Rover, Goodbye Malaria and other partners joined in, and the programme has grown from strength to strength.” The Kingsley Holgate Foundation isn’t only about this man with the big beard and muddy Land Rover. As ambassadors for Goodbye Malaria, every Kingsley Holgate Foundation expedition brings them closer to eradicating malaria from Africa. The expeditions use the principles of adventure to improve and save lives. Its latest expedition, the Transcontinental Defender Expedition, is its 40th journey into the wilds of Africa. It runs from October 2021 to July 2022, over 30,000km from Cape Agulhas (Africa’s most southerly point) to Nordkapp (Europe’s most northerly accessible point by road in Norway’s Arctic Circle). Kingsley, his team and Goodbye Malaria are taking the tools to fight malaria to the communities across sub-Saharan Africa. Delivering mosquito nets and providing education is best done by Land Rovers: it takes the provisions directly to the most vulnerable communities in Africa. It also takes Kingsley to each village, school, and home. On the ground, face-to-face meetings and eye-to-eye conversations with pregnant women and mothers of children under the age of five are the only way to stem the tides of malaria deaths effectively. This is micro support with global effects. Kingsley’s son Ross serves as the Foundation’s expedition leader. He’s partnered with his dad on every one of the 40 expeditions. None of this would be possible without a fantastic team behind them: Sheelagh Antrobus (co-driver and researcher), Mike Nixon (expedition cyclist), Fiona Nixon (co-driver, logistics, and research support), and Anna Holgate (logistics). Every expedition is an opportunity for the Holgates to further spread good throughout Africa. And for this expedition, the team aims to help over 300,000 people in sub-Saharan Africa and say, ‘Goodbye, Malaria.’ The Transcontinental Defender Expedition drives five other significant initiatives, too.

Kingsley and Ross will provide eye tests and distribute reading glasses to poor-sighted people in remote communities as part of Mashozi’s Rite to Sight initiative. “The difference an ordinary pair of specs makes to a person’s quality of life is instantaneous and always extremely gratifying,” said Kingsley about this campaign started by his wife over a decade ago. To date, this campaign has distributed nearly 260,000 pairs of reading glasses to the elderly and poor sighted. Water purification is another central element of the Transcontinental Defender Expedition. Kingsley believes in the impact and value of Life Straws: “Dysentery is also a killer, so another of our humanitarian projects is the distribution of Life Straws – a water filter that hangs around your neck, providing close to 1,000 litres of potable drinking water – very necessary, especially for nomadic tribesmen in dry regions where sometimes the only source of water is a muddy, dung-infested waterhole.” The Kingsley Holgate Foundation also encourages preserving and protecting Africa’s wildlife and habitats through ongoing education campaigns. Getting community buy-in for nature conservation adds long-term economic sustainability to their region. Nutritional food packs and Early Childhood Development (ECD) teaching materials are also distributed to children and teachers. This expedition also aims to be carbon-neutral through a spekboom-thicket and tree-planting initiative to offset the expedition’s carbon footprint.

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Born in KwaZulu-Natal, Kingsley was an adventurer from a young age. The great Victorian explorers inspired his travels, such as David Livingstone, spurring his journeys into Africa. His Land Rovers, calabash, beards, open arms, and ready smile are known throughout Africa. The Holgate family is made of the stuff of legends. They’ve always travelled as a family, from Cape Town to Cairo, even circumnavigated its outer edge, and driven through all 54 countries on the continent. These past expeditions have achieved two noteworthy geographic world-firsts – in the fashion of Kingsley’s role model Livingstone: the discovery of the geographic centre-point of Africa in the rainforests of the Republic of Congo; and he’s reached all seven extreme geographic points of the African continent. “When you get to a village and hear a mother screaming for help, her child in a malarial coma and the nearest clinic 100 kilometres away by dugout canoe, it’s like a thud to the heart,” said Kingsley. “It’s unbelievable that in this modern day and age we live with a disease that’s been around since the dawn of time, that’s still killing hundreds of thousands of people every year – lives that can be saved by a simple insecticide treated mosquito net along with knowledge and education.” Malaria stops with us. “Tchau Tchau, Malaria.”

kingsleyholgate.com

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INC.AFRICA

WHY AFRICA’S INNOVATION STORY MUST BE TOLD AND WHY INC.AFRICA IS WRITING THE NARRATIVE

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 founder of Disrupting Africa. “The inverse of this is Silicon Valley, Europe and even China. Go on Amazon or Google and enter ‘Steve Jobs’ as a search. The plethora of books that just pop out on this one individual is astounding. Now do the same for the locals you know – Africa’s equivalent of Steve Jobs. Nothing pops up.” It is high time that African innovators are supported and that their stories are recorded and amplified, says Oranye. In a world where Western countries have often sourced and repackaged concepts from Africa as their own, he believes now is the time for Africa to write its own story. He does concede that Silicon Valley has existed for close to a century while mobile innovation in Africa has only been around for the past 15 years. “You could say that Africa hasn’t matured enough to have its own innovation stories written about it, but this argument falls aside if one understands the correlation between storytelling and innovation,” he says. Research from Disrupting Africa reveals that there are some 30-million innovators in Africa who could disrupt this continent’s future, but holds that these stories aren’t getting the attention they deserve. “Our

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argument is that storytelling in the African innovation context is a critical element to success in moving Africa forward,” he says. Africa has the highest entrepreneurship rate globally with 22% of the continent’s workingage population starting up businesses. Despite this, few businesses that start on the continent survive or break through to become globally successful. Africa has the highest female entrepreneurship rate but has huge funding gaps. Women get well under 3% of funding. The big problem? Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystems that support startups lag. This coupled with legacy infrastructure deficits and resource gaps limit the potential of entrepreneurs on the continent. People in Africa want to be business owners, but lack adequate access to the data, solutions, education, role models and resources that could liberate their potential. This has created an uneven playing field where only a few entrepreneurs achieve breakthrough growth. But Inc.Africa has arrived as a teaching media resource to amplify the stories of local entrepreneurs, particularly women. The title is positioned to give aspirant business builders on the continent, and in the diaspora, everything they need to start, grow and run a business in Africa.

Nnamdi Oranye

Ifeoma Uddoh

in the beginning of processing anything,” says Seetaroo who arrived in Côte d’Ivoire to oversee the transfer of a stalled business investment to new owners.

All employees now have access to quality medical care. The impact goes further. Farmers the company sources raw nuts from are being nurtured with agricultural training, financial support and education programmes.

Instead, Seetaroo acquired a shareholding in what is now Cashew Coast which today employs 700 locals. The plant has a processing capacity of 9,000 tonnes and realised its first profitable half-year in 2021. Importantly, Cashew Cost is now a fully certified organic cashew nut supplier to European markets. This achieves the goal of moving up the cashew nut value chain while contributing to the fight against climate change.

Importantly, the platform showcases stories of innovative entrepreneurs who are industry disruptors. These include Salma Seetaroo who is changing the face of cashew nut processing in Côte d’Ivoire and setting an example for the rest of Africa.

The big lesson in Seetaroo’s story is the creation of meaning through service and improving the lives of people. Another passion of this leader is female empowerment. The norm in Côte d’Ivoire is for men to manage and for women to be factory floor labour. This, despite the fact that over 70% of the employees are women.

“It was like buying a set of big debt-ridden empty warehouses with equipment shoved in a corner. No employees, no operations, not even

Cashew Coast has four women in a management team of 10 that leads production, quality and HR. This impacts policy.

In a similar way, Nigerian female founder, Ifeoma Uddoh is addressing the deficit in funding for women with Shecluded. The female first solution makes a range of services available, including low-interest loans for personal development, investment opportunities and retirement and health insurance plans. Since launching in 2019, the team has assisted over 17 500 Nigerian women, providing access to business support, wealth advisory services, health insurance, credit education, as well as financial and business literacy resources. Researcher Oranye says by telling and amplifying the stories of innovators, media help bring deal flow and ecosystemic support to founders, which makes a big difference to their success or failure. “We have a strong role to play to make sure we tell the stories of innovators accurately. If we fail to do this, the generations behind us will have no anchor or reference points, and Africa will be back to square one,” he says. In knitting the fabric of this continental story together, innovators, entrepreneurs and their supporters can help create a grand narrative ecosystem that supports everyone.

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INDEX

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Finclusion Group

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Flow Communications 264 Flow Travel 208 Flux Trends 25, 276 Friends and Allies, Scallywags Climbing 294 Fuzzy Logic Studio 64 Giant Flag 360 Girls Fly Program Africa Foundation (GFPA) 220 Global e-Talent 286 Global Village Publishing Inc. 1, 55 Goodbye Malaria 338 Google 16, 17, 364 Greenpop 358 Hashlips 104 HaveYouHeard 44, 254 Heavy Chef 226 Hirsch’s 196 HKLM 50, 368 Hollard 47, 158 Home of My Own 160 Honest Chocolate 190 HYBR Group 366 Imizizi 284 Inc.Africa 374 Injini, Africa’s EdTech Accelerator & Think Tank 70 Innovation City 28, 72 Integer\Hotspot 39, 244 Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB SA) 51 iTouch 126 Joe Public United 36, 232 Khayelitsha Bandwidth Barn (KBWB) 68 King Price Insurance 156 Klein JAN 206 Knife Capital 43, 86 Kolisi Foundation 344 KOLT Creatives 278 Kudoti 80 Life Alert 110 M&C Saatchi Abel 42, 234 Mahlako a Phahla 88 Masicorp 352 MatchKit 296 Matrix Group 238 Mediology 34, 35, 230 MellowVans 62 Microsoft South Africa 92 MySociaLife 130 Nahana Foundation 346 Nando’s 200 Naylor and Croy Physiotherapy 300 Nedbank 19, 142 Nestlé East and Southern Africa (ESAR) 188

Flow

328

NxaTel

2U 218 4C Group of Companies 100 Accenture 20 Adoctus 109 Aerobotics 63 Aggreko 27, 170, 176 Analytix Engine 81 Aurex Constructors 180 AWCA Investment Holdings 138 B2B Warriors 52, 272 Bank Zero 24, 146 Baz Art 336 BillyBo Group 18 BioCiTi Labs 71 Blythedale Coastal Estate 324 Boomplaats Organic Farm 204 Brand Central 51 BrandMapp - WhyFive Insights 260 Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship South Africa 22, 76 Bridges for Music 31, 354 BT Industrial Group 33, 194 CapaCiTi Digital Career Accelerator 67 Cape Innovation & Technology Initiative (CiTi) 41, 66 Capitec 136 Carbon1 250 Carrick Wealth 148 CG Tech 53, 178 CHAPS - The Centre for HIV-AIDS Prevention Studies 306 Chefs Warehouse

202

Chorus Call

282

Cinevation

246

Clickatell CompariSure CreativityWillSaveUs CTLR Robotics

37, 116 60 334 46, 102

Daily Maverick

268

DataDistillr

124

Datafree Discovery DMG Events Doug M. Consultancy

118 14, 150 270 23

Dynamic Brands

192

EDS Projects

340

Elegant Fuel EOH

182 32, 94

Everyday Speak

248

Farm Sanctuary SA (Pigcasso)

348

FCB.ai

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Ogilvy South Africa 236 Omnia Solutions 222 Oscars Arc 349 Paddy Upton 38 Park Advertising 54, 240 Pioneers Magazine 59 Prommac 178 RailRunner South Africa 320 Rare Bear Project 350 Reco. 45, 108 Reco.Voice Metrics 113 Red & Yellow Creative School of Business 212 Red-Lined International 292 Relimail 111 Retail Capital 132 Retroviral 49, 252 Sanlam 152 SANRAL - South African National Roads Agency Soc Ltd 40, 310 Sasol 162, OBC Shout-It-Now (Shout) 304 SiMODiSA 37 Sizakele Marutlulle 26 Skyfield Marketing 262 Smartee - Iconix Engineering Solutions 84 SmartStaff 112 SnapScan 122 SovTech 120 Streetschool 224 Tag8 Media 256 Tarsus on Demand 114 The Cape Trade Portal 58 The Good Things Guy 332 The Kingsley Holgate Foundation 372 The MakerSpace 74 The Resilience Factory 298 The Sharks 290 The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) 6 Third-i Marketing Intelligence 258 Tiger Brands 186 TMJ Attorneys 280 Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) 318 Transport Forum 314 Travelstart 29 TymeBank 48, 144 Varsity Vibe 128 VeloCiTi Entrepreneurial Dev Programme 69 Water Hygiene Convenience (WHC) 82 Wesgro 30, 58 Xtendevent 52, 272 YIEDI - Youth Innovation Entrepreneurship Design Institute 15, 78 Yoco

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InnovationsoftheWorld.com

SHOWCASING THE BEST OF THE WORLD - CONNECTING MINDS - BUILDING COMMUNITIES

The Innovate series is a 300-page in-depth study and AR video series that showcases the people and companies that are leading the race within the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystems of each city and industry. A book with augmented reality video, an online platform and a global network with a common goal of ensuring the brightest minds of the world connect and succeed.

IT’S A KIND OF MAGIC...

DOWNLOAD THE GLOBAL VILLAGE AR APP TO VIEW 100 AUGMENTED REALITY VIDEOS IN THIS BOOK! To experience the future of print, download the Global Village AR App from the IOS or Android App stores. Open the App and hold it about 30cm above any page that contains an image with the “play” Icon.

Make sure your back camera is pointing at the page. Click the Play button that appears onscreen and immerse yourself in the latest updated content with reference to that page.

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IT ALWAYS SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE UNTIL IT’S DONE.” - NELSON MANDELA

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