From the CEO’s Desk: Celebrating the Spirit of Innovation
As we open the doors to a new year of industry excellence, I wish to reflect on the uplifting atmosphere inside the Cape Town City Hall during last year’s Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards. It was a night that showed why the Western Cape is not just a regional hub, but a world class player in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Last year’s winners set a formidable benchmark. We acknowledged innovation champions from across the broad spectrum of economic activity. From the lofty heights of CubeSpace, a Stellenbosch space technology firm producing control systems for clients like NASA, to the gritty dynamism of Zerocrete, which produces low-carbon building material from non-recyclable plastic and fabric waste.
But innovation is a lot more than visible products; what people sometimes don’t see is the innovative system put in place that gives birth to the products. Our innovation awards also draw attention to those critical people and organisations driving systemic organisation.
By drawing attention to innovators enabling systemic change, we emphasise how innovation can be catalytic; it can benefit large numbers of businesses simultaneously, thereby driving economic growth. Another case in point is SwiftVEE, global pioneers in online livestock trading. The company has completely reimagined how livestock auctions take place, using digital technology that can benefit both farmers and consumers.
There are many other examples, too many to mention here, of innovators driving systemic change, the kind that disrupts and improves the way we do business.
And innovation isn't limited to the laboratory or the factory floor. Last year's awards also highlighted the City of Cape Town’s Ease of Doing Business Programme and the Peninsula School Feeding Association, two notable examples of innovation in service delivery and social impact.
As we look toward the 2026 Awards, I am certain that there are more "trailblazers" currently working beneath the radar—entrepreneurs who have turned a problem into a solution, or students who have bridged a gap in our academic landscape.
We want to hear these stories. I am officially inviting nominations for this year’s Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards. We want to celebrate notable catalytic innovation in whatever form: a university spin-off, a public sector powerhouse, a civil society hero.
This year we have four new categories to give effect to our continued drive to acknowledge the crucial role of innovation in driving economic growth.
Find out how to submit your nominations here.
John Lawson
CEO of the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry