JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, February 10, 2021/ -- Meat Naturally and Agricool Finance were awarded joint first place in the 10th
Annual Social Innovation Awards, while Leafline Washable Sanitary Wear
scooped first place in the Disability Empowerment Awards. All
three winners were awarded R1.3 million in grant funding. A total
amount of R12.6 million in grant funding and business development
support was given away to all our 17 Finalists.
The Social
Innovation Awards are aimed at innovators, entrepreneurs and
institutions with prototypes or early-stage businesses that solve a
social problem through a sustainable business model.
Joint first place Social Innovation winners were:
Agricool Finance,
based in KwaZulu-Natal, is a digital crowdfunding platform developed by
Zamokuhle Thwala, that creates financial inclusion by providing small
holder farmers with finance and market opportunities through its digital
platform;
Meat Naturally, social enterprise
based in Mpumalanga, founded by Sarah Frazee, that supports communal
farmers in building a sustainable farming model and provides market
access for red meat producers.
Third place and R850 000 in funding was awarded to
Invisio Al,
founded by Kathryn Malherbe. Invisio AI uses machine learning to
identify, segment and predict breast cancer type by means of ultrasound
images and algorithms.
Disability Empowerment Award Winners The
Disability Empowerment Awards are aimed at promoting social innovations
that improve the quality of life for people with disabilities through
assistive devices, training or employment.
Leafline Washable Sanitary Wear,
founded by Candy Androliakos and based in Port Alfred, was awarded
R1.3m. Leafline employs people living with disabilities to manufacture
affordable and biodegradable sanitary products, nappies, chair and bed
protectors made from natural fibre.
Three other businesses were each awarded R500 000 in development funding. These businesses were:
Sipokuhle Community Development founded
by Sithembele Dlutu is a sustainable agricultural project based in East
London that aims to empower young and vulnerable people with
intellectual disabilities through skills development and job creation.
Digital Interactive Educational Books, launched by the National Institute for the Deaf aims to promote language acquisitions through play.
Virecom founded
by Jabu Blose is a video remote communications company that provides
high-definition video remote interpreting, on-site interpreting,
written-text-to-sign language translation and training.
“Over the
past nine years, we have invested R80 million in supporting 170
talented South African innovators,” says Bridgit Evans, SAB Foundation
Director. “After all of these years of being involved with social
innovation at the SAB Foundation, I am still amazed and humbled by what
each new round of our annual awards presents to us, and the levels of
commitment and sacrifice that these unique entrepreneurs are prepared to
make. This year in particular we were so inspired by the entrepreneurs
that we have met – despite a challenging year due to the ongoing
pandemic, we have seen these incredible people not just surviving, but
in some cases, thriving”
All our other finalists were awarded development and seed funding. Below is a full list of our winners.
Social Innovation Award winners(First place, R1.3 million) Meat Naturally, Mpumalanga:
A social enterprise supporting communal farmers to build a sustainable
farming model that provides market access for red meat producers. Meat
Naturally aims to revolutionise livestock production in South Africa by
addressing environmental degradation and social inequality through
supporting communal farmers. Farmers receive formal training on
regenerative grazing techniques, rangeland restoration, cattle
management, stock theft patrol and predator control. Mobile auctions and
abattoirs also provide them with the opportunity to reach new markets.
(First place, R1.3 million) Agricool Finance, KwaZulu-Natal:
A digital crowdfunding platform that creates financial inclusion by
providing small holder farmers with finance and market linkage
opportunities. These farmers are offered affordable, efficient and
reliable options, and are linked to a network of informal vendors and
supermarkets to sell their fresh produce.
(Third place, R850 000) Invisio Al, Gauteng: A
web-based software and patient application platform that receives
images for ultrasound units in practice. The images are fed into a
unique deep machine learning system that identifies any abnormal breast
cancer masses. This system speaks to both the specialist physician and
patient to provide diagnostic solutions and educational platforms.
(Development Award, R650 000) Umoya Foods, Gauteng: Premium
health food products that are sourced from small scale farming
operations. Umoya Foods creates nutritionally valuable products using
ingredients sourced from crops that are optimised for small scale
farming production. The aim is to increase income in rural communities
by commercialising local crops. They have developed a premium range of
health food products based on amaranth, using both the leaf and seeds.
(Development Award, R450 000) Word of Mouth, Western Cape: A
digital market system that connects informal micro-enterprises with
customers looking for local services. Customers are able to find local
services faster, at affordable prices, from reliable service providers.
Business owners, meanwhile, have access to benefits such as group
discounts on suppliers and training.
(Development Award, R450 000) OYI Medical Card, Gauteng:
A prepaid medical expense credit card for individuals and families that
do not have access to funds for unexpected medical and healthcare
needs. It works as a savings card for medical spend only and is
supported by secure payment technology.
(Development Award, R450 000) Healthforce, Gauteng:
A user-friendly web-based application that enables nurses to improve
their clinical care with the support of remote general practitioners via
a video telemedicine service. Doctors are HPCSA registered and are able
to provide medical advice and treatment, repeat or first-time
prescriptions and vaccinations, family planning, chronic and acute
illnesses, referrals and sick notes.
(Development Award, R450 000) Zenzeleni Community Networks, Eastern Cape:
A solar powered wireless community network that works closely with
cooperatives in rural communities. It aims to deliver affordable voice
and data services, charge mobile devices and to transfer skills. It also
tackles unemployment by empowering these cooperatives to generate an
income from the sale of voice and data services.
(Development Award, R450 000) Syked, Gauteng: A
virtual private counselling platform for individuals looking for
alternative ways of seeking support without putting themselves at risk.
This online wellness platform provides a full turnkey solution that
connects patients with suitable qualified counselling practitioners.
This is done via video call in the comfort of their own homes and can be
conducted outside normal operating office hours.
(Seed Grant, R200 000) Respo, KwaZulu–Natal: A
mobile application offering an effective way of requesting emergency
services through a GPS tracking system. Respo offers people an easier
way of requesting an ambulance in the event of life-threatening
emergencies. The mobile app uses GPS tracking and data capture
technology where patients’ medical information is preloaded to match
them with the closest available emergency services vehicle.
(Seed Grant, R200 000) MALII, Gauteng: A
mobile application that enables taxi commuters to make payments without
the use of cash. Commuters are able to load their monthly taxi fare
into an e-wallet and pay via a QR code sticker in the taxi window. The
driver gets an instant notification of their payment and the funds
reflect immediately in the driver’s bank account.
Disability Empowerment Award winners(First place, R1.3 million) Leafline washable Sanitary Wear, Eastern Cape: An
affordable and biodegradable sanitary product range made from natural
products using the inner part of the cayenne pineapple leaf. This
washable, cost effective and environmentally friendly sanitary product
range that is manufactured by people living with disabilities includes
sanitary towels, adult and children’s nappies, breast pads, as well as
chair and bed protectors The leafline fibre absorbs moisture and odours,
and is easy to wash and dry.
(Development Award, R500 000) Sipokuhle Community Development, Eastern Cape: A
sustainable agricultural project that aims to empower young and
vulnerable people with intellectual disabilities through skills
development and job creation. The project equips these young people with
food production, vermiculture and administrative skills to enable them
to produce premium quality vegetables that are suitable to be sold to
the local market.
(Development Award, R500 000) Digital Interactive Educational Books, Western Cape:
A digital interactive educational book launched by the National
Institute for the Deaf. It aims to promote language acquisitions through
play. The book provides parents and caregivers without South African
Sign Language skills the opportunity to interact with their deaf child
or infant. The digital book is also a useful resource to stimulate
linguistic development for deaf children, whilst developing the child
emotionally, socially and academically.
(Development Award, R500 000) Virecom, Gauteng: A
deaf-owned video remote communications company that provides
high-definition video remote interpreting, on-site interpreting,
written-text-to-sign language translation and training. It was developed
in response to the shortage of qualified sign language interpreters.
The tool allows deaf people to gain opportunities and resources to
ensure equal communications access.
(Seed Grant, R350 000) Para-Tube, Gauteng: A
cost effective retro-fitted seating device with a built-in toilet
enables those that are wheelchair-bound to utilise the toilet without
having to be lifted out of their wheelchair. The device works using
biodegradable disposable bags, the seat is breathable and waterproof,
and its height protects the user’s lumbar spine.
(Seed Grant, R350 000) Carel Du Toit Trust E-Training Platform, Western Cape: An
e-learning digital platform that assists hearing impaired children to
learn to hear and talk, while providing parental and professional
guidance. The objective of the app is for these children to develop
adequate spoken language, enabling integration into the hearing society.
No comments :
Post a Comment