Savant held its second Demo Day during June 2018. Demo Days happen once a quarter at Savant and foster a greater sense of community among inventors, investors and other industry participants involved or interested in hardware technology innovation. Start-up media hub, Ventureburn dropped in to cover the event.
The video above captures a fraction of the energy of the evening. Watch it to see find out what participants and attendees had to say about the event. Market samples from Drifter Breweries and Black Owl Wines added an especially tantalising quality to the atmosphere.
Quickloc8
From zero to an MVP demonstrator using R650 000 in seed funding from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA). That’s how Savant describes Quickloc8’s journey with Mbavhalelo Mabogo.
Mabogo founded Quickloc8 in 2015. The start-up has produced a real-time vehicle and passenger tracking solution for the taxi industry.
“The work that Mbavhi (Mabogo) has done with that R650 000 was amazing, he basically went from zero to an MVP demonstrator,” commented Savant CEO Nick Allen.
He added that the start-up which joined Savant last year is “in the process of going to the next round of funding from TIA”.
The work that Mbavhi Mabogo of Quickloc8 has done with that R650 000 was amazing, he basically went from zero to an MVP demonstrator. “So we’ve put in a tech-dev application to finalise the product and the goal will be to finalise and integrate into their current tracking product,” added Allen.
Intelligent Safe
One of the best presentations of the Demo Day came from smart-safe start-up Intelligent Safe Technologies. The 18-month old start-up showcased its flagship R130 000 Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled programmable safe which is aimed at high-end retailers, like jewellers and cell phone shops.
Intelligent Safe investor and Maverick Telecom owner Gian Carlos Bruno said the engineering start-up, which was founded by David Park Ross, Andre Lamprecht, and Terrence Henry, had spent close to R3-million developing the safe.
“Ultimately, we believe we’ve come up with a very novel solution for a global problem,” said Bruno, adding that the given the right contacts and investors the product can work anywhere in the world.
He said the start-up — which has managed to self-fund two thirds of the development costs of the safe — is now looking for investors. “All we need now is working capital and we are away,” chipped in Ross.
Jonga
Savant’s latest incubatee, Cape Town-based security start-up Jonga — which joined the incubator two months ago — also presented at the event.
The start-up’s founders COO Ntando Shezi and CEO Ntsako Mgiba were fresh from a Department of Trade and Industry sponsored trip to Viva Tech in France.
Shezi said the start-up, which is developing an IoT-enabled low-cost security system, had received “great feedback and market reception from the French ecosystem”.
”Orange interested in us
Ntando SheziJonga Co-Founder & CFO
“We actually got a bit of interest from Orange. They were actually just really interested in just how we were looking at the whole smart home ecosystem,” said Shezi.
Shezi also said that the start-up, which is currently raising a round of funding, is looking to roll-out about 100 units in Khayelitsha between August and October this year.
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, Savant’s Allen said the success and impact that the incubator had achieved were a result of its focus on hard tech.
”We are good at what we do from a hardware perspective, we think we understand hardware, we understand scientist and engineers, we’ve all got that kind of background, so we think we can add value in a specific space
Nick AllenSavant CEO
This is an adaptation of an article entitled, “Meet Quickloc8: from zero to an MVP demonstrator using R650k TIA grant” by Daniel Mpala on the Venture website
