Deal-flow sessions with top innovators lead to experimentation and commercialisation with SA corporates

19 September 2018, Johannesburg, South Africa – The Disruption Agenda, a first-of-its-kind event for the country, saw over 200 top business leaders and innovation thinkers attend the inaugural launch this week. This new platform initiated by Nedbank in partnership with Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play team, sought to connect leading global and local innovation talent to leaders ready to implement disruptive technologies.

The two-day event was structured into deal-flow sessions on Day 1 where thirty of Nedbank CIB’s top clients engaged with 10 of the most innovative startups sourced with the help of Plug and Play, known as the world’s largest innovation platform. Day two saw pitches from the 10 startups and a Disruption Panel Discussion with Nedbank’s lead thinkers on disruption and digital transformation to over 200 clients of Nedbank CIB’s, Retail Business Banking and Nedbank Private Wealth clients with a goal to stimulate and accelerate innovation action.

“The focus on disruption is something that we’ve been driving not only in our business, but as new value propositions for our clients. Additionally, our objective is to advance the local tech community,” shares Stuart van der Veen, Head of Innovation and Disruption at Nedbank CIB. Nedbank identify the top 100 disruptors every six months, both locally and globally. From this, 12 collaborations are identified across Nedbank with six progressing to experimentation and one through to commercialisation on a rolling basis.

“Aerobotics is a great example. They were one of the disruptors we identified, and we’ve taken them through to commercialisation with several of our clients,” concludes van der Veen.

Reflecting on the event, Alex Fenn, Technology and Innovation Lead for Sibanye-Stillwater, commented, “Mining companies are experiencing increasing cost pressures and volatile commodity prices. We’ve pulled all of the efficiency levers that we have at hand. I believe the next paradigm shift in operational performance will come from the adoption of some type of disruptive technology at a very broad level. We’ve identified enormous opportunity amongst the startups that we have engaged with, which could be critical to our digital transformation and sustainability going forward.”

The startups selected to showcase include Aerobotics, Dispel, GotBot, IoT.nxt, Koniku, LifeQ, Sentiance, Trueface AI, Wasteless and What3Words.

Michael Clampett, Head of Asset and Property Management: Retail at Attacq Group, states: “We’re quite small to allocate resources to sourcing top innovation at this scale but in partnership with Nedbank, this has now been possible, and we have access to innovate more quickly.”

In the venture capital space there a number of new entrants investing in disruptive tech startups, with the industry sitting around 4.4 billion and around 530 deals existing within the venture capital sector. Of these figures, 1.1 billion was new capital invested and 159 of deals took place in 2017 reflecting steady growth in the sector.

When talking about The Disruption Agenda, Herman Singh, Chief Digital Officer for MTN Group, shared, “This model of like-minded corporates working together to assist and facilitate innovation results in the startup model having the highest probability to succeed.”

The Disruption Agenda sought to activate experimentation and proof of concept initiatives between startups and corporates as a pragmatic, action-orientated approach to ensure impactful outcomes of the engagements.

“It’s been an extraordinary two days. The deal-flow sessions were transformative for us. As a small part of a wider business scaling globally, it’s been phenomenal to have the support of executives in those meetings with potential clients of Nedbank’s and to have them facilitate those conversations, so we can start to discuss proof-of-concepts and commercialisation. It’s a very exciting thing for us, to have so much hands-on support. It’s changed the way we think about how corporates are dealing with the innovation space in South Africa,” adds Lyndsey Duff, Country Manager for What3Words in South Africa. 

ENDS 

For more information on The Disruption Agenda or this press release please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About Nedbank Group

Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on JSE Limited (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R125 billion as at 30 June 2018. Nedbank Group is one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Its principal banking subsidiary is Nedbank Limited, and the group is 54% majority owned by Old Mutual Limited (OML), which has a primary listing on the JSE with secondary listings in London, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. Nedbank Group owns subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Southern Africa countries, including Angola and Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London, Toronto and Dubai (UAE).We are a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, as well as insurance, asset management and wealth management solutions.

For more information, visit https://www.nedbank.co.za/    

About Plug and Play:

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries.We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.

For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

The Durban leg of the ninth annual ENGEN Pitch & Polish programme was held on Saturday, 8 September with excellent attendance by enthusiastic entrepreneurs from the area. Since inception, this national entrepreneurial workshop and competition – hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and Caxton Local Media – has helped over 11 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors.

“Engen Petroleum believes there is great value in raising the concept of polishing ideas and partners with businesses, such as Raizcorp, to create entrepreneurs that will generate jobs and subsequently curb unemployment to alleviate poverty,” states Unathi Njokweni-Magida, the Head of Transformation & Stakeholder Engagement at Engen Petroleum Ltd. “Entrepreneurs are the future for change.

The essence of ENGEN Pitch & Polish is to bring beautiful ideas and business to life by teaching what and how to communicate succinctly, effectively and with confidence,” she continues. The day’s winning formula saw Justin Cohen (best-selling author and international speaker) motivating the crowd about the value of delivering a polished pitch. The workshop aims to teach participants how to develop a well-rounded and investor-ready pitch.

The interactive nature of the event ensures that everyone participates while learning at the same time. At each event, five contestants pitch their businesses while the facilitator and attendees offer guidance, advice and direction to help shape the pitches. Justin teaches that, at times, optimism and enthusiasm can be more important than academics and says, “Confusion is the death of a pitch; keep it simple.”

For example, through the example of Shiroma Bennimahadeo, who came in third place, and her biomedical engineering consultancy idea, the delegates saw the impact of a strong opening and how to weave in how investors will benefit, through the use of branding as well as financial information. Her quiet confidence was effective, and she delivered an excellent three-minute pitch to the “investors” in a centred and authentic manner. The feedback that Ayanda Magubane received for his mobile cleaning services was to keep his offering simple by focusing on the core business, then bringing in expansion plans only if there is time. A business model that is easy to grasp will lead to a quicker understanding. Knowing his target market and vision is a great strength.

Phumzile Manana, who came in second place with her existing food-manufacturing business, was clear on what she wanted the money for and her business acumen came through well. Her feedback included the importance of securing many clients instead of pinning one’s hopes on one large contract. Placing more focus on the product instead of on the business model was a key learning of the pitch delivered by Jacqueline Mccarroll, whose company distributes water and energy saving products.

Participants learned to weave in credible successes early in the pitch as this builds trust. They also learned that rehearsing one’s pitch is highly beneficial and that comparing their products or services with something already in the market that is relatable helps to paint a picture more quickly. From here, you can move on to the financial side more smoothly. The winning pitch was delivered by the wild card entry of the day (someone who is chosen by the audience).

Mongezi Dlamini has a hydroponic farming business and worked hard to polish his pitch throughout the day. The audience saw how impactful a powerful opening can be, with Mongezi delivering a concise introduction followed by outlining the problem and then presenting his solution. His compelling proposition was refined and showed how imperative it is to be specific about numbers. Insider tip: 50% of your pitch is not what you say, it is rather how you say it. Imbue confidence and clarity into your pitch combined with depth of knowledge.

As the 2018 winner of the Durban leg of ENGEN Pitch & Polish, Mongezi Dlamini won R6 000 and a week of training at Raizcorp in Johannesburg worth R150 000. He also has the opportunity to progress to the semi-final and become the ultimate 2018 ENGEN Pitch & Polish winner and receive further cash injections and other prizes. Congratulations to everyone for attending, for taking action and for being the light that shines on the local entrepreneurial environment.

For more information, visit www.pitchandpolish.com.

In this picture (from left to right): Mongezi Dlamini, hydroponic farming Shiroma Bennimahadeo, biomedical engineering consultancy Phumzile Manana, food manufacturingJacqueline Mccarroll, water and energy saving products Ayanda Magubane, mobile cleaning services

The Newcastle leg of the ninth annual ENGEN Pitch & Polish programme was held on Saturday, 1 September, the first time the event has been hosted in the city since inception. This national entrepreneurial workshop and competition – hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and Caxton Local Media – has helped over 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors. “Engen Petroleum is committed to playing its part in helping to develop the economy of SA. One of the initiatives that we use as a vehicle to achieve this is the powerful ENGEN Pitch & Polish programme, as it aims to assist local communities transform their business ventures, with the potential to create jobs.

This exposes entrepreneurs to enterprise development training and critical thinking skills that will help them grow their business ideas,” explains Thandi Ngxonga, Process Safety Specialist, from Engen Petroleum Ltd. The day’s winning formula saw Justin Cohen (best-selling author and international speaker) motivating the crowd about the value of delivering a polished pitch. The workshop aims to teach participants about how to develop a well-rounded and investor-ready pitch. The interactive nature of the event ensures that everyone participates while learning at the same time. At each event, five contestants pitch their businesses while the facilitator and attendees offer guidance, advice and direction to help shape the pitches.

“This is where entrepreneurs are grown, and it is entrepreneurs who will grow this country, solve problems and create employment,” enthuses Cohen. For example, through Charity Modise and her events business, the delegates learned that sometimes what entrepreneurs need is clients and not necessarily funding, and also how important it is to do research into your competitors and their offering and tools.

Sikhumbuzo Nkosi, with his labour law consultancy, presented a strong pitch. However, what he and the audience learned was that using a variety in pace and tone would help to make his pitch more impactful and easier to follow. There is credibility in sharing successes and achievements which demonstrate the consultancy’s strength. Sharing one’s accreditations can also be a powerful tool, as seen in the pitch of Ntombi Nkosi, a geological consultant. You need to explain the differentiating factor in your business and be very specific about your finance model. It’s important to explain a complex industry in a way that makes sense to a potential investor.

The feedback that Zamaswazi Khulu received was to clearly explain her environmental consultancy business by defining its value. A business that offers a product or service that is in high demand yet has low supply is music to the ears of an investor, but you need to be sure to back up your claims with stats and facts. The winning pitch was delivered by the wild card entry of the day (someone who is chosen by the audience).

Riaz Kajee has a tech-focused courier business model and his pitch illustrated a clear business model and had a relatable story. His pitch reflected the learnings from the day and was well structured in its delivery. This country needs entrepreneurs who get up every morning and grind, as it is through entrepreneurs that the economy will be buoyed.

To pitch effectively, knowing your financials in detail is what will set you apart. Insider tip: Paraphrase what the investor has said back to him or her as this shows that you have understood what they are saying and helps build a connection and rapport. Entrepreneurs are really pitching their purpose, and investors buy the ‘why’ you do what you do, the value and the benefits and not necessarily the ‘what’ or features of the product or service. A fabulous nugget shared by one of the delegates was, “I need to begin to be big. I don’t need to be big to begin.” As the 2018 winner of the Newcastle leg of ENGEN Pitch & Polish, Riaz Kajee won R6 000 and a week of training at Raizcorp in Johannesburg worth R150 000.

He also has the opportunity to progress to the semi-final and become the ultimate 2018 ENGEN Pitch & Polish winner and receive further cash injections and other prizes.

Congratulations to everyone for attending, for taking action and for being the light that shines on the local entrepreneurial environment. 

Nedbank announces the Top 10 Innovators sourced from around the globe that they will connect to major corporates and business leaders in partnership with Silicon’s Valley’s Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, at this first of its kind event.

South Africa, 5 September 2018 – Nedbank recently announced the expansion of their US partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, to include South Africa for the first time. Together, the entities will connect 10 visionary entrepreneurs from around the world to business leaders at The Disruption Agenda to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.

“We’re incredibly excited for the ten startups that are going to be part of The Disruption Agenda. The most important thing for Nedbank is to get pilots and experiments underway and push straight through to commercialization where possible,” states Stuart van der Veen, Head of Disruption and Innovation at Nedbank CIB. “We’ve engaged with our most forward-thinking clients and they will be participating in both the deal-flow sessions and be present at the actual pitches of the startups.”

Nedbank initiated their relationship with Plug and Play, described as the ultimate matchmaking machine between startups and corporates, two years ago as a sponsor of the global FinTech programme. Startups selected to engage at The Disruption Agenda represent both African and global startups from across industry sectors.

Startups selected for The Disruption Agenda

1.Koniku: Starts with the premise that biology is the most advanced technology on earth. Their belief is that Bio is Tech™. Koniku builds living machines with synthetic biology. Machines which can detect fake food, design taste, detect explosives, infectious diseases, cancers and more. Nature is our open source library. Currently, the company grafts custom proteins which act sensors on living cells – neurons - and encapsulate them within a silicon chip. The chips – Koniku Kore’s - will one day power the next generation of cognitive robots – synthetic cognition. 

2.Airware: Airware is the leading enterprise drone analytics company helping enterprises leverage today’s rapidly advancing technologies (such as drones, cloud computing, machine learning and more) to safely see and sense their sites and structures to improve productivity, mitigate risks, and take workers out of harm’s way. Airware enables enterprises to harness aerial data and turn it into valuable business insights that can be shared and acted on across sites, teams, and geographies. Their solutions enable enterprises to reinvent their organizations for the digital era by translating aerial data into business impact.

3.Sentiance: Sentiance analyses sensor data to understand human behavior and context so clients can develop new products and services that turn the Internet of Things (IoT) into the Internet of You. Sentiance context intelligence enables solutions for lifestyle-based insurance, contextual marketing and commerce, smart mobility, connected health, smart home, smart city and connected car. 

4.LifeQ: LifeQ implements a unique multidisciplinary approach underpinned by in-depth knowledge and understanding of human physiology and systems biology to extract and deliver relevant and meaningful person-specific digital biomarkers from various curated data sources. They are a world-leading science and technology company that want people from all walks of life to enjoy optimal health. LifeQ generates, and makes available, high-value personalized health information and solutions, which would traditionally be inaccessible or only obtainable through costly, invasive and inaccessible means, at a reliability level suitable for use by individuals, businesses, and clinical providers.

5.Wasteless: Wasteless is the world’s first machine-learning solution with real-time tracking for grocery stores looking to offer customers dynamic pricing based on a product’s expiration date. Wasteless takes machine learning capabilities used online and brings them to Brick and Mortar outlets. Tracking products at the item level, automating manual processes, and applying dynamic pricing have been the foundation of successful e-commerce platforms enabling them to substantially increase their profits. Wasteless allows supermarkets to close the gap and compete in the digital era.

6.Trueface AI: Trueface computer vision solutions augment any existing camera feed into intelligent, actionable data capable of identifying persons-of-interest, objects and more. Trueface AI provides facial recognition and spoof detection solutions for clients of all sizes. It provides an API, on-premise solution and a no-code solution for identity management. The Trueface mission is to educate on the benefits of computer vision and make it accessible for businesses looking for more unique and secure solutions.

7.Aerobotics: Aerobatics provides farmers around the world with world-leading pest and disease management systems for tree crop protection using drone and satellite data. Aerobotics’ software, Aeroview, empowers Tree Crop Farmers to identify early stage problems in their orchards. Used in conjunction with the Aerobotics’ Aeroview Scout App on their smartphone, farmers are able to locate problem areas on a tree-by-tree basis. Achieving success for over 6 million trees to-date, Aerobotics is setting the standard for tree crop analytics globally and innovating the agricultural processes as we know them.

8.What3Words: What3Words is a universal addressing system provides a precise and incredibly simple way to talk about location. They have divided the world into a grid of 3m x 3m squares and assigned each one a unique 3-word address. Better addressing can enhance customer experience, deliver business efficiency, drive growth and support social and economic development. It was the first system designed for voice and human interaction with machines.

9.Dispel: Dispel makes cloaking technology, rendering networked infrastructure and endpoints invisible and segmented, stopping attackers from gaining actionable knowledge usable in a cyberattack. Dispel cloaking is a secure overlay network in which applications can be deployed, or around which infrastructure can be concealed. They accomplish this cloaking through network-level Moving Target Defense: an orchestrated mass-virtualization and encryption technology designed to disrupt attacker's operations. An offensive, moving target defence stops attacks well ahead of older technologies. Dispel has established an industry-leading security program, ensuring customers have a high degree of confidence and trust in their stewardship of customer data and operations.

10.IoT.nxt: IoT.nxt has developed a world-leading framework that makes efficiencies, cost savings and increased revenue from IoT (Internet of Things) a reality for businesses. The IoT.nxt platform allows rapid deployment and businesses to action an Internet of Things strategy with little disruption to current operations.The major strength of the IoT.nxt framework is that the solution is technology-agnostic. They can help digitise any industry, any system and any process. IoT.nxt lays the foundation for rapid digitisation, creating agile, efficient, future-proofed businesses. They’ll help you create an interconnected, interoperable ecosystem without disrupting your business. 

“Some of the best startups in the world, when it comes to disruption, exist right here in South Africa. LifeQ, IoT.nxt and Aerobotics are proudly South African startups that will be participants in the event,” adds van der Veen, “one of the founders of Koniku is Nigerian who is now based in Berkeley in the United States. They’re the world’s first neurocomputation company, so essentially looking at neurons and genetically editing them to be able to detect small traces of substances, for example, explosives, illicit materials and even disease, anything a dog’s nose can sense.”

“Aerobotics is a Cape Town-based but global startup, now focusing on drone analytics, looking at agriculture and tree crops. So, from the startups attending The Disruption Agenda, we see massive value for clients as well as for the ecosystem at large.”

The 10 startups attending The Disruption Agenda are from across the globe, with half based in Silicon Valley, but their solutions are all applicable to the African continent. 

A Word From the Startups

"Africa deserves access to cutting-edge technology like everywhere else. Imagine being able to screen for any illness by breath alone. Personal and population health data at your fingertips using volatile organic compounds produced by the body,” comments Oshiorenoya Agabi, founder and CEO of Koniku. “At Koniku we believe any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from Nature. Using synthetic biology, we can build from the same building blocks as nature.”

“At LifeQ we saw the opportunity to leverage physiological data by bridging the gap between insights generated from limited access to expensive medical grade outputs and the easily accessible inexpensive consumable devices with their low efficacy outputs,” adds Dylan Garnett, COO of LifeQ, “I am very excited that LifeQ has been selected for Plug and Play as it will undoubtedly serve as a great platform to help identify and, along with others, address real needs that exist in South Africa and the broader African continent, thereby furthering LifeQ's vision of improving human health and wellbeing at scale.”The solutions built by these young innovators each demonstrate the importance of using tech to future-proof not only businesses but human lives, and how critical disruption across every industry is.

“Sentiance carries the company goal "Improving people’s lives using AI”. The technology is used today to help people live a healthier life and, amongst others, to reduce accidents. Our insights can be used by our customers to engage with their users and to improve their daily lives. Healthcare and insurance providers can, for example, provide lifestyle coaching and also detect and predict heart arrhythmia. Mobility and automotive companies can provide driver coaching and increase road safety and more. The Sentiance platform allows companies to engage with their end-users in a privacy-aware manner, at right time in the right moment, thereby improving the user’s quality of life and assisting in day to day tasks,” states Oliver Bath, Head of Client Services at Sentiance.

The Disruption Agenda is aimed at select clients and ecosystem collaborators.

To find out more you can follow Nedbank CIB social channels or get in contact by emailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..  

-- ENDS -- 

For more information about this press release please contact:

Mika Stanvliet | The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About Nedbank Group
Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on JSE Limited (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R125 billion as at 30 June 2018. Nedbank Group is one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Its principal banking subsidiary is Nedbank Limited, and the group is 54% majority owned by Old Mutual Limited (OML), which has a primary listing on the JSE with secondary listings in London, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. Nedbank Group owns subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Southern Africa countries, including Angola and Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London, Toronto and Dubai (UAE).We are a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, as well as insurance, asset management and wealth management solutions.

For more information, visit https://www.nedbank.co.za/ 

About Plug and Play:
Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries.We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.

For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

We have great news to share – ENGEN Pitch & Polish, the annual free Entrepreneurial training workshop and competition, will be in TWO Mpumalanga cities this year – eMalahleni and Nelspruit. 

 Emalahleni on Saturday 29 September 2018 ; Portuguese Hall, 95 Nita Avenue, eMalahleni

Nelspruit on Saturday 06 October 2018 ; Arena @ Emnotweni, Government Boulevard, Nelspruit 

WIN R80 000 IN CASH FOR YOUR BIZ! Running your own business? Want to run your own business? Either way, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the platform you need to launch you on the path to success! Now in its ninth year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition that - so far - has helped around 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors.

A perfectly polished pitch is key to growing and succeeding in business! Magic always happens when investors hear a well-rounded pitch, as seen at the 2017 final where the winner was offered R2.5 million in potential funding.

This year's programme is hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank and Raizcorp, with the eMalahleni workshop taking place on Saturday 29 September and the Nelspruit workshop taking place on Saturday 6 October. You can register to attend as a delegate or - if you feel you have what it takes - you can complete an online entry form to be considered as a contestant.

During one exhilarating, exciting and fun free day, participants undergo comprehensive and interactive entrepreneurial training on how to pitch like a pro! The session is facilitated by Justin Cohen, best-selling author, international speaker and TV talk-show host.

After the training session, the pre-selected contestants can pitch their ideas or businesses to the whole audience. This is where things get really interesting, with both the facilitator and the audience providing feedback on how pitches can be improved.

Book now to ensure your place. SMS "Pitch" to 43719 (SMSs charged at 50c) or visit www.pitchandpolish.com to complete an entry form.

WIN R80 000 IN CASH FOR YOUR BIZ!Running your own business? Want to run your own business? Either way, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the platform you need to launch you on the path to success! Now in its ninth year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition that – so far – has helped around 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors.

A perfectly polished pitch is key to growing and succeeding in business! Magic always happens when investors hear a well-rounded pitch, as seen at the 2017 final where the winner was offered R2.5 million in potential funding. This year’s programme is hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank and Raizcorp, with the Grahamstown workshop taking place on Saturday 15 September.

You can register to attend as a delegate or – if you feel you have what it takes – you can complete an online entry form to be considered as a contestant. During one exhilarating, exciting and fun free day, participants undergo comprehensive and interactive entrepreneurial training on how to pitch like a pro! The session is facilitated by Justin Cohen, best-selling author, international speaker and TV talk-show host. After the training session, the pre-selected contestants can pitch their ideas or businesses to the whole audience.

This is where things get really interesting, with both the facilitator and the audience providing feedback on how pitches can be improved. Book now to ensure your place in Grahamstown on Saturday 15 September.

SMS “Pitch” to 43719 (SMSs charged at 50c) or visit www.pitchandpolish.com to complete an entry form. 

Nedbank launches The Disruption Agenda to connect the best technology startups to major corporations and business leaders

South Africa, 13 August 2018 – Nedbank announced today the expansion of their US partnership with Plug and Play, the world’s largest innovation platform, to include South Africa for the first time.Together, the entities will connect 10 visionary entrepreneurs from around the world to business leaders at The Disruption Agenda to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa in September.These startups are at the leading edge of digital transformation. They have been accelerated via the Plug and Play platform and identified as relevant disruptors to solving cross-sector business challenges at a corporate level within the local market.

“Nedbank recognises that building an innovation strategy at a corporate level can present a number of significant challenges. To help corporate leaders, we have structured The Disruption Agenda, a first of its kind event on the continent, to simplify how corporates connect to world-class startups,” shares Stuart van der Veen, Head of Disruption and Innovation at Nedbank Corporate and Investment Banking (CIB). “The problem is that innovative thinking is too often limited to finding new ways of doing old things, when what businesses really need to set themselves apart is to find completely new things to do. And that’s where the successful integration of disruptive technology can be an unparalleled source of comprehensive transformation for any business.”

Nedbank’s participation in Plug and Play's FinTech accelerator program abroad supports its commitment to source innovative digital enhancements to meet the changing needs of its clients. Nedbank has sponsored Play and Play’s Fintech initiative for close on two years and for each of the four batches that Nedbank has been involved in, the bank’s teams actively engaged with the startups to source new ideas and partnerships with the aim of delivering delightful client experiences and disruptive client value propositions.

“Our partnership with Nedbank has given our startups a successful route to expand their business to South Africa,” said Max Koenig, Director of Plug and Play FinTech, Silicon Valley. “The CIB group, responsible for innovation within Nedbank, has been instrumental in sourcing startups to digitally transform their company.” 

The Disruption Agenda is a closed event structured for Nedbank’s clients, while a public event for broader access to Plug and Play is envisioned to take place later in the year. The success of these engagements will form the basis of Plug and Play’s decision to accelerate plans to establish a permanent presence in Africa.

“The opportunity in Africa as a whole is endless and we view this event in September as an integral first step for opening and developing an Innovation Hub in South Africa in 2019” noted Saeed Amidi, Founder & CEO of Plug and Play.

“We believe that successful disruptors are those organisations that are able to see through their traditional functions and create new realities for their clients and businesses. In the process of transforming innovation thinkers to disruption leaders, these organisations have real potential to transform the economic reality of entire communities,” shares Van der Veen. 

-- ENDS --

For more information about this press release please contact:

Mika Stanvliet - The This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. | 081 534 6237 

About Nedbank Group

Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on JSE Limited (JSE) with a market capitalisation of R125 billion as at 30 June 2018. Nedbank Group is one of Africa’s largest banking groups.Its principal banking subsidiary is Nedbank Limited, and the group is 54% majority owned by Old Mutual Limited (OML), which has a primary listing on the JSE with secondary listings in London, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and Namibia. Nedbank Group owns subsidiaries and banks in Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man, Guernsey and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Southern Africa countries, including Angola and Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London, Toronto and Dubai (UAE).We are a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking services, as well as insurance, asset management and wealth management solutions.

For more information, visit https://www.nedbank.co.za/ 

About Plug and Play:

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to make technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 6,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries.We provide active investments with 200 leading Silicon Valley VCs, and host more than 700 networking events per year. Companies in our community have raised over $7 billion in funding, with successful portfolio exits including Danger, Dropbox, Lending Club, PayPal, SoundHound, and Zoosk.

For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com

We have great news to share – ENGEN Pitch & Polish will be in Newcastle on Saturday 1st September 2018, to host their free Entrepreneurial training workshop and competition at the Pines Conference Centre.

WIN R80 000 IN CASH FOR YOUR BIZ!Running your own business? Want to run your own business? Either way, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the platform you need to launch you on the path to success! Now in its ninth year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition that – so far – has helped around 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors.

A perfectly polished pitch is key to growing and succeeding in business! Magic always happens when investors hear a well-rounded pitch, as seen at the 2017 final where the winner was offered R2.5 million in potential funding. This year’s programme is hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank, Raizcorp and Caxton Local Media, with the Newcastle workshop taking place on Saturday 1 September.

You can register to attend as a delegate or – if you feel you have what it takes – you can complete an online entry form to be considered as a contestant. During one exhilarating, exciting and fun free day, participants undergo comprehensive and interactive entrepreneurial training on how to pitch like a pro!

The session is facilitated by Justin Cohen, best-selling author, international speaker and TV talk-show host. After the training session, the pre-selected contestants can pitch their ideas or businesses to the whole audience. This is where things get really interesting, with both the facilitator and the audience providing feedback on how pitches can be improved.

Book now to ensure your place in Newcastle on Saturday 1 September. SMS “Pitch” to 43719 (SMSs charged at 50c) or visit www.pitchandpolish.com to complete an entry form. 

DOES YOUR PITCH REFLECT YOUR VALUES?  Now in its ninth year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish, in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank and Raizcorp, is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition programme that – so far – has helped over 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors.

“The ENGEN Pitch & Polish initiative invites entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs to participate in a full day workshop and competition, to build their businesses on firm foundations and values” urges Unathi Njokweni-Magida, the Head of Transformation & Stakeholder Engagement at Engen Petroleum Ltd. “At Engen Petroleum, we continue to be a firm partner as this gives budding entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch and present their business or idea, to an audience, where the feedback loop creates an empowering learning environment. Engen believes growing and nurturing business skills for emerging entrepreneurs in South Africa will boost employment, improve education levels and help alleviate poverty.

To accomplish this, we are proud to step up and support these future stars, to help propel them forward and become flourishing future employers,” explains Unathi.   As the 2018 workshops begin, below is some advice on the importance of values when crafting the perfect pitch.

It is highly unlikely that someone will invest in your business if your values do not align with theirs. As a real example, a billionaire once turned down the opportunity to invest in a rave business just as the rave scene was about to explode. Despite the lure of vast profits, the billionaire knew that raves attracted drug dealers and that large amounts of drugs were being peddled. This was completely contrary to his system of values and he declined to invest. The need for aligned values also holds true from the perspective of the investee. If, after pitching to an investor, you discover that she has shares in a textile factory in the East that makes use of child labour, would you still take her money?   So, how should you go about ensuring that your pitch reflects your values?

Here are three helpful guidelines to assist you:

1. Awareness Have you ever sat down and really thought about the values which guide your choices in life? Have you ever considered whether they are good or bad values? A good value is something that you can control internally, for example, always taking responsibility for what happens in your life and your business, or always being honest (even if playing fast and loose with the truth would sometimes be easier). A bad value, on the other hand, is something that is controlled by external factors and not by yourself. An example would be wealth for the sake of wealth, or loyalty to the point of blindness. Think carefully about your values and make sure you have settled on ones that you can control, such as a commitment to always learning, humility and self-respect.

2. Clarity Having settled on your values, you must examine them from every angle. After any pitch, a potential investor will ask questions about numerous aspects of your business or business model. Any answers you give must be congruent with the values encompassed in the pitch you have just made. For example, if your pitch has touched on your willingness to learn and the fact that you never assume you know everything, it will not impress your potential investor if you come across as arrogant or a know-it-all when answering any follow-up questions.

3. Alignment It is also essential that your chosen values align with those of your would-be investor. If you are prepared to sacrifice your values for the sake of getting funding, it reflects poorly on you as a person and on your business.

For example, if you value honesty and the potential investor offers you R100 000 more than what you’re asking for to hire her nephew as your marketing director, the offer will clearly be in conflict with your values. Also remember that any deal you finally strike with your investor should be congruent with your values.

Tracy Afonso, Nedbank Head of Strategy: Professional Banking and Small Business, says as money experts, Nedbank is committed to doing good and is proud to be part of this inspiring initiative with Engen and Raizcorp as a co-sponsor since 2016. “Unlocking the potential of the SME sector is key to economic growth and job creation in South Africa.  We believe that this sponsorship aligns with our brand purpose to use our financial expertise to enable individuals, families, businesses and society to do good. As a business, we vote for and support small business in South Africa, and help them achieve their goals,” concludes Afonso.

While it may sometimes seem difficult to uphold your values in the face of a tempting deal, in the long term it will serve you well. As an individual and as a business, you will grow a reputation for being steadfast and true… and that is worth a great deal more than a quick buck!

For more information on ENGEN Pitch & Polish and the 2018 programme, please visit www.pitchandpolish.com

We have great news to share – ENGEN Pitch & Polish will be in Cape Town on Saturday 4th August 2018, to host their free Entrepreneurial training workshop and competition at the CAB Conference Centre.

Below is the press release for you which includes information on how your audience can be part of it. Please share with them, as it’s a fabulous opportunity for all who attend. Please diarise the date – as we’d love to host you at the event.

WIN R80 000 IN CASH FOR YOUR BIZ!

Running your own business? Want to run your own business? Either way, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is the platform you need to launch you on the path to success!

Now in its ninth year, ENGEN Pitch & Polish is a national entrepreneurial workshop and competition that – so far – has helped around 10 000 entrepreneurs improve the way they pitch their businesses to potential investors. A perfectly polished pitch is key to growing and succeeding in business! Magic always happens when investors hear a well-rounded pitch, as seen at the 2017 final where the winner was offered R2.5 million in potential funding.

This year’s programme is hosted in partnership with Engen Petroleum Ltd, Nedbank and Raizcorp, with the first leg taking place in Cape Town on 4 August. You can register as a delegate to attend the workshop or – if you feel you have what it takes – you can complete an online entry form to be considered as a contestant.

During one exhilarating, exciting and fun free day, participants undergo comprehensive and interactive entrepreneurial training on how to pitch like a pro! The session is facilitated by Justin Cohen, best-selling author, international speaker and TV talk-show host.

After the training session, the pre-selected contestants can pitch their ideas or businesses to the whole audience. This is where things get really interesting, with both the facilitator and the audience providing feedback on how pitches can be improved.

Book now to ensure your place in Cape Town on 4 August. SMS “Pitch” to 43719 (SMSs charged at 50c) or visit www.pitchandpolish.com to complete an entry form.