Impact
Discover the big ideas that are changing the world. Fast Company SA showcases innovative and creative ideas that could change the world we live in today.What Would Elon Musk Do About Eskom?
South Africans for the first time in recent days experienced Stage 6 of load shedding which involved 4 hours without electricity daily. This prompted a South African musician Keenan Forbes “AKA” to tweet “Please @elonmusk […]
Tech Incubators in Townships: An Opportunity to build Impactful Tech for local issues
SA townships were not designed to become engines of economic development. Nothing much was expected from them. They were built to be spaces for people to dwell while working in the cities. Most of them […]
Bill Gates thinks you should read these five books
Bill Gates’s idea of a good summer book isn’t necessarily light beach reading: This year, his annual list of recommendations includes a novel about climate disaster, an analytical book about the technology that underlies everyday […]
There’s no such thing as “Township Tech”
A few years ago, a technology incubator in Cape Town decided to establish a version of itself in a township based on pressure to advance transformation in the technology sector and potential to access funding. […]
Elon Musk has questioned ESG, why investors should care?
When Tesla was booted off the S&P 500 ESG Index last week—an index that ranks companies based on environmental, social, and governance data—Elon Musk responded by tweeting that ESG was a “scam,” and pointing out […]
The employee ownership movement is coming, are you in our out?
A dragon entering the midst of the employee ownership field—that’s how Jim Bonham, head of the Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Association, described the splashy April announcement of a new nonprofit, Ownership Works, which says […]
Solutions driven Startups to be rewarded for UN SDG aligned solutions
The race towards 2030 to realise the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) is intensifying and getting more challenging. This has led some startups to tailor their solutions to realise the SDGs. Those startups will come […]
Fashion is wasteful, here’s why retail needs rethink
Fast fashion is getting faster: Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014, and in that same period, the number of garments purchased per capita increased by about 60%. The dismal consequence is that fashion is […]
Pharell Williams is showing investors how to fund Black founders
In a lighthearted moment at Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies Summit, the CEO of Black Ambition, Felecia Hatcher, suggested that the concepts behind today’s biggest crowdfunding businesses, like Kickstarter and Indiegogo, were invented years ago […]
Reimagining assisted home nursing amid a pandemic
It’s been nearly two years since the pandemic started, and we’re still finding ourselves adjusting and adapting to the ‘new normal’. Economies are struggling, and many lives have completely changed; just about everyone has been […]
Historic Health Data Moment for South Africa
For a very long time South Africa’s health system lacked the necessary quality data to enable digitisation and access to health data by health professionals. Today the health sector has launched South Africa’s first industry […]
It’s time to redesign Cities, says UN Climate body IPCC
As much as 72% of the world’s emissions in 2020 came from cities—and by the middle of the century, urban areas could triple in size. That’s why the latest climate report from the IPCC, the […]
Global Citizen is in search of young Africans
International advocacy organisation Global Citizen has announced that for the fourth year of the Global Citizen Fellowship Program powered by BeyGOOD, the organisation will be expanding for the first time into Kenya. The application period […]
Open Data is not Open to all
The cliché “Data is the new oil” appears in many discourses from various sectors of life, be it in business, civil society, or in government. All over the world, data has been embraced as […]
These US Big Tech companies and big businesses are punishing Russia
Governments around the world have applied sanctions against Russia due to its war with Ukraine. But they’re not the only ones using business and economic means to punish Russia. A number of private companies—including many […]
The problem with eating meat and animal produce from the US
In recent years, there’s been a growing movement against eating too much meat. Environmentalists point out that meat production is one of the leading causes of climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and water pollution; health […]
SA innovative Clothing Bank gets global recognition
The pandemic has not stopped the South African innovative Clothing Bank from making impact where it matters. Incredibly, during these gloomy economic times, The Clothing Bank (TCB) has made it onto a list of global […]
Local Social champions recognised for impactful work by LG
Following the launch of LG Electronics; Global Ambassador Challenge in South Africa late last year, a large number of citizens responded to the call to help solve Mzansi’s most pressing social issues. In partnership with […]
This innovative beer brand is switching to renewable energy to make beer
Next time you drink Castle Light, you will be happy to know that you are not just drinking but also contributing towards saving energy and making the environment better. Castle Light has become one of […]
Huawei and Telkom partner for a 5G live stream of African Penguins
Huawei and Telkom have supported a 5G live stream of Africa’s endangered penguins to highlight role of 5G and supporting technology for conservation and environmental protection as well as other 5G use case. The live […]
UCT School & SAHRC partner to enable Online High School for Rural Areas
The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the University of Cape Town’s Online High School have partnered on an initiative that aims to accelerate access to Online Learning, particularly for girl children in rural […]
Inside the first 4 star rated hotel in a Cape Town township
South African townships were not designed for better living and quality of life. When Annette and Bulelani Skaap launched their hotel on the 4th of December 2021 in the middle of Khayelitsha they began a […]
This container donation empowers township entrepreneurs
Lucas Molepo can still remember the first time he heard the word “entrepreneurship”. “I was in grade 2 and I never forgot what it meant because even back then, I just felt like it defined […]
Wikipedia to be translated into IsiZulu, Sesotho, Tshivenda, and Afrikaans by a group of young people
English has been the main language online. A group of young people with the support from the Moleskine Foundation and growing pan-African grassroots movement are planning to change that as from tomorrow. The plan is […]
