BCX has announced the winners of the BCX Digital Innovation Awards 2020, forming part of the Sunday Times Top 100 Companies Awards.
This year, 28 shortlisted candidates pitched in front of four renowned judges to achieve the title of Digital Innovation Award Champion in their respective categories.
Jonas Bogoshi, CEO of BCX, comments: “2020 was a year of disruption that forced businesses and industries to innovate and think outside of the proverbial box. Businesses had to reinvent and reimagine their services and products within very challenging socio-economic conditions to unlock greater customer value.
“This year we had phenomenal entrants into the BCX Digital Innovation Awards, many of whom turned adversity into opportunity for their businesses. I am encouraged by the level of innovation and imagination that exists in South African businesses, and was delighted to have announced the winners last night.”
One of the main criteria for judges this year, was to gauge the results, set targets and impact to society that the innovations have had or made.
The 2020 SME category first, second and third place winners are:
* In third place – FinChatBot: FinChatBot is a FinTech Startup, founded in Cape Town, South Africa. It was co-founded by two passionate French Entrepreneurs, Antoine & Romain to help financial service providers acquire & retain customers using AI-powered conversations.
* In second place – Ozow: Ozow Revolution: a drive toward digital inclusion for all. The Ozow product was created to make digital payments available to everyone and create greater opportunity to participate in the digital economy.
* Winner of the 2020 Digital Innovation Award (SME category) – Bottles App: Bottles, a start-up app providing on-demand alcohol delivery, partnered with grocery store giant Pick ‘n Pay mid-2018. The partnership helped Bottles scale their app across South Africa, delivering for over 50 Pick ‘n Pay Liquor stores nationwide. The company leveraged their existing partnership and infrastructure to pivot their business to enable it to deliver grocery and essential goods during the COVID-19 lockdown. The app is now partnering with more than 90 Pick n Pay stores and helping deliver groceries across Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town, Bloemfontein, and Port Elizabeth.
The 2020 Corporate category first, second and third place winners are:
* In third place – Old Mutual Wealth: Enabling real-time holistic financial planning conversations and trade-offs through digital capabilities. It aims to simplify complex financial planning for clients through the use of in-house technology and state-of-the-art financial planning tools.
* In second place – Netcare VirtualCare: Netcare VirtualCare is a new Telehealth platform for virtual doctor consults offering patients greater choice, safety, and easier access to quality healthcare. A doctor consult no longer requires a patient to travel to a consulting room or hospital to receive the required care.
* Winner of the 2020 Digital Innovation Award (Corporate category) – Checkers Sixty60: Checkers Sixty60 is an innovative Mobile Grocery Delivery App that allows a customer to shop in as little as 60 seconds and get their groceries delivered in 60 minutes.
“Congratulations to the winners and the runners up,” Bogoshi says. “We hope to see them rise in size and influence, as well as in the impact their companies make not only in the country but at a global level.”