Entrepreneurs, researchers, innovators and inventors are invited to enter the 2015 SA Innovation Summit Competitions – the PwC Pitching Den Competition and the Inventors Garage Competition – being held at the Annual SA Innovation Summit from 26 to 29 August at the Cape Town Stadium.
The PwC Pitching Den Competition is held in partnership with the PwC Vision to Reality Competition. There are two categories, one for start-up entrepreneurs and another for high growth companies with emerging technologies. This competition is a platform to pitch your ideas to a panel of expert judges, and also showcase what you do to a wide variety of stakeholders.
Danie Fölscher, PwC partner in charge of the Western Cape, says: “PwC fosters and promotes entrepreneurship and innovation to fuel the economic growth we need to create a society with equal opportunity for all. The global experience is that the innovation ecosystem flourishes through collaboration.
“PwC is therefore very proud to be associated with SA Innovation Summit which has long been recognised as an innovative partner that meets the needs of entrepreneurs, start-ups, thought leaders, developers and researchers. By sharing the same vision, and combining creativity and innovation, PwC looks forward to working with SA Innovation Summit in this joint venture.”
Both the Inventors Garage and the PwC Pitching Den competitions are also held in partnership with Spoor n Fisher, as an Intellectual Property adviser. This partnership is important as it helps to show the importance of protecting business ideas and intellectual property.
The Inventors Garage competition is a platform for garage and kitchen inventors to introduce the products that they have developed to the market as well as showcase their creativity and ingenuity. This competition has been running successfully for over two years and has helped grow various SME’s and inventors. In the past three years alone the competitions have given away prizes worth more than R1,2-million.
Finalists will be awarded their prizes at the “Market on the Edge”, happening alongside the SA Innovation Summit. A share of R100 000 in cash prizes is up for grabs, as well as an award of R50 000 to the best Social Innovation idea entered in both competitions from the SAB foundation. These competitions have been running from the 1 March, and will be closing on 30 June.