The World Design Capital, a city promotion project which highlights the accomplishments of cities that are applying design as a tool to improve social, cultural and economic aspects, awarded Cape Town its World Capital of Design title after the city won a bid for 2014. The project highlights hundreds of relevant outstanding projects, start-ups and events in and around the city.
As part of this initiative, a number of tech start-ups have come into the spotlight.
Dirty Collective
An online store which promotes local clothing brands, artists and designers and sells their merchandise both in South Africa and abroad.
Cape Town Cycle Map
A website and app which promotes cycling by creating awareness on popular, recommended routes.
Connected Space
A site which shows free Wi-Fi hotspots across South Africa.
AidBrella
A website outlining the local NGOs in the greater Cape Town area.
Shopstar
An online portal which allows anyone to easily create and manage their own online shop.
Aweza
A crowd-sourced language translator app.
Doc2doc
A smartphone platform aimed at improving communication between doctors and patients.
Ikamva Youth
A platform which provides young people with tools for web-making and digital storytelling in the current mobile driven era.
AgriSuite Mobile
A mobile app which provides a range of agricultural information for farmers.
Agora Projects
Providers of free Wi-Fi connectivity areas, aimed at underserved populations, which allows them access the internet for educational purposes.
Kaya Labs
An organization which uses technology to provide education and give communities access to information, by partnering with other organizations.
Bookly
An e-reading app for instant messaging service Mxit which gives people access to more than 450 free books.
Given Gain
An African WordPress plugin for online activism.
Merchants on Long
An online store offering products from the best of Long Street’s traditional merchants.
Openinspiration
A website which aims to link consumers to a product or brands by creating an interactive platform for feedback.
MzansiStore
An e-Marketplace which helps small-scale handcraft producers grow sustainable businesses.
Visit the Cape Town World Capital of Design 2014 website for information on the initiative.
