From Blombos to Beyond: Celebrating South Africa’s Zany DNA of Innovation

Anthropologists are finally confirming what many South Africans have known all along: we’re a zany nation of bright ideas, shaped in the forge of rich metals and complicated politics.

Right from the beginning, we’ve had to be innovative. From the first stirrings of modern behaviour in the Southern Cape about 100 000 years ago, to the adoption of our current Constitution, which redefined what a constitutional framework could do, the people of this land needed home-grown solutions, often in a hurry.

And so it continues today, with much brainstorming around the big questions of economic growth and social development.

As we gear up for this year’s Western Cape Innovation Awards in June, it’s worth reiterating that our current challenges should never overshadow our ability to progress. We see this in the small technical success stories as much as in the “Big Wins”.

Just this week we heard about how one of last year’s Innovation Award winners, Zerocrete, is working with the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront to upcycle marine waste into flooring and countertops. Zerocrete has already mastered how to produce a more eco-friendly concrete. (Read story here).

Another of last year’s winners, micro-satellite specialist Cubespace, produces components for NASA.

We also heard about e-hailing service Bolt, which is introducing a fleet of 500 electric vehicles into the local market, a move that adds to the excitement around EV innovation currently felt worldwide – even more alluring in the context of recent fuel price hikes.

Too often we forget that South Africa has played host to innovations that have made, and continue to make, a global impact. 

The time has come to recognise that South Africa’s contribution to global innovation goes beyond Kreepy Krauly or the breakwater “dolosse” -- although we do like to brag about these particular inventions!

Next month the Cape Chamber will be proud to introduce our latest crop of Innovation Award winners  at the Cape Town City Hall, where these champions will get the recognition they deserve. 

We hope they continue to inspire us to think constructively, and innovatively, about how to reshape our future as best we can. 

Jacques Moolman, President of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry