SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards, Disability Empowerment Awards winners announced

This is in addition to the prize monies and business development support provided to SAB Foundation Social Innovation winners. They are recognised for their products and services, which are designed and developed for use by some of society’s most vulnerable individuals, notably women, the youth, people living with disabilities and people living in rural areas, the primary beneficiaries of the SAB Foundation

The partnership between the SAB Foundation and the TIA will see significant in-kind technical assistance in the form of expert man-hours, design and access to prototyping equipment; necessary for innovations shortlisted in the Social Innovation Awards 2016 to achieve market readiness.

“The TIA has shown great foresight and leadership in recognising the potential our innovators hold for others who otherwise would not have had the opportunity to access products and services that bring improvement to their lives. We are looking forward to working with our innovators and entrepreneurs and ensuring that they maximise the potential of TIA’s offering,” says Bridgit Evans, SAB Foundation manager.

Social Innovation 2016 Award Winners

1. LCERT or Low Cost Educational Robotics Toys is the R1.2m first place prizewinner in the sixth annual Social Innovation Awards. The low cost educational robotics toy kit is designed and developed to provide learners and educators with affordable access to educational resources in their STEM (Science, Technology, Education and Mathematics) classrooms. The kit consists of smart modules that may be connected to form electronic circuits, as well as programmed, using a Visual Programming Interface on a tablet or PC to create robots and other mechatronic systems.

2. Runner-up in the Social Innovation Awards category is DCP Cable Theft Prevention, awarded R600,000. The innovation is an overhead and underground system, which prevents the digging, cutting and pulling of electricity cables, and has successfully been piloted by the Moqhaka Local Municipality in Kroonstad in the Free State.

3. Joint third place winners with prize money of R400,000 each are MediCube – Smart Lockers and Lower Limb Prosthetic Solution. MediCube – Smart Lockers manages the cost-effective collection of chronic medication from a pick up point or local health facility. Lower Limb Prosthetic Solution manufactures high quality locally made cost-effective prosthetic socket and blade for lower limb amputees.

The 19 Social Innovation 2016 finalist innovations, shortlisted from 600 entries, encompass the health, disability, education, energy, water and sanitation and livelihoods and sustainable agriculture sectors. They demonstrated their ability to become commercial and scalable. This growth is further supported by the SAB Foundation, which provides the best innovations with a combination of financial investment and business support and mentorship.

Several development awards and seed grants were presented to finalist innovations (see below for full list)

Disability Empowerment Awards 2016 Winners:

The Disability Empowerment Awards was established in 2016 by the SAB Foundation in recognition of the increase in the number of innovations providing solutions for people with disabilities.

1. The dLala Positioner took first place winning R500,000. The product is designed for children with physical disabilities and manages their sitting, standing and lying posture over a 24-hour period. This helps them maintain joint motion for more healthy living.

2. In second place with R300,000 is I Love Coffee, an entirely deaf-run coffee shop where baristas are deaf or hard of hearing.

3. In third and fourth place respectively with R200,000 each, CookABLE, a product that enables disabled users to prepare food with just one hand, and Oasis Association Recycling Project, which recycles and processes waste and provides employment for youth and adults with disabilities.

Other awards categories:

Social Innovation Development Awards:

• Omniharvester, a fruit picking device that allows users to pick, prune and place fruit from tall trees all in one go – R300,000

• Paratrend V1, a double tubed wheelchair frame manufactured used generic components for cost effectiveness – R300,000

• The StarLab, a cost effect compact self-contained school mobile science laboratory suitable for rural and township under-resourced primary and secondary schools – R250,000

Social Innovation Seed Grant Award Winners (R150,000 each)

• Breast Cancer Therapeutics: next generation therapeutics to treat metastatic breast cancer and works by inhibiting the aromatisation reactions in order to form oestrogens that when overexpressed are associated with breast cancer.

• Paper Video: an educational online and offline platform that provides learners with access to experienced teachers who offer tutoring on basic concepts, techniques and exam revision
• The Feel Good Project: a self-sustainable social enterprise that provides youth with income generation opportunities and training in retail, garment repair and warehousing, enabled through upcycling discarded products from major fashion retailers and selling it at competitive prices
• GET-2-WORK: Transport solution for workers with disabilities and those with related impairments to commune to and from their places of work
• BiKoRepellent Fabric: a long lasting slow release mosquito repellent or insecticidal fabric for use in mitigating insect borne diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, Chikungunya virus and Zika virus
• mHealth: a digital medical device for community health workers equipped with a glucometer, NIBP machine, electronic scale, thermometer, pulse oximeter and spyrometer. Collects patient clinical data for medical doctors to access and provide advice
• Aqua-Cura Mobile Water Sterilisation: the combined steriliser and filter unit helps to destroy bacteria, viruses and hydro toxins without the use of chemicals
• MARTI TB Diagnostic: a portable hand-held diagnostic device equipped with disposable cartridges for use in rural areas for the diagnosis of TB
• Pour/Low Flush Toilet: full flush toilets combined with the logistical advantage of on-site pit toilets which do not need sewers or copious amounts of water for operation
• NH1-MSsp Water Security System: a water security system that pumps water to rural and farming communities using alternative energy sources
• Qbell: an in-hospital call-button designed for patients with reduced motor function

• Tuse: video and voice calls in areas with little to no signal made possible using wireless mesh networking technology

Disability Empowerment Seed Grant Award Winners (R75,000 each)

• The eBraille Project is an innovative technology that allows visually impaired individuals access a variety of online resources

• Training people who are deaf to be CCTV operators: CCTV operation provides hearing impaired individuals with the appropriate skills to become CCTV operators
• KineKapa provides interactive skills development tools accessible to people of differing abilities, allowing them to express themselves through music, sounds or animation

• Prison Narration Project produces indigenous language audio and braille titles for the blind and visually impaired people and narrated by Correctional Services inmates