Science and innovation can make a lasting positive impact in communities across the country, as a recent awards ceremony proved.
The Grassroots Innovation Awards were hosted in Gauteng on 5 December 2024 and celebrated and honoured exceptional grassroot innovators who dare to push the boundaries of innovation with their groundbreaking and impactful innovative initiatives. The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in collaboration with the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) hosted the Grassroots Awards ceremony at the Science Forum, at the CSIR in Pretoria.
TIA Acting CEO, Patrick Krappie explains that there were specific goals for the establishment of the awards. “We wanted to acknowledge innovators for their contribution to the National System of Innovation and show the public that their ideas and achievements are valued.” he says.
The Grassroot Innovation Awards serve as a motivation to innovators across the board to strive for excellence and facilitate the collaboration of diverse support networks and sponsors to empower innovators with broad access to additional funding and support, particularly from private sector contributors. They promote the uptake and diffusion of the technologies in the market and society through showcasing these solutions to an audience that includes international guests. This prestigious event serves as a beacon to ignite a vibrant discussion on the role of innovation in society, between all stakeholders, the scientific community, government, industry, and civil society.
“Through these awards we are celebrating and showcasing entrepreneurs and innovation champions who are making an impact with their ideas and technologies. These entrepreneurs operate outside of formal innovation systems, they come from townships, rural areas and other marginalised communities. We are hoping to attract even more young people by showing them that there is government support through TIA to develop their ideas to commercialisation.” concluded Krappie.
Innovators were awarded in eight categories
- Outstanding Women Grassroots Innovator
The award recognises and celebrates outstanding achievements and contributions made by women in the field of innovation. This award honours women who are demonstrating exceptional creativity, leadership, and impact in driving positive change.
Winner: Annemarie Bremmer
Kleinskuur Gravel Barrel Auto Syphon system is an energy efficient, water wise, cost effective, high production aquaponics system. It is a simplified and novel way of filling the gravel barrels with water from the top of each barrel through a thin irrigation pipe and syphoning the water out of a whole section of barrels.
- Outstanding Youth Grassroots Innovator
The award recognises and celebrates the outstanding achievements of young individuals whose innovative solutions demonstrate a potential for exceptional creativity and impact in the realm of innovation. This award honours youths who have shown a commitment to pushing boundaries, generating novel ideas, andcontributing positively to communities through innovative solutions.
Winner: Nkosinathi Mbele
AdNotes Pioneering TVWS: An Alternative Technology to Connect Hard-to-Reach African Communities. AdNotes is fully licensed by the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (ICASA) and certified by the Film and Publication Board (FPB) to operate and provide Internet services in South Africa. As members of the Internet Service Provider Association (ISPA), the Wireless Access Providers Association (WAPA), and the first Gold member of Ruijie Networks in South Africa, we adhere to ISPA’s Code of Conduct
- Disability Innovation Award
The award recognises and celebrates innovators that are demonstrating exceptional commitment to the well-being and inclusion of people with disabilities through innovative solutions. These are innovators that are showing potential for commitment to breaking down barriers, fostering accessibility, and enhancing the overall quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
Winner: Shakila Maharaj
ShazaCin Accessible Media – Mobile App is an access tool and an art form that uses the spoken word to make the visual world accessible to blind persons. The ShazaCin App serves as a personal narrator, creating an imaginative visual experience of tourist attractions for blind persons. The App stores soundtracks of videos such as films and pre-recorded tours, local and global. The blind user then listens to the audio through their mobile phones.
Social Innovation Awards is aimed at innovators, entrepreneurs, institutions and social enterprises with prototypes or early-stage businesses that can solve social issues in our country. These products, services, business models and processes should directly address social challenges while simultaneously creating a sustainable business model.
Winner: Keletso Lekwakwe
Password Kid integrates cutting-edge technology to eliminate these pain points: Verification at Pickups: Using advanced features such as OTP (One-Time Password), QR code scanning, and facial recognition, we ensure only authorized individuals can pick up children.
- Sales Beyond SA Borders/ Export Potential Award
This award celebrates grassroots innovators that have made sales outside of South African borders or have demonstrated a potential for exports through signed agreements/negotiations with potential international partners.
Winner: Annemarie Bremmer
- Innovator in the Market generating significant revenue Award
This award celebrates innovators that have launched their products in the market, created an enterprise and has secured other incomes through grants, loans and sales.
Winner: Thulile Mthethwa
Memeza is a black woman owned Social Enterprise that has developed South Africa’s first Public Alarm system that is endorsed by the National Government and South African Police Service (SAPS), designed and built for low-income communities and safety of the most vulnerable people in society (woman, children, elderly, disabled, Public Schools and SMME’s), who do not have access to the private security industry.
- Labs/Centres for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Supporting Grassroots Innovators
The DSTI and TIA have established 13 Living Labs, 9 Centres for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and mLabs in 4 provinces. The purpose of these Labs and Centres is to provide a physical space and innovation infrastructure for innovators to ideate and progress their solutions to market through the offering of a structured innovation support training and a combination of technical and innovation skills training.
Winner: Innovate Durban Living Lab
The Innovation Co-Lab is aimed at providing access, for the local community, to innovation-related tools, information, and resources, and is designed to empower people to become more innovative in problem solving, create opportunities for new businesses, create jobs, and tackle social issues in their community.
- Grassroots Innovator of the Year 2024 Award
This award celebrates the grassroots innovator who has demonstrated significant personal growth as well as progression of his/her solution to the market that impacts on several beneficiaries. The innovator must have achieved at least 2 awards in the previous categories listed above.
Winner: Sydwell Sihlangu
African Hut Mushro3om Dome is a structure that provides a micro-climate that enables the production of mushrooms at a lower cost than the conventional commercial mushroom production structures. This structure allows the fruiting of oyster mushrooms even in harsh climatic conditions without using any electricity and fossil energy. This technology also uses less amount of water.
The awards ceremony was attended by 200 guests and dignitaries, including representatives from the diplomatic community in Pretoria. The guest of honour was Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ms Nomalungelo Gina.About The Technology Innovation Agency:
The Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) is an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation that bridges the innovation gap between research, development, and commercialisation.
Established in 2010, TIA has a national reach with offices in KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape, and Gauteng. TIA funds and supports innovative technologies with commercial potential, provides non-financial support to innovators and SMMEs, and catalyses innovation through various partnerships locally, on the African continent, and globally.
For more information, visit www.tia.org.za
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