Consumption Information Real-Time (CIRT) has been announced as the winner of the Innovator of the Year Award in the ongoing Brand South Africa 2021 Play Your Part Awards.
The organisation won due to the success of its app, Q-Hop, a contactless payment solution that showcases South Africa’s global competitiveness in the digital economy.
By bringing a digital customer experience into a physical retail environment, Q-Hop has been designed to keep up with the fast-moving global retail environment.
Co-founder of CIRT, Ajay Lalu, spoke on the remarkable story behind Q-Hop. “The Q-Hop solution was developed during a hard lockdown in South Africa entirely virtually and proudly using local technology,” said Lalu.
The fact that such an inventive app was developed under unprecedented restrictions, is testament to South African resilience and innovative excellence.
One of the Awards judges, Paul Modjadji, justified the decision in a statement saying, “This is a proudly South African tech giant, with humble beginnings and global aspirations. Technological innovation is at the forefront of their work.”
Nominations for the remaining Play Your Part awards have now closed, and the judges are in the process of collating entries for the final 3 categories: Social Cohesion, Education, and Environment.