Obakeng Matlhoko from Sowertech and Phathwa Senenewere from ATINOV were named as winners of The Innovation Hub's inaugural Gauteng Innovation Competition, by Gauteng MEC for Economic Development Qedani Mahlangu at an awards ceremony in Pretoria today.
The Innovation Hub is a subsidiary of Blue IQ Investment Holdings, which is an agency of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development.
The Innovation Hub partnered with mLab for the inaugural competition, which drew 129 entries from Gauteng citizens in the categories of green service delivery and mobile service delivery. The top three submissions in each category walked away with cash prizes and seed funding ranging from R30 000 to R175 000.
The winning entry in the green service delivery category focuses on a valve lifting button that is specially designed for RDP toilets and adjustable for others. It is a simple device that is intended to reduce the amount of water wasted on a daily basis. The device gives the ability to limit the amount of water used when flushing a toilet.
The winning entry in the mobile service delivery category focuses on questionnaire tools (Q-Tools). It tests knowledge via a cloud-based platform that trains and reinforces information required in the performance of various duties.
Gauteng MEC for the Department of Economic Development, Qedani Mahlangu, says competitions like the GIC offer innovators the platform to expose their products to the market and thereby contribute to the Gauteng province's economic growth and development in innovative ways. “In future, the competition will be run with a focus on three areas: mobile, green and biosciences, to build on the establishment of the Biosciences Park at The Innovation Hub,” she says.
Other category winners in mobile technologies are Kobus Van Der Walt from House4shack and Justin Coetzee from Mobi.lity, who designed an electricity substation monitoring tool and a mobile transport information system respectively.
Additional category winners in green technologies are Jan Davel from OneGreen Engineering, who presented a biomass energy project, and Carel Snyman from Gridcars.net, whose entry was a battery and solar operated bicycle.
McLean Sibanda, The Innovation Hub CEO, says the competition provides a robust platform for innovative solutions and services to emerge. “The standard of entries has been high and our team of judges had a very difficult job whittling them down to just five finalists per category. We are proud of all the entries received and congratulate the finalists for their outstanding efforts,” he says.
The competition invited fresh concepts from the citizens of the province, creating a link between the innovators and the Gauteng government. It aims to showcase new ideas and provide the opportunity for innovators to market their ideas.
Entries in the green service delivery focused mainly on energy provision and management, waste management, water conservation and low-energy lighting provision. The mobile service delivery entries included innovative ideas for customer relationship management, incident reporting, consumer protection, mobile payments, remote metering, transport information and ticketing.
Finalists were announced after a rigorous judging process by industry experts from across the province, encompassing the mobile and green technologies.
The top five entries in the two themes pitched their solutions at the awards ceremony.
Prize details
The top three submissions in each theme received the following prizes:
* First place: R75 000 as a cash prize, and seed funding of R175 000
* Second place: R45 000 as a cash prize, and seed funding of R105 000
* Third place: R30 000 as a cash prize, and seed funding of R70 000
Seed funding will be granted in two payments tied to agreed development milestones. In addition to the cash prize and seed funding, the three winners in each category will receive mentorship and commercialisation support. The theme co-ordinators will also facilitate linkages with local government for possible procurement of the solutions.
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Blue IQ
Blue IQ Investment Holdings is an implementation agency of the Gauteng Provincial Government through the Department of Economic Development. Launched in 2003, Blue IQ facilitates strategic economic infrastructure for the province to position Gauteng as the gateway into Africa and the economic powerhouse of the continent, while addressing poverty alleviation, imperatives of the green economy and sustainable job creation.
Blue IQ identifies projects that are innovative, unique, smart and a catalyst for further development and job creation. These projects are developed to the point where they become self-sustainable and can be handed over to other partners. The agency was responsible for flagship projects such as the Gautrain, Newtown and the Nelson Mandela Bridge, the Cradle of Humankind, Constitution Hill, the Automotive Industry Development Centre and the Supplier Park Development Company.
For more information, visit www.blueiq.co.za or contact Stephen Watson, Group Executive: Marketing, Communications & Events, 011 689 1600.
The Innovation Hub
The Innovation Hub (TIH), a Blue IQ subsidiary, is Africa's first internationally accredited Science Park and a full member of the International Association of Science Parks (IASP). The leading knowledge-intensive business cluster in South Africa, TIH is strategically located in Tshwane - South Africa's executive capital - in the 'smart' Province of Gauteng. TIH implements the initiatives identified in the Gauteng Innovation Strategy and Green Economy Strategy to advance the economic development and growth of the province through innovation.
The Innovation Hub has created a unique space for hi-tech entrepreneurs, world-class businesses, academics, researchers and venture capitalists to meet, network and prosper.
For more information, please visit www.theinnovationhub.com.
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