From Enzymes to Superyachts: Cape Town City Hall Celebrates the 'Innovation Oscars'
From enzymes to superyachts, the Western Cape is a fast-rising innovation hotspot and potential global benchmark for entrepreneurial excellence.
That was the overarching theme of this week’s Western Cape Economy Innovation Awards at the Cape Town City Hall, co-hosted by the Cape Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Cape Higher Education Consortium.
The second edition of the province’s ‘Innovation Oscars’ saw 13 awardees recognised across six economic categories. The gala event also featured keynote speeches from economic stakeholders, among them Western Cape Premier Alan Winde and Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis. Other VIP guests among the 480-strong audience included political analyst Moeletsi Mbeki, Gift of the Givers founder Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, multiple provincial ministers and mayors, and foreign dignitaries.
“We have got a culture and a history of being innovative — let us start positioning ourselves in the world,” Winde said of the province’s recent innovation successes.
He said the success story went way beyond individual companies, organisations, and departments, and encompassed the entire region. The Western Cape should therefore measure itself against the world’s top centres of innovative excellence, Winde added.
Other speakers emphasised the value of systemic innovation that addressed the entire economic ecosystem, a key ingredient for progress.
Hill-Lewis paid tribute to investors and innovators in driving economic progress, with the state playing an enabling role. “This is the home address of tech and innovation startup activity on the African continent. That is what happens if we get these partnerships right,” Hill-Lewis said. “The world of work and business and innovation is constantly changing. We want to play our role in anchoring this city’s economy by doing what we have to do, and doing it well.”
Among the standout Innovation Award winners was Stellenbosch-based biotech company Fluorobiotech, founded in 2022, which produces recombinant proteins crucial to medicines and vaccine production. The company has reduced the cost of production compared with imported material.
Checkers Sixty60, the popular e-commerce supply specialists, also scooped top honours in the Core Industries and Business category, partly due to its far-reaching impact which includes 18,181 new jobs.
Other winners included:
Taking Care of Business: A Cape Town-based non-profit that redirects surplus product from over 2,000 retail stores to help launch micro-enterprises, resulting in R564 million in profits generated by small businesses.
The Bluebird Group SA: A provider of door-to-door workforce transport at a 50% cost savings per passenger.
The Western Cape Government’s Red Tape Reduction Unit: An entity that registered an 86% resolution rate across 12,000 cases received.
The Victoria and Alfred Waterfront: Recognised for its R230-million superyacht marina investment.
In his address, Professor Eugene Cloete, CHEC chief executive, offered a broad definition of innovation “that is not simply novelty for its own sake”.
“True innovation creates real value. It is not merely something that benefits the innovator but something that makes a remarkable difference to the lives of many others. It opens doors that were previously closed, and makes our shared world a better place.”