Innovation

We all know South Africa has problems; we read about them in the newspapers, we see them on the streets and many people experience them in their daily lives. Fortunately, many of these problems can be solved using innovation and science. Innovation takes a look at inventions – developed in South Africa by South Africans – to address issues in the areas of healthcare, energy, environment and industry. Some of these inventions, such as a tea bag created to filter water for communities in rural areas, can save lives; others, such as a unique way to beneficiate titanium, could spell a new era of industry in the country. The book is broken down into sections on environment, health, energy, industry and education, and in each of those parts are examples of South African innovations, from a satellite system to map fires to the concept of sterilising mosquitoes to stop the spread of malaria. These have been developed by numerous organisations and institutions and showcase South Africa’s excellence.

Sarah Wild is an award-winning science journalist. She is the Mail & Guardian’s science editor and in 2013 was named the best science journalist in Africa. In 2012, Wild published her first full-length non-fiction book, Searching African skies: The square kilometre array and South Africa's quest to hear the songs of the stars. On this project, Pan Macmillan has partnered with the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS). GIBS is the business school of the University of Pretoria and a leading South African business school. It is located in the heart of Illovo, Johannesburg, close to the Sandton financial and commercial business hub. Together with Pan Macmillan, GIBS has published Innovation: Remarkable South Africans share their stories (2014) and From dust to diamonds: Stories of South African entrepreneurs (2007).