Innholdsfortegnelse for Spring 2024 - issue 64 i Fast Company South Africa

Every creation under the sun was once an idea that someone turned into reality. This issue, which among other things explores “World Changing Ideas” and the “Secrets of the Most Innovative Founders”, is dedicated to celebrating ideas and especially the people behind them. Our cover star, Professor Puleng LenkaBula, is the leader of one of the most impactful academic institutions in Africa, the University of South Africa. When celebrating innovation, we often focus on ideas and ignore the institutions and people behind innovation. Universities have played a significant role in shaping ideas that became reality. The University of South Africa is one of these institutions. Why does it still matter today? What does it take to lead such an institution? We answer that question by looking at Professor LankaBula’s leadership…

what actions do you believe have led to your success thus far? I finished university some years back, and while I was doing my classes, carrying on my studies, I was in the field of management accounting, and I wanted to get my chartered status in management accounting. But I then experienced what I think most graduates experience in their careers – I couldn’t find or obtain a job in my field. So, I started off in a retail space. I worked as a stock controller, moving shoes from one store to the next store. But that was my step into the working world, a step into the office environment, working during the days and studying during the evenings to obtain that chartered status. I went on to do management…

Following the signing into law of the National Health Insurance Act earlier this year, it’s now time to look at what is needed to make it work. Debate around NHI has focused more on how NHI will be financed and less on how technology can enable its objectives. However, such a massive reorganisation of South Africa’s health system will be impossible without technology, including digital health records. In this regard, the National Digital Health Strategy for South Africa (2019 – 2024), developed by a ministerial task team, anticipates such a transition and recommends taking advantage of the rapidly-changing technology landscape. Unfortunately, the negative noise about the difficulty of financing NHI is clouding the use of such technology and the efficiencies it can bring. To gain a sense of the need…

USING AI TO HELP REDUCE AIRLINE EMISSIONS GOOGLE THE THIN CLOUDS THAT STREAK BEHIND AIRPLANES, called contrails, are a sizable source of global warming, responsible for more than a third of aviation’s climate impact. But slightly changing a plane’s flight path can help avoid the phenomenon, which happens when hot exhaust mixes with cold, humid air. At Google, researchers are using artificial intelligence to help predict where contrails will form so that pilots can adjust course. In a six-month test on dozens of American Airlines flights between 2022 and early 2023, the approach helped reduce contrails by 54%. While redirecting planes uses a little more fuel, the climate benefit far outweighs the extra CO2 emissions. The change would cost airlines little. Eventually, many airplanes will shift to sustainable aviation fuel,…

● JEFF BEZOS IS A BUSY man. But in December, he found the time—two hours and 11 minutes, to be exact—to talk with Lex Fridman, a computer scientist and host of the Lex Fridman Podcast. Fridman’s podcast is the most popular in the technology category, according to Apple and Spotify. His following on social media—including his own Reddit community, 38 000 strong—extends to more than eight million people. During the past six years, Fridman has recorded more than 400 episodes, on topics ranging from alien life to venture investing. His interview subjects have included OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, aspiring Middle East dealmaker Jared Kushner, and entrepreneurial YouTube star MrBeast. In July last year, Fridman interviewed Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, for an hour. At first glance,…

Fuzzy Khosrowshahi is Notion’s new chief technology officer, helping the once-tiny startup scale its engineering team now that it’s a $10 billion behemoth. He joined in December after three years at Slack and 15 at Google, where he helped launch Google Sheets. With the launch of Notion Calendar, Sites, and AI connectors, Notion’s engineering team has been quickly piling up new features both for creators and enterprise customers. Khosrowshahi spoke with Fast Company about how Notion differs from Slack, Google and other places he’s worked, what might be next for Notion and the tools he uses himself. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. What’s the hardest part of leading an engineering team at a company like Notion? I’m playing whack-a-mole the whole time. I start on Monday…

Early in 2021, Professor Puleng LenkaBula assumed office as the first woman Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of South Africa (Unisa). During a recent phone interview with Fast Company, more than three years after her historic appointment, it fast became clear that her vision of repositioning Unisa within the top tier of tertiary education institutions, both in South Africa and on the continent, remains firmly on track. It also became clear that she’s a unique leader and one who has been moulded by her life experiences and background. Her academic achievements are clearly spelled out on the website of the mega university she manages. Among other qualifications, she has a doctorate in Social Ethics (Theology and Philosophy). LenkaBula, who has roots in both Lesotho and South Africa, acknowledges, when…

BE ORIGINAL LADUMA NGXOKOLO FOUNDER, MaXhosa Africa Laduma Ngxokolo is a fashion designer who has turned local heritage into a cultural phenomenon around the world. He has won numerous awards on the global stage with his MaXhosa Africa clothing brand. Established in 2011, MaXhosa Africa is inspired by his very own Xhosa culture, with some of his creations being worn by international celebrities, including singer/ songwriter Alicia Keyes. Laduma has found a way to share his culture in a new and innovative way with the world, but in doing so he has created a business which, while inspired by his own heritage, also connects to a global audience. In 2020, sharing his life story with a TEDxJohannesburg audience, he revealed part of his secret. Among other things, Ngxokolo said that…

1 “GETTING” THE QUESTION Perplexity’s answer engine harnesses advanced natural language processing capabilities to par se through the user’s query, analysing its context and subtle nuances to extract its real meaning and intent. 2 CHECKING THE WED The engine locates the most relevant web pages or articles from its web index, then selects specific content snippets within them to provide context around the user’s question. WHEN YOU GOOGLE THE TERM “PERPLEXITY AI”, YOU GET A FAMILIAR-LOOKING RESPONSE: A LINK TO THE COMPANY’S WEBSITE FOLLOWED BY FOUR OTHER RELATED POPULAR QUERIES, A HANDFUL OF PUBLISHED ARTICLES, RELATED SEARCHES, AND AN ENDLESS SCROLL OF LINKS THAT IF PRINTED OUT MIGHT EXTEND FROM SAN FRANCISCO TO AUSTIN. PERPLEXITY’S ANSWER MACHINE, HOWEVER, PROVIDES A VERY DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE: ENTERING THE PHRASE “WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME ABOUT…

FASHION-FORWARD PROJECTS 1 ARTISAN EMPOWERMENT INITIATIVE * 2 EON EXCHANGE 3 ONE 4 VIVOBIOME POTENTIALLY AWESOME REGATTA POWER TO THE PEOPLE Kepler Project Plug Inn Thermal battery ECO-WARRIOR BATTLE PLANS 1. 3D-printed Living Seawalls 2. Advanced material filters /3. Below-ground filters to eliminate PFAS /4. Molten Oxide Electrolysis /5. Niue Ocean Conservation Commitments /6. PET Big Bag /7. Project Contrails /8. TMC Helix Park /9. United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund /10. Vismax SHINING A LIGHT ON CORRUPTION 1 EXPOSED: COVER-UP AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2 TRANSPARENCY CARD CONCRETE SOLUTIONS 1 Bio-Block Spiral 2 Recygénie THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Ember Cube HomeTeam Mental Health at Work Index Non-adherent, drug-free haemostatic device Peanut-free and hazelnut-free spreads RO’s SafeGuard Implementation Sourcing bone marrow from organ donors Using AI to prevent and treat pain…

The Light phone was born as an alternative to the tech monopolies that are fighting more and more aggressively for our time and attention. Light creates tools that respect you. Objects that empower you to be your best self. Technology intentionally designed to be used as little as possible. Things that serve you, not the other way around. Light was founded by Joe Hollier and Kaiwei Tang, an artist and a product designer who met while attending a Google experimental programme in 2014. They were encouraged to make smartphone apps, and taught on a deeper level how and why different products were being built and funded. It became obvious to them that the last thing the world needed was another smartphone app fighting for our attention because such ad-driven platforms…

ABOUT PROF PULENG LENKABULA On January 1, 2021, Professor Puleng LenkaBula assumed her duties as the first-ever black woman Vice-Chancellor of Unisa. LenkaBula earned her PhD in Theology in 2006, specialising in Ethics, from the same university. Before that, she held leading positions in influential institutions. She is currently leading Unisa from the front and passionately championing the transformation agenda. A strategist of note, Prof LenkaBula has within a 4-year period significantly increased the University’s reserves from under R10 billion to just over R20 billion. The institution has during the recent Times Higher Education University Rankings attained position six amongst South African institutions and is placed in the 601- 800 bands globally, a significant leap from the 2023 THE result which ranked Unisa between the 1001-1200 band, globally.…

In January 2024, the Department of Water and Sanitation, under the leadership of Minister Senzo Mchunu, organized a two-day Water Services Authority (WSA) Summit. This event was a response to the findings of the Blue and No Drop reports, as well as the Green Drop Progress Assessment Report, which were published in December 2023. The Blue Drop certification evaluates the quality of drinking water systems, from purification to delivery to consumers. The Green Drop certification focuses on wastewater treatment systems across the value chain, including municipal, Department of Public Works, and private systems. Both certifications assess operations, maintenance, skills, qualifications, and the monitoring and control of water and wastewater infrastructure. The No Drop certification measures water use efficiency in municipal drinking water distribution systems. It uses non-revenue water as a…

When you come across a company that discourages people from buying more of its products, you can’t help but wonder who started it. Many who visit a Patagonia store or buy one of the company’s products are likely environmentally conscious and like it that Patagonia doesn’t just talk the environmental talk. It’s a unique company, with core values that make more sense when you get to know something about its founder, veteran rock climber and outdoorsman turned entrepreneur Yvon Chouinard. An inspiration for those seeking to establish a purpose-driven company. Chouinard is a man whose business does not exist merely to maximise profit, but also to address some of the challenges that are destroying the planet. The founder of Patagonia has created a company that turns out products purposely designed…