The SAB Foundation celebrated its annual Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards in Johannesburg, recognizing groundbreaking solutions aimed at tackling some of South Africa’s most pressing social challenges. This year, the top accolades in the two main categories went to Vusmzi Initiative and Lethabo, with both innovations standing out for their potential to transform lives in underserved communities.
Vusmzi Initiative: Empowering Through Sustainable Beekeeping
Vusmzi Initiative, a social enterprise based in the Eastern Cape, took first place in the Disability Empowerment category. This innovative model uses apiculture and agriculture to empower people with disabilities, creating sustainable employment opportunities and helping improve socio-economic conditions in rural communities. The initiative provides specialized training for individuals with disabilities to start and run beekeeping enterprises, tapping into the growing demand for local honey production.
The initiative’s founder, Vusmzi said, “We are proud to be able to give people with disabilities a chance to contribute to the economy while embracing sustainable practices. This award is a significant milestone in our mission to create more inclusive opportunities in rural South Africa.”
Lethabo: Bridging Language Gaps in Utility Management
In the Social Innovation category, Lethabo, a revolutionary AI-powered platform, claimed the top prize. Designed to help South Africans manage electricity and water services in their native languages, Lethabo simplifies tasks such as bill payments, reporting issues, and general inquiries. By incorporating natural language processing (NLP), the platform supports multiple languages, including isiZulu, Afrikaans, and Sesotho, making it accessible to a broad range of South Africans, particularly in underrepresented regions.
“Lethabo is not just an app, it’s a lifeline for many people who struggle to navigate utility systems due to language barriers,” said Lethabo’s CEO. “Our goal is to ensure that everyone, regardless of their background, has the ability to interact with vital services in a way that is intuitive and inclusive.”
Supporting Innovation and Social Impact
The SAB Foundation’s Executive Director, Bridgit Evans, emphasized the importance of these awards in fostering social innovation and creating sustainable change. “The Social Innovation and Disability Empowerment Awards support entrepreneurs who are addressing critical challenges faced by women, youth, people in rural areas, and people with disabilities. These capable innovators will receive not just funding, but also mentorship, coaching, and access to a community of like-minded entrepreneurs.”
Evans also highlighted the broader impact of the SAB Foundation’s work, with over R185 million invested to date, helping 326 social innovators create more than 3,261 new jobs and positively impacting over 8 million people. “We are incredibly excited by the innovations presented this year and look forward to seeing them scale and change lives in communities that need it the most,” she said.
Other Notable Innovations
While Vusmzi Initiative and Lethabo took the top spots, other innovators were also recognized for their outstanding contributions. Enabled: Affordable Hearing Solutions, a software solution designed for individuals with hearing and visual impairments, won second place in the Disability Empowerment category. TB Detection AI and Auscultation, an advanced digital stethoscope using AI to detect tuberculosis, claimed second place in the Social Innovation category.
Several other projects earned Development Awards for their potential to make a lasting impact. These included Sign Language Education and Development (Western Cape), an interactive online learning platform for South African Sign Language, and NavWok (KwaZulu-Natal), a smart cane designed for personalized navigation support for the visually impaired.
Full List of Winners
Disability Empowerment Awards:
- First place: Vusmzi Initiative (Eastern Cape)
- Second place: Enabled: Affordable Hearing Solutions (Western Cape)
- Third place: Chief Ralekhudu Enterprises (Gauteng)
- Development Award: Sign Language Education and Development (Western Cape)
- Development Award: NavWok (Kwa-Zulu Natal)
- Development Award: Enable Centre: Equal Access Programme (Western Cape)
Social Innovation Awards:
- First place: Lethabo (Gauteng)
- Second place: TB Detection AI and Auscultation (Western Cape)
- Third place: Tsepo V3 (Western Cape)
- Development Award: Kingdom Vision (Free State)
- Development Award: Petricam (Eastern Cape)
- Development Award: Flexigyn (Western Cape)
- Development Award: Red Academy Career Sprint (Western Cape)
- Development Award: Chelo (Polokwane)
- Seed Award: Shiyiwa: Community Based Clinics Upgrade Programme (Gauteng)
- Seed Award: SL Tita Charcoal (Eastern Cape)
- Seed Award: Leruo (North West)
- Seed Award: Reading Apple (Polokwane)
- Seed Award: Tipped (Western Cape)
- Seed Award: Micro-sized Household Biodigester (Gauteng)
- Seed Award: Afoody (KZN)
- Seed Award: Franc (Gauteng)
- Seed Award: Authentic8 (KZN)
A Bright Future for Social Entrepreneurs
As the 14th cohort of the Social Innovation Awards and the 9th cohort of the Disability Empowerment Awards embark on their entrepreneurial journeys, the SAB Foundation remains committed to supporting innovators who are making a real difference in their communities.
“We believe in the power of these innovators to drive lasting change and look forward to seeing them refine and scale their businesses,” concluded Evans.
For more information about the SAB Foundation’s awards and to explore the full list of winners, visit SAB Foundation Social Innovation Awards.
