Meet the nine 2018 FNB Business Innovation Awards finalists

The FNB Business Innovation Awards, in association with Endeavor South Africa has announced the nine finalists selected for the 2018 FNB Business Innovator of the Year.

The winner of the awards — who will receive an all-expenses paid trip to attend the Endeavor international selection panel event in Argentina — will be revealed at a dinner set to be held on 7 June in Sandton.

The awards are aimed at businesses with minimum annual turnover of R10-million. In addition, the companies must display potential to scale and be market leaders in their respective industries.

The 2018 FNB Business Innovator of the Year will attend an Endeavor International Selection Panel event in Argentina

Here are the the finalists of the awards, which is now in their fourth year:

ColonyHQ

Marco Broccardo (pictured above) founded this multi-award winning company in 2006. The Johannesburg-based firm aggregates messages across multiple platforms from radio listeners, and mines each interaction for information to build audience profiles for broadcasters and advertisers.

Howler

Shai Evian and Stephen Cuzen (pictured above) founded Howler in 2013. The event technology platform offers end-to-end ticket handling, cashless transactions and the aggregation of data to optimise customer experiences. The company is based in Johannesburg.

GAAP Point-of-Sale

Jean-Paul Philippe D’abbadie (pictured above) founded Durban based GAAP Point-of-Sale in 1989 to provide hardware, software, and support services to the hospitality industry.

NewSpace Systems

James Barrington-Brown founded NewSpace Systems in 2013. An advanced manufacturer of spacecraft components and sub-systems, NewSpace Systems has developed a wide range of high-quality sensors and control products. Exporting to over 15 countries, on fivre different continents, clients include highly respected organisations such as NASA and Airbus

Olympic Paints

Led by director Sejal Purbhoo (pictured above), Olympic Paints produces high quality paints. One of the company’s products includes an innovative built-in paint tray called the Flip ‘n Roll.

Pargo

Founded by Lars Veul and Derk Hoekert (pictured above) in 2014, this Cape Town-based smart logistics company solves the challenges of last-mile distribution by allowing people to send and receive parcels at over 1200 Pargo pick-up points across the country

Rhino Africa

Founded in 2004 by David Ryan (pictured above), Cape Town-based online travel company Rhino Africa combines digital advances with performance-based marketing to tailor unique African holiday experiences that bring over 12 000 international guests to Africa every year.

Saryx Engineering Group

Ingrid Osborne and Julie Mathieson run the Saryx Engineering Group. The two founded the company in 2009. Their offerings include HSEC Online, a software service that digitises company safety and compliance. The company is based in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal.

Skynamo

Sam Clarke’s (pictured above) business Skynamo (formerly Honeybee), which he founded in 2012, has developed a sales management platform and app both aimed at improving clients’ sales revenue and cash flow. The app and platform do so, by bridging the gap between sales representatives and finances. The company has offices in Johannesburg, Stellenbosch and the UK.

*Correction: We incorrectly referred to Pargo as “Pargopoints” in the initial article. Ventureburn apologises for the error.