Winners across business, tech, policy and finance were honoured at the second annual Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards held at Cape Town City Hall.
- Bluebird, Jobjack and Checkers Sixty60 were among the big winners at the Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards in Cape Town.
- Thirteen winners were chosen across six categories whose innovation was making an enduring impact on the local and regional economy.
- Premier Alan Winde and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis gave speeches along with FNB’s provincial head Stephan Claassen.
Thirteen trailblazers in innovation were honoured at the second Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards in Cape Town on Monday.
Held at the City Hall and attended by Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis and Premier Alan Winde, the 13 winners won across six categories, including core businesses, workforce, research, infrastructure, governance and finance.
From a door-to-door workforce transport solution called Bluebird to Checkers Sixty60’s takeover of the speedy delivery market, the awards hailed innovations which are building the regional economic ecosystem.
Big name winners include the Shoprite Group’s Sixty60 e-commerce delivery service, which has created over 18 000 jobs since its launch seven years ago, and the V&A Waterfront’s new R230-million superyacht marina development.
Master of ceremonies Michael Lawrence, who is executive director of the NCRF of South Africa, said the scope of this year’s innovation champions showed “an ecosystem at work”.
“Tonight, we have not simply celebrated individual achievements. We have seen excellence across an entire economic ecosystem,” he added.
“No organisation builds an economy alone. Progress emerges when many actors work together with a shared purpose.”
Both Hill-Lewis and Winde praised the province’s role in driving tech solutions, with Hill-Lewis citing the Cape Town-Stellenbosch corridor’s new achievement of holding more tech startups than any other African city.
Tracey Chambers won in the core industries and business category for her NPO Taking Care of Business, which helps unemployed workers upskill themselves to work with clothing waste in the circular economy.
To secure an award, nominees were evaluated against results-based criteria: the measurable scale of beneficial impact on the provincial economy, the practical novelty of the solution, and the volume of local businesses and employees directly benefiting from the innovation.
Here are the 13 winners of the event, hosted by the Cape Chamber of Commerce:
Core Industries and Business
- Agri-Expo – Breyton Milford, General Manager;
- The Shoprite Group: Sixty60 – Andy Ridge, GM: Digital Commerce and Zyla de Bruyn, e-Commerce Supply Chain Specialist
- Taking Care of Business and Grow ECD – Tracey Chambers, Founder
- Bluebird Group SA – Wasief Chilwan, Managing Director
Workforce and Human Capital
- JOBJACK – Christiaan van der Berg and Heine Bellingan, co-founders
- The African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) – Prof Karin-Therese Howell
Research and Development
- Fluorobiotech – Du Preez van Staden, CEO
Infrastructure and Connectivity
- V&A Waterfront: Quay 7 Superyacht Marina – Andre Blaine, Executive Manager: Marine and Industrial
- Swartland Municipality – Joggie Scholtz, Municipal Manager
Capital and Finance
- Western Cape Provincial Treasury: Alternative and Blended Finance – Aryn van de Rheede, Director: Provincial Government Budget Office and Owen Willcox, Chief Director: Public Policy Services
Public Policy and Support Institutions
- City of Cape Town: Digital Wayleave Management System – Kochiwe Miti, Wayleave Manager: Engineering Management Branch
- Western Cape Red Tape Reduction Unit – John Peters, Founder and Chief Director: WCG Department of Economic Development and Tourism
- SA Wine: Research, Development and Innovation Department – Gerard Martin, Research, Development and Innovation Executive
Paul Herman
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