The 6th annual SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards along with the inaugural Disability Empowerment Awards were recently held in Johannesburg
The awards were not only a showcase of brilliant ideas; they also offered prize money and business development support to local initiatives that have developed solutions for people living with disabilities.
People with disabilities are a key beneficiary group for the SAB Foundation. With an unemployment rate of between 70 and 80 percent, the Foundation believes that significant work needs to be done at all levels in South Africa to create a more enabling environment for people with disabilities to have equal access to economic opportunities.
As a result, over the past two years the SAB Foundation looked at various options as to how it could increase support in this area and funding was set aside to ensure that it gets the attention it deserves.
In advance of this year’s already established SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards, the awards programme was advertised through as many networks for people with disabilities as possible with excellent results. Four of the finalists were people with disabilities. In addition, so many strong entries were received from organisations that have come up with innovations that directly benefit those with disabilities that it prompted the Foundation to set up a special awards category, the Disability Empowerment Awards.
The category recognised the increase in the number of innovations providing solutions for people with disabilities and aimed to support the critical work carried out in this under-served sector.
Four social innovators living with disabilities and eight businesses that support people with disabilities were shortlisted, with a final eight winners announced on the night. They benefited from total prize money of R2,65 million, as well as business support and mentorship to be provided by the SAB Foundation. In judging these awards, the innovation’s business potential, innovation, life-changing potential and scalability were evaluated.
The four winners in the Social Innovation Awards were Lubabalo Mbeki, from Get 2 Work, a transport solution for workers with disabilities and those with related impairments; Michael Stevens, from Lower Limb Prosthetic Solution, a high-quality locally made cost-effective prosthetic socket and blade for lower limb amputees; Zahied Mukaddam, from Paratrend V1, a double-tubed modular designer wheelchair; and Heinrich Williams, from Qbell, a simple, in-hospital call-button designed for patients with reduced motor function.
The dLala Positioner took first place in the Disability Empowerment Awards, winning R500 000. The product is a low-cost, versatile, positioning device for children with intermediate to complex mobility disabilities. This device forms an integral part of a 24-hour positioning programme and, when used as part of an early intervention strategy, assists children to maintain a healthy posture, preventing long-term postural deviations and reduces the risk of developing life-threatening secondary health complications. The dLala Positioner also promotes play and social inclusion in both the care-centre and at home.
In second place, winning R300 000, was I Love Coffee, an entirely deaf-run coffee shop where baristas are deaf or hard of hearing. The shop is designed to make communications as easy as possible through bilingual menus, including South African Sign Language, and writing surfaces for counters. Staff are able to teach customers how to order in Sign Language should they wish to.
In third and fourth place respectively, with R200 000 each, were CookABLE, a product that enables users who have just one functioning hand to prepare food, and the Oasis Association Recycling Project, which recycles and processes waste and provides employment for youth and adults with disabilities.
The first SAB Foundation Disability Empowerment Awards formed part of a greater focus by the SAB Foundation to support social innovation in South Africa. The SAB Foundation’s primary beneficiaries are women, youth, people living with disabilities and people living in rural areas, all of whom are from low-income backgrounds.
The SAB Foundation was also given a big boost this year following the conclusion of a new partnership with the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) that will see a multimillion-rand in-kind contribution to support the growth of local entrepreneurs and their innovations.
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 SAB Foundation will continue to invest in social innovation, particularly in areas that support people living with disabilities, and hopes that this will prompt other funders in South Africa to begin prioritising this important and neglected population group.
