Innovator Trust choose Cape Town with Afri-Centric as the event management company to host their one-day Hybrid Tech Entrepreneurship Xperience (T.E.X. 2022) on 15 September 2022. The event was hosted in the iconic FNB Portside Building.

Seventy guests attended the event in person and 300 virtually, and explored the impact of tech on small businesses, and its effects on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the future, charting the path for the Entrepreneur of the Future.

Well-known Entrepreneurs were sharing their journeys and wisdom during panel discussions hosted by TV personalities Melanie Bala and Nastassia Arendse. Among the entrepreneurs were Timothy Maurice Webster (Author: The Age of the Techpreneur), Musa Kalenga (Group CEO: The Brave Group), Nontando Mposo (Editor in Chief: Glamour Magazine), Abed Tau (Executive Director: My Dough), Merle Grace O’Brian (Principle Futurist: Creation iLab), David Tlale (Award-winning African Fashion Designer), Lazo Parapanagiotidis (Chief Officer and Marketing: NOT.NXT), Ndiambani Magadagela (Co-Founder: Everlectric). Lynda Marthinus (Vodacom Group Executive: B-BBEE and Transformation), Baratang Miya (CEO and Founder: Girlhype Women Who Code, Darryl Dennis (CEO: Nelson Mandela Innovation Hub) and Katlego Malatji (Founder: Project One Engineering).

The awards ceremony highlighted several categories in which the SMMEs were assessed for the 2021/2022 financial year while on the programme. These included Top 3 achievers for Highest Turnover, amounting to an impressive, combined turnover of over R39-million from these small businesses for the period. Top achieving SMMEs were also announced for the Highest Percentage Growth experienced while on the programme, recognition for the Top Business Presentations, as well as an award acknowledging the Top Employment Creator amongst the cohort of beneficiaries. Each of the award winners also walked away with cash prizes to be utilised towards their businesses.