WATCH: Innovate Durban Festival kicks off

DURBAN - The Innovate Durban Festival kicked off yesterday at the Moses Mabhida under the theme of "Creating a future Durban".

The festival is a three day long event that ends on Friday. It will provide a platform to discuss factors that will help sustain the competitiveness of the city.

The keynote speaker was Dr Craig McLeod, the founder of Build, a website company that works closely with Google, Facebook and Microsoft. He also volunteers in the peadiatric ward at Khayelitsha Hospital.

Also speaking at the event was Councillor Sipho Kaunda from the eThekwini Municipality, and Richard Gevers the founder of Open Data Durban and Innovate Durban board member. Zandile Gumede, the mayor of Durban said that innovation has been one of the key drivers of local economic development and job creation.

Craig McLeod, founder and CEO of Build.

Photo: LinkedIn

Councillor Kaunda said that innovation is changing the way we live, the way that we act and and the way that we think. Gevers said that innovation is not technology but actually finding a problem and providing a solution. He also spoke about the need to connect with one another and drive the idea of Durban and the future of the city.

McLeod said that innovation is taking two unique ideas and combing both the ideas. He gave the example of Uber that combines taxi services and a cellphone application. He also said that innovation is a good thing and that innovation is not going to stop. The session discussed the idea that universities are good catalysts for innovation. Universities, equipped with research labs, combined with resources of students and professors can further enhance innovation.

Mayor Gumede said that they initiated the Innovate Durban Programme to enhance economic growth and job creation.