Data mining firm BrandsEye crowned winner of 2017 FNB innovation awards

BrandsEye founder Craig Raw and the company’s CEO Jean-Pierre Kloppers were announced as the overall winner of the 2017 FNB Business Innovation Awards held in partnership with Endeavor South Africa.

“It’s a fantastic feeling, to be chosen as a winner among 12 amazing businesses, BrandsEye has been around for over 10 years, in that time we have done some really great work that has allowed us to continuously improve the technology that we use.

“Winning this means we get to take a step further in globalising our offering” said Raw, in a press release.

Read more: Innovation awards finalists announced

‘What is special about BrandsEye is that we understand what public opinion is, on a very wide scale’

BrandsEye uses a mix of search algorithms, crowd-sourcing and machine learning to mine data from online conversation to gather sentiment on certain topics. The company aims to help clients make insightful decisions informed by accurate and meaningful social, online, print and broadcast data.

“I think what is special about BrandsEye is that we understand what public opinion is, on a very wide scale, we are mining social media for public views that are not available in any other forum. No one else is doing that” added Kloppers.

BrandsEye will be sponsored by FNB to attend the Endeavor International Selection Panel (ISP) to be held in New York in September.

The FNB Business Innovation Awards was first held in 2015 with a need to recognise and celebrate creativity, outstanding business innovation and those that push beyond the limits to develop scalable businesses that can compete globally.

“The finalists all demonstrate the talent South Africa has in producing high-impact entities that are not only innovative, but have scalable business models that make them globally competitive.

“South Africa’s best chance at solving the unemployment epidemic is investing in scalable businesses” said FNB Business CEO Mike Vacy-Lyle.

Catherine Townshend, Managing Director of Endeavor South Africa added, “the partnership with FNB gives BrandsEye access to the Endeavor ISP, an opportunity to engage with a network of leading international luminaries and high-impact peer groups”.

Endeavor offers founders entry to international markets and access to networks that can help them scale.

The selection criteria this year was as follows:

• The business had to exhibit high growth potential.
• The business had to demonstrate capacity to create high-value jobs.
• The business must be involved in real innovation that has the potential to change the way an industry operates locally and/or abroad.
• The founder is interested in accepting advice and support from FNB and Endeavor as well as contribute to the Endeavor network.

Featured image (left to right): FNB Business head of sales Marcel Klaassen, BrandsEye CEO Jean-Pierre Kloppers, BrandsEye founder Craig Raw, CEO and co-founder of Washirika Holdings Romeo Khumalo, FNB Provincial Head of Gauteng North Danny Zandamela. (Supplied).