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DTSTAMP:20260605T042037Z
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DESCRIPTION:<p><span style="background-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 
 0\, 0)\;">Every year\, Heavy Chef\, Xero and PayFast call the South Africa
 n entrepreneur ecosystem to nominate its finest startups. The Top 5 initia
 tive has been running since 2017 and has featured many of the most success
 ful startups in South African history.</span></p><p><span style="backgroun
 d-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">The MC for the evening wil
 l be the newly crowned World Champion of Public Speaking 2021 Verity Price
 . Entertainment will be provided by Divine Mahara (who wrote the ‘Heavy 
 Chef’ song). </span></p><p><br></p><p>Heavy Chef events are brought to y
 ou by Xero and PayFast. Support is provided by Howler\, Workshop17\, Creed
  Living\, Sir Fruit\, Goodleaf and Backsberg. Heavy Chef is proud partners
  with xneelo\, Digital Planet\, We Grow SA\, HP Store\, Retail Capital\, P
 arcel Ninja and Global Citizen.</p><p>DETAILS:</p><p><span style="backgrou
 nd-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">Since its inception five 
 years ago\, the annual Top 5 Most Exciting Startups list has included some
  of the most successful startups to come out of the South African business
  landscape. Just this year\, 2017 winners Yoco raised $83 million (just ov
 er R1.5 billion) in Series C funding to scale their digital offerings and 
 expand to new markets. Winners from the other years\, like SweepSouth\, Li
 feCheque\, Bathu and many more\, are making just as big a splash in their 
 respective sectors\, proof that our entrepreneur community can recognise a
  really good solution when they see it.</span></p><p><span style="backgrou
 nd-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">It’s been a tough coupl
 e of years for businesses. Now more than ever\, it’s imperative that we 
 shine a light on our local startup community to celebrate their wins and t
 he resilience they’ve shown in the face of the massive challenges that c
 ome with a pandemic and an economy in decline.</span></p><p><span style="b
 ackground-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">JUDGES: </span></
 p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 
 0)\;">Nthabiseng Makgatho\, Xero</span></li><li><span style="background-co
 lor: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">Polo Leteka\, IDF Capital</spa
 n></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\,
  0)\;">Vusi Vokwana\, Kasi Catalyst</span></li><li><span style="background
 -color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">Alexandra Fraser\, Veridium
  Africa</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent\; color:
  rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">Lukhanyo Neer\, Heavy Chef Foundation</span></li><li><s
 pan style="background-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">Yoland
 i Janse van Rensburg\, Heavy Chef</span></li><li><span style="background-c
 olor: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0\, 0)\;">Colleen Harrison\, PayFast</s
 pan></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent\; color: rgb(0\, 0
 \, 0)\;">Zinhle Novazi\, Heavy Chef Foundation</span></li></ul><p><br></p>
 <p>WE'RE  EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR 12 FINALISTS FOR THIS YEAR'S AWARDS! The
  shortlist of 12 will be narrowed down to the Top 5\, to be announced on t
 he evening of December 2nd. </p><p><br></p><p>This Year’s Top 12 Finali
 sts are...drumroll...</p><p><br></p><p>deaftouch - Founded by Claybourne A
 ppies in 2018. An ICT startup with the goal of providing innovative commun
 ication technology solutions for the deaf.</p><p><br></p><p>FCB.ai - Found
 ed in 2016 by Antoine Paillusseau. An AI-powered chatbot to help financial
  service providers acquire and retain customers.</p><p><br></p><p>Hypernov
 a Space Technologies - Founded in 2018 by Jonathan Lun. Builders of cuttin
 g-edge electric propulsion and other innovative infrastructure for space s
 atellites.</p><p><br></p><p>Kusini Water - Founded by Murendi Mafumo in 20
 16. A social enterprise whose nanotechnology and macadamia nut innovation 
 aims to provide safe drinking water to communities in need.</p><p><br></p>
 <p>Livestock Wealth - Founded in 2015 by Ntuthuko Shezi. A tech ‘crowdfa
 rming’ startup that connects investors with farmers that require funding
  by using cattle as a type of investment.</p><p><br></p><p>Musgrave Spirit
 s - Founded in 2015 by Simone Musgrave. Makers of fine spirits and home to
  South Africa’s first-ever\, award-winning pink gin. </p><p><br></p><p>
 Naked Insurance - Founded by Alex Thomson\, Sumarie Greybe and Ernest Nort
 h in 2016. A startup that uses innovative tech to build an insurance offer
 ing that is fairer\, simpler\, more transparent and affordable.</p><p><br>
 </p><p>SmartWage - Founded by Simon Ellis and Caroline Van Der Merwe in 2
 019. A payday solution that enables employees to have instant access to th
 eir earned wages.</p><p><br></p><p>Ukheshe - Founded by Clayton Hayward\, 
 Mike Smits\, Jason Penton and Paul Carter-Brown in 2018. The fintech offer
 s accessible\, fast and secure payment services using channels like Whatsa
 pp\, existing apps\, web and USSD using a cloud-based PCI compliant enviro
 nment.</p><p><br></p><p>Valenture Institute - Founded by Robert Paddock in
  2019. A private high school offering a rich academic learning experience 
 online and on-campus. The curriculum is designed to enable students with t
 he skills required to build a sustainable future.</p><p><br></p><p>Walk Fr
 esh - Founded by Lethabo Mokoena in 2015. A boutique sneaker cleaning and 
 shoe-care startup that offers refurbishing\, maintenance\, shoe shining an
 d repairing services for all kinds of footwear.</p><p><br></p><p>WeThinkCo
 de - Founded by Arlene Mulder and Camille Agonin in 2015. A social entrepr
 eneur venture that teaches thousands of young people to become world-class
  developers - with a guaranteed path to employment.</p>
SUMMARY:SA's Top 5 Most Exciting Startups
URL;VALUE=URI:https://heavychef.howler.co.za/HCtop5
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