wiGroup named winner of the FNB Innovation Awards

Bevan Ducasse

“This accolade is testament to the hard work and dedication that has gone towards establishing wiGroup as a trusted and reputable brand. Innovation and excellence have always been at the centre of our business. We will continue breaking boundaries while still delivering quality products and services to our clients,” founder and CEO of wiGroup, Bevan Ducasse said.

What wiGroup does

This platform is the dominant interface for mobile transactions across the formal grocery, health and beauty, cellphone and hospitality sectors, with significant coverage in fashion, petroleum and credit-based retailers too.

Clients include two of the largest fast-moving consumer goods retailers, the two largest telecoms companies, several of the top five banks, as well as some of the largest branded goods companies and application providers in South Africa. The business is also expanding into Southern Africa, Nigeria and then globally on the back of demonstrating real value locally.

Global network

Ducasse was selected as an Endeavor entrepreneur in 2014, whereby he became part of the global network of founders, gaining access to influential business leaders as mentors and an advisory board to help him achieve his business goals. He will nevertheless attend the Endeavor selection panel in Boston in September this year.

“Access to leading business luminaries and a peer group of highly ambitious founders at the Endeavor ISP is something I am incredibly excited about. Beyond that, I feel the journey must be of scale and innovation that challenges the status quo in the sector we operate in,” added Ducasse.

"Through Endeavor and the exposure at the ISP, we are confident that Bevan will be even more motivated to think bigger and engage with a network of like-minded ambitious entrepreneurs that are driven to build a business with a global footprint,” said Catherine Townshend, managing director of Endeavor South Africa.

Criteria for the FNB Business Innovation Awards

• Exhibit high growth potential and the capacity to add substantial economic value by creating a number of high-value jobs.

• Demonstrate real innovation that has the potential to change the way an industry operates locally and/or internationally.

• Interest in accepting advice and support from FNB and Endeavor, as well as contributing to the latter’s network

.Factors such as brand and reputation, stakeholder relations and goodwill, environmental sustainability, social responsibility and quality of governance were all taken into account.