Dr Bonex Mwakikunga, who has developed a breathalyser for detecting sugar diabetes levels, has been offered a R21 million funding from the Technology Innovation Agency to develop his patented prototype. Pic by Yolanda van der Stoep.
For anyone who has ever watched Cell C's reality show, Hangman on e.tv or South Africa's newest rich-media platform, Black you'll quickly find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat as a team of backers drill down to find flaws in the contestants' tasks. They don't pull any punches. If anything viewers will be left punch drunk.
Hangman has far exceeded our expectations. One of our core values is innovation and the show is a natural fit for Cell C. We are extremely proud of the calibre of innovators this show has produced and know that the success of Hangman will be felt long after the final episode has aired, says Surie Ramasary, chief executive: Content for Cell C.
But then again innovation, as they say, is not for the weak. It's a cutthroat environment that requires a complex set of skills. But it's also the only way we as a country can leapfrog out of our economic crisis.
Most innovators are great at coming up with new ideas, but when it comes to business and entrepreneurial skills they often fall far short, says executive producer Odette Schwegler. This show seeks to mentor our country's top inventors into world-class business people.
And if you look at the results it's definitely working. To date, the contestants on the show have raked in in excess of R30 million in business deals, loans and distribution agreements.
These are people who would have battled to claw their way to even get a meeting with some of the big distribution companies. Hangman has certainly helped to open doors, says Schwegler.
Dr Bonex Mwakikunga, who has developed a breathalyser for detecting sugar diabetes levels has scored big. He has been offered an R21 million funding from the Technology Innovation Agency to develop his patented prototype.
In addition, the value of his product has been picked up by Alco Safe who distributes alcohol breathalysers - they have pledged 1 million in development funding for the device.
We would assist to save time in providing the expertise, to get from a larger device to a smaller device, confirmed Rhys Evans of Alco Safe. We can reduce the development time of the device and the cost of the development.
Christo Rossouw from Klerksdorp has scored big with distributor Fever Tree who will be testing his products in the market in three big supermarket chains. The potential is endless.
If it works on the shelves we've committed to adding it to our product line as a giveaway for the next season and then we will take it from there, says CEO of Fever Tree Gordon Muller.
It's the leg up that this small town innovator could only have dreamt of before.
Bedfordview based Dr Sean Armstrong has also managed to make giant strides with his Uniclick syringe. Imvula medical supplies and healthcare logistics placed an order for his syringes - the order is in the pipeline already. Sean believes that the deal will be worth in the region of R600 000.
I have been in the healthcare industry for a long time and rarely does one see basic equipment meet great innovation in this way, says Mark Banfield, an IMvula consultant.
In addition, Sean believes he has secured in the region of R1.1m in deals and tender potential during the course of the show. But it was cold comfort this week when he was shown the trapdoor by the backers.
Speak to the contestants and most of them have benefitted and grown in some shape or form from their association with the show. Dean Fegen has signed up a distribution deal in Botswana for Polyhammer and Darren Aitken says the Curban Urge invention has been snapped up by Alpha Pharm with the promise of distribution in 900 of their pharmacies.
But it's not only contestants who have benefitted. The show has also opened doors for a number of students, giving them a much-needed foot in the door.
We have boarded 25 students giving them the opportunity to experience reality television on a team of 60. It's a difficult industry to break into and at least if they have the experience, they stand a better chance of securing jobs, says Schwegler.
Eight of the students have been involved in behind the scenes social media campaigns, transcribing and as assistant content directors.
I will cherish the humility, warmth and innovation of my colleagues during my time on the production and I will continue to pursue filmmaking, says student Paxton Setau.
Student Peace Aganbi beams, I am beyond thrilled to be a part of the team to shine a spotlight on the innovators in South Africa.
Seventeen film school graduates from Boston Media House and AFDA have volunteered to work with the production team in producing adverts for the three Hangman finalists. AFDA and Boston Media House generously put out a request to their final year students asking them if they wanted to participate in the show.
Three teams were selected comprising two teams from AFDA and another team from Boston Media House. The teams will work with the contestants to produce a broadcast quality advert from conceptualisation to final edit within four days. It will be an arduous task, but the former film school students are eager and enthusiastic to take part in the reality show and see this as the first step in their journey of fulfilling their ambitions as filmmakers.
Hangman isn't just a reality show - it's been a life-changing experience for a broad spectrum of South Africans. It's taught valuable life lessons and it's put local innovators under the spotlight and given them the chance to thrive, says Ramasary.
Hangman airs on e.tv on Sundays at 11h50 with a repeat broadcast on Satu
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
Dr Bonex Mwakikunga, who has developed a breathalyser for detecting sugar diabetes levels, has been offered a R21 million funding from the Technology Innovation Agency to develop his patented prototype. Pic by Yolanda van der Stoep.
