The Technology Top 100 (TT100) Awards programme held its annual awards ceremony to honour innovation in South African business at the Vodacom Dome this week.
Derek Hanekom, Department of Science and Technology (DST) minister, whose department has, since 1994, served as the main sponsor of the awards, delivered the keynote speech.
"Programmes such as TT100 are valuable in fostering strong and sustainable partnerships between government and industry, and the relationships within the TT100 ecosystem are of vital importance to future science and technology policy and sustained job-creation initiatives," said Hanekom.
The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), meanwhile, sponsored the Emerging TT100 Enterprises section of the evening.
"As the IDC, we are honoured to be associated with the TT100 Awards programme. Our combined efforts are already bearing fruit with the remarkable milestones achieved within the green industries and renewable sectors. Let's continue to work towards a new enterprising generation of innovators."
In the lead-up to the event, all registered entrants needed to go through the adjudication process. To make it through to the second round, entrants needed to complete a questionnaire, after which they could present to a panel of at least three adjudicators.
Most importantly, these organisations were scored on how they had commercialised an innovative process for sustainable benefit for their stakeholders.
Roy Marcus, CEO of TT100, said: "Looking at companies holistically, being a TT100 company is not about technology itself - but rather about the management of technology.
"It's about how a company adopts and adapts, and it's about their technology, which might not necessarily be their invention, but they've put it to use in an innovative way that has contributed to the significant growth of their business."
The most prestigious award on the night was the minister's Award for Overall Excellence. In this category, First National Bank (FNB) and Van Reenen Steel walked away with the large enterprise joint award, with Agility Global Health Solutions taking the award for best medium enterprise.
Share
