Durban – More than R15 million was awarded to 17 outstanding South African social innovators at the 13th annual SAB Foundation Social Innovation and 8th annual Disability Empowerment Awards held in Johannesburg recently.
Prosthetic Engineering Technologies founders Luvuyo Sume and Riaan Knight took the top honour in the Disability Empowerment category, while Bevlen Sudhu took first place in the Social Innovation category with his innovative solution, Re-Purpose. Each of the winning innovators was awarded R1.3m in grant funding.
Sume and Knight’s innovation is a high-quality silicone prosthetic liner for amputees. This liner acts as a shock absorber while walking and, whether worn above or below the knee, ensures a comfortable fit while aiding users in maintaining limb hygiene.
Sudhu’s sustainable solution offers a waste management approach that aids schools, residents, businesses, buy-back centres, and communities to segregate recyclable waste, which can then be transformed into market-ready products.
The SAB Foundation awarded more than R15m to 17 remarkable entrepreneurs during the awards ceremony. These awards stand as a testament to the foundation’s prestigious flagship Social Innovation Awards programme and its unwavering commitment to fostering entrepreneurial development in South Africa.
SAB Foundation executive director Bridgit Evans said: “The Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards programme is focused on supporting businesses that have developed products, services, business models and processes which directly address social challenges, while simultaneously creating a sustainable business model.
“The awards comprise of grant funding, alongside business development support and tailored mentoring to assist with venture growth.
“As with every year, we are impressed by the exceptionally high calibre of social innovators that have applied,” Evans continued.
“It is heartening to see these deserving entrepreneurs provide solutions for the challenges affecting communities across our country with their innovative approaches.”
In his keynote address, Higher Education, Science, and Innovation Deputy Minister Buti Manamela said: “Both government and the private sector are deeply committed to working with communities to drive essential and urgently needed change. We are excited about the prospect of various initiatives that encourage and empower individuals to take the lead in developing social innovation.”
SAB’s corporate affairs vice-president Zoleka Lisa said: “SAB is committed to supporting entrepreneurs through various programmes across our value chain, with a mission of accelerating economic growth and ensuring that businesses become more sustainable for consumers, customers, and communities. This is a special moment for all entrepreneurs who have been able to endure the challenges they have encountered to successfully stimulate local socio-economic activities in the areas they operate.”
This year’s entries were a showcase of innovative solutions to address social issues across many industries.
Job-Abled founders Christiaan van den Berg and Marius Erasmus were awarded second place in the Disability Empowerment category, receiving R950 000 in prize money. Job-Abled is a recruitment platform for persons with a disability. Their innovative solution involves partnerships with corporates and educational institutions that provide job shadowing opportunities and community project involvement for people with disabilities.
Easy Squeezy founders Giancarlo Beukes and Gokul Nair were awarded second place in the Social Innovation category and R950 000 in funding. They developed a novel and reusable asthma pump sleeve attachment for people with limited strength in their arms, such as children and the elderly. Three key features include a dual mechanism, a resettable dosage counter and animated characters to combat the stigma of children carrying and using their inhalers.
Green Arch Aquaponics Micro-Franchise founder Luvo Gugwana got third place in this category and was awarded R850 000 in grant funding. His sustainable solution assists with subsidised aquaponics franchising in low-income communities. This unique two-pronged model approach acts as an integral stance for the adoption of sustainable agriculture.
Evans added: “Over the past 13 years, we have invested over R68m in funding and business development support, to assist 174 social innovators in growing their businesses.
“These entrepreneurs have created 1 577 new jobs and 2 485 people have been collectively employed, which has indirectly impacted 9 940 livelihoods.”
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