Meet the five Chivas Venture 2018 South African finalists

Chivas Regal has announced the five SA finalists that have been selected to pitch next month at the local finals of its $1-million global social entrepreneurship competition the Chivas Venture.

“Each of these finalists are proof that sustainability, enterprise and profit can be a strong force for good,” Chivas Regal marketing manager for South Africa Shelley Reeves said in a press release.

The finalists were selected from over 600 applications — with South Africa drawing the highest number of entries among the 30 participating countries — and will next month get to pitch in front of a panel of judges for an opportunity to represent the country at the grand final to be held in Amsterdam in May next year.

The judges will pick the winner based on their respective business’s scalability, profitability and social impact. Though the pitch will take place in January, Reeves said the final will be broadcast on DSTV channel MzansiMagic at 7.30pm on 8 February.

The five finalists will pitch in front of a panel of judges that will select one winner who will represent the country at the Chivas Venture grand final in Amsterdam

The local winner will get to attend the The Next Web — one of Europe’s largest tech festivals — in Amsterdam in May next year for the grand final.

At the festival, the winning innovator will join 29 other finalists in a knock-out competition which will culminate in the top five entrepreneurs getting a shot at a share of $1-million in prize funding.

Here are the finalists:

Hands of Honour: Founded by social entrepreneur Paul Taliaard seven years ago, Cape Town-based Hands of Honour reconditions old furniture for use in classrooms.  The business aims to tackle welfare dependence through job creation while improving conditions in early learning centres across Cape Town.

Hear X Group: HearX aims to provide affordable access to hearing care through digital solutions. The startup — which was founded by De Wet Swanepoel and Herman Myburgh in 2013 — has developed HearScreen TX, an app that allows users to conduct hearing tests on a smartphone.

Solar Turtle: Solar Turtle was founded by James Van Der Walt and Lungelwa Tyali in 2013. This greentech innovation is made up of retractable solar panels. Tyali describes it as a “business in a box, which allows small kiosks to be set up to provide electricity into communities”.

SpazApp: Durban-based SpazApp was founded by Tim Strang and Byron Verreyne. The app aims to connect formal and informal markets by grouping small shop owners in the same area to enable them to benefit from bulk buying and deliveries and in the process save them money.

Vehicle Energy Harvesting Systems: Johannesburg-based Clement Mokoenene has developed a system that harvests energy from the pressure and heat generated by vehicles and converts it into electricity.

Featured image: Chivas Venture 2018 South Africa finalists (Supplied)