These are the 10 South Africans vying for a place at Singularity University

Towards the end of February, we told you about the South African leg of the Singularity University Global Impact Competition (GIC), presented in collaboration with Rand Merchant Bank.

With the winner standing to win a 10 week course at the prestigious Singularity University, there’s plenty incentive to enter. In order to do so, people had to come up with innovative ideas for positively impacting millions of lives, both locally and globally through the use of technology.

On Wednesday, the 10 finalists for the competition were announced, with a fairly wide spread of idea represented.

The 10 finalists were selected from 48 entries. They are, according to a press release sent out by the competition organisers:

Neo Hutiri – Technovera

An engineer by profession turned entrepreneur by choice chasing purpose, meaning and a paycheque.

Neo graduated with a BSc in Electrical Engineering from University of Cape Town and also have a Masters in Engineering (Industrial) from the university of Witwatersrand. After completing his undergrad, he joined a steel manufacturing industry as an automation engineer. Neo then took up an operations management role working as the technical assistant to the COO for Arcelor Mittal SA before venturing out into the technology start up scene in Johannesburg.

He is the founder of Technovera, a technology start up focused on healthcare innovations. Technovera is currently developing a healthcare device that reduces the waiting time for patients collecting chronic medication at primary healthcare facilities in South Africa. Patients can collect chronic medication in under 3 minutes as opposed to the current waiting time of 3 to 5 hours in public facilities.

Bernelle’s Verster – Merah Mas Industrial Biotech

Bernelle is called the water maverick because of her wide and unconventional engagement in the water sector, from thinking as water as a resource, to contributing to skills development to promoting entrepreneurial thinking in the water sector.

Academically, Bernelle is currently completing a research project on “Wastewater Biorefineries” funded by the Water Research Council (WRC), with the Centre for Bioprocess Engineering Research (CeBER) at the University of Cape Town. With a background in biology, chemistry and engineering, she is passionate about water, specifically wastewater, and how it fits into water sensitive urban design. She is exploring how to generate products with viable markets from wastewater.

Socially, Bernelle works towards building the skills that the circular economy requires, through what she calls ‘ShackLabs’. She is also involved in building public awareness through connecting the environment with science and sometimes business. In the past this included initiatives like Orienteering, TEDxCapeTown and the Moola for Amanzi Business Concept Competition. She was also involved in Biomimicry, which is a design approach to help us learn from nature to make better products and services.

Ifthakaar Shaik – IntelliDoc

Ifthakaar is an intelligent, enterprising individual with a strong desire to succeed.

He is an Actuary, Investment Banker and Entrepreneur, whose excellent communication, analytical and inter-personal skills allow him to integrate and adapt well to any environment. He views small business as a vital component in alleviating South Africa’s unemployment pain.

Education, he believes, is the cornerstone to society and the key to unlocking the potential in people to create the businesses that change the world.

Ifthakaar sees his entrepreneurial flair as innate and believes that he has the qualities needed for success – intelligence, drive, confidence and charisma.

In business, he applies the lessons he learnt as a trader: “Know when to get in, don’t be greedy, and know when to get out”. He believes perseverance and hard work can get you anything in life.

Mukesh Dheda – National Department of Health

Mukesh Dheda is the Director of the National Pharmacovigilance Centre for Public Health Programmes based at the National Department of Health. He is leading the national HIV/AIDS pharmacovigilance (PV) decentralisation process that requires training and setting up of pharmacovigilance at the facility level throughout South Africa. He has published a number of peer-reviewed articles and has reviewed and contributed to publications on HIV/AIDS and pharmacovigilance.

He conducts regular provincial visits to train and present on the needs and benefits of pharmacovigilance. He chairs the National HIV Drug Resistance meeting and is leading a team to establish a national ART pregnancy exposure registry and birth defect surveillance for South Africa. Mukesh is involved in managing and coordinating pharmacovigilance activities in existing and emerging pharmacovigilance centres in South Africa. He is a Honourary Reseach Fellow at University of KwaZulu Natal and is an external examiner for University of Western Cape.

Bandile Dlabantu – Khepri Innovations Pty Ltd

Bandile Dlabantu is Founder and Managing director of Khepri Biosciences is an energetic and ambitious self starter and entrepreneur in the bio-economy with experience Recovery and performance coaching with an education background in the sciences and entrepreneurship. He is also an internationally published poet and writer. In 2013 after nearly ten years work experiences in the technology and innovation field (IT, Health and Science), and three years management experience in the private health sector, he escaped to start Khepri Innovations Pty Ltd a biosciences innovation company operating in the nutrient bioconversion space.

Jared Roberts

Jared is an entrepreneur from South Africa. He has a financial background and is at his best when collaborating with technologists to solve unconventional problems.

Two years ago he started a business that is integrating financial and engineering solutions to positively impact the African continent. Prior to this he was in investment banking. This is where his passion for non-standard investment opportunities started. This included looking to understand technology traditionally considered a risky investment proposition as well as searching for industries poised to breakout.

He has a passion for creating something new and for improving the lives of others. If he can combine the two he feels like he is getting the most out of life. He is currently the Chairman of Better SA, a NGO streamlining volunteering in South Africa and is also very involved with LIV Village. LIV is a NGO providing a hope and a future for orphans and vulnerable children across South Africa. LIV is setup as a social private equity platform and I have been actively involved in starting businesses and advising on acquisitions.

Tertiary education and qualifications:

• Bachelor of Business Science (Finance Honours)
• Post Graduate in Accounting
• Chartered Accountant (South Africa)

Pascále Henke – The Happiness Network

Strategic, multidisciplinary idealist & CEO with an undying love for innovation and meaningful networking.

After graduating from UCT (B.Com Honours in Information Systems), Pascále fulfilled the role of Business Systems Analyst for GetSmarter, an online education company.

The next step in her journey was starting up The Happiness Network, a social enterprise that creates and coordinates products and campaigns aimed towards maximizing quality of life and happiness. Pascále’s greatest expertise revolves in the worlds of technology and analysis, innovation, entrepreneurship and strategy. Her wish is to combine her knowledge and experience in these areas with her sometimes quirky sense of humour, contagious enthusiasm and constant search for sustainable solutions to have a positive impact and influence minds. She also loves crosswords and handstands.

Dr. Nick Walker – Next Biosciences

Nick completed his BSc, BSc (Hons, Cum Laude) and PhD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg. In his PhD work he focussed on the role of the extracellular matrix (ECM) on various aspects of myogenesis.

This work culminated in the publication of “Dose-dependent modulation of myogenesis by HGF: implications for c-Met expression and downstream signalling pathways” in the journal Growth Factors.

Furthermore, “Collagen IV promotes myoblast fusion in a CD9-dependent manner” is currently in preparation. Nick started work in 2016 as innovation scientist for Next Biosciences, Africa’s leading stem cell laboratory and cryogenic biobank, based in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Pieter Botes – I’m not Plastic

Pieter holds both a degree in Financial Management from the University of Pretoria, and a Master’s Degree in Business Leadership from The Graduate School of Business Leadership. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the investment banking industry and started his career at Investec within the property and asset finance divisions.

He subsequently ventured into operations where he headed up the expansion efforts of the JSE listed software provider, SilverBridge Holdings into South East Asia. During the four years spent in the East he gleaned a deeper understanding of the intricate balance between human beings and nature. His appreciation for the circular economy was grooved while working at GroFin, a pan-African impact investor. His belief that the only viable long term investment strategy is by addressing social issues at a profit, prompted him to actively become part of the circular economy through I’m not Plastic.

Wolfgang von Loeper – MySmartFarm

As a farmer that has gone tech-entrepreneur, Wolfgang has studied business administration and management at one of Germany’s top three business schools, and then farmed and established an organic wine estate over nine years before founding MySmartFarm, a Software as a Service start-up that assists farmers who are frustrated with technology, data management and its interpretation. Currently Wolfgang is a MPhil researcher at Stellenbosch University and runs the business at MySmartFarm, which not only deploys Internet of Things on farms, but uses satellite data, drones, and cloud computing, but makes also use of machine learning and modelling to take precision agriculture to the next level, artificial intelligence (AI) farming.

Finalists will be judged by judges including entrepreneurs, bankers, a medical doctor and an attorney. Judges include:

• Former FirstRand chief executive and entrepreneur Paul Harris
• RMB chief executive James Formby
• Investec equity partner Anisha Gordhan
• Medical doctor and Infinitum Humanitarian Systems chief executive Eric Rasmussen
• RMB Holdings and RMI Holdings chief executive Herman Bosman
• SingularityU GIC manager Regina Njima
• WEDI International executive chair Sharron McPherson

The winner will attend Singularity University’s 10-week Global Solutions Program (GSP) in Silicon Valley later this year. On returning to South Africa after the GSP, the winner will have the opportunity to develop the winning project, supported by the SingularityU global alumni network. The 2nd – 5th place finalists will have access to the Business Accelerator programme offered by First National Bank which will provide business support and individual guidance for three months.