Savant held its third Demo Day last week. Demo Days usually happen once a quarter at Savant. This time we had Loretta Magagula from Incitech talk about its journey.
Apart from giving inventors and innovators a platform to shine, Savant Demo Days foster a greater sense of community among inventors, investors and other industry participants involved or interested in hardware technology innovation.
Incitech is a privately held medical technology company focused on designing and creating innovative and easy to use rapid diagnostics technologies. Its flagship product, the MicroPatch, is a revolutionary fully integrated, painless and locally-produced rapid HIV diagnostics device suitable for both end-user and home use.
According to Incitech CTO Loretta Magagula, the firm has garnered quite a bit of momentum to date, having completed their seed-funded phase, and is looking forward to accelerating its progress with follow-up funding. The next steps are to finalise its product development and officially launch its first product.
”We are very proud to have produced a fully functional prototype
Loretta MagagulaIncitech CTOThe firm was founded by Allan Gray Orbis Foundation fellows in 2014. By 2016, the team had raised private seed funding, partnered with Savant as well as BMEC Engineering Consultants. With the assistance of Savant, 2017 saw the team secure CDI-managed TIA Design Innovation Seed Fund support, SAB Foundation support and go on to win the Global Entrepreneurship Congress pitching event in Johannesburg. In 2018, the team developed a fully functional prototype, filed its PCT application and partnered with the University of Witwatersrand’s Reproductive Health and HIV Institute.
The team
Loretta holds a BSc in Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Physiology from Wits University, a BSc(Hons) in Biotechnology from the University of Pretoria and an MSc in Clinical Science & Immunology from the University of Cape Town. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Cape Town, which focuses is on using bioinformatics and imaging tools for cheaper, and quicker diagnosis of cancer.
Lindiwe holds a BBusSc -Finance and Accounting (Hons) from the University of Cape Town. She has experience in investments, taxation and financial management. What drives Lindiwe is the desire to see all South Africans having equal access to quality healthcare, education of a high standard and equal employment opportunities.
Danisa holds a BSc (Eng) from Wits University and a Masters of Management from Antwerp Management School. She has international experience on the broader African continent as a strategy consultant, and currently has a special focus on innovation and strategy. She has experience in launching corporate ventures, making her ideal for this role.
