Telecommunications firm Telkom has announced the winners of the first instalment of its Telkom Transformation and Innovation Awards.
The event recognises start-ups and SMEs that showed resilience, growth and innovation through Telkom’s FutureMakers programme.
Speaking at the event, Dr Mmaki Jantjies, Telkom Group Executive for the Innovation and Transformation Office, said it is important to recognize and encourage tech start-ups and SMEs.
The idea is to reward entrepreneurs who are using digital technology to provide solutions to social challenges and building strong, resilient businesses.
Dr Mmaki Jantjies
Overall, 16 companies were crowned as winners during the event. The awards were divided into three segments, each containing various categories.
Segment one was dedicated to enterprise development, segment two was for supplier development and segment three was for Telkom transformation ambassadors and ecosystem partners.
The company says in addition to the cohort of winning businesses;
These are also entrepreneurs, innovators and technology ambassadors who inspire others in the sector and are part of the Telkom FutureMakers Programme. The aim of FutureMakers is to grow the digital economy by developing and investing in black-owned, high-growth enterprises that create jobs and other socio-economic benefits.
The event also recognised various Telkom staff members and strategic ecosystem partners as transformation ambassadors.
“We need innovators and entrepreneurs who constantly come up with new ideas. And we need government, which enables the environment for us to work together developing small business, supporting economic growth and job creation,” noted Jantjies.
The winners of the Telkom Transformation and Innovation Awards in the three segments are as follows:
Segment one winners − enterprise development
- AI Innovation of the Year: Atrybute Graphic
- E-commerce Innovation of the Year: Credipple
- Edtech Innovation of the Year: Space Salad Studios
- Fintech Innovation of the Year: Horizontal Gravity
- Healthtech Innovation of the Year: EMG Technologies
Segment two winners − supplier development
- Top Performance Award: Corridor Africa Technologies
- Most Jobs Created: Kandua
- Resilience Award: SweepSouth
- Openserve – People’s Choice Awards: Multiplek Networks
- Consumer Small Business – People’s Choice Awards: Gcwensa Telecoms
- Gyro – People’s Choice Awards: Siphilasonke Development Group
Segment three winners − Telkom transformation ambassadors and ecosystem partners
- Tech Woman of the Year: Ambani Africa
- Tech for Good Award: Jobox
- Tech Trailblazer of the Year: Advannotech
