The 1st South African Blue Ocean Awards’ winners

The Blue Ocean Awards team, the French Embassy in South Africa, City of Tshwane, HEC Paris Business School, Michelin, Veolia and MEDEF International announce the results of the 1^st Michelin International Mobility Awards and the 1^st South African Blue Ocean Awards, who took place live and simultaneously in HEC Paris and at the French Embassy in South Africa

The Blue Ocean Strategy: Innovation through Value for inclusion

The Blue Ocean Awards are directly inspired by the blue ocean strategy, which stems from the research works of the two INSEAD Professors W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne on business strategy through value innovation. In their world bestsellers Blue Ocean Strategy and Blue Ocean SHIFT, they deciphered how any company by the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost can open a new market space and create new demand (named “blue oceans”). Pursuing simultaneously low cost and differentiation, a blue ocean strategy makes possible inclusive innovation and new market creations. Prof. Renée Mauborgne and the French Ambassador in South Africa, Aurélien Lechevallier have introduced the ceremony in video.

Winners funded in 3 years

In previous editions, the winners have experienced a strong acceleration in less than 6 months: « Over 7 years, 91% of the Blue Ocean Awards winners have funded themselves within 6 months. In the 3 years following their victory, the valuation of the winners is multiplied by 10 and up to more than 40 times.” says Alban Eral, founder of the Blue Ocean Awards.

2021, year of internationalization for the Blue Ocean Awards

The 7^th Blue Ocean Awards ceremony took place on May, Tuesday, 11th, in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux (France) and Pretoria (South Africa). The 1^st Michelin International Mobility Award and the 1^st South African Blue Ocean Awards were announced.

The winners of the 1^st Michelin International Mobility Award

This 1^st edition of the Michelin International Mobility Award celebrates companies with high potential to develop innovative services to make mobility safer, more efficient, more responsible, and more accessible. The results were announced by Lorraine FREGA (Executive Vice President, Distribution, Services & Solutions, Strategy, Innovation & Partnerships – Member of the Michelin Group Executive Committee) at the ceremony held at HEC Paris business school:

• Michelin International Mobility Award – MENTOR category*:  SUN MOBILITY – refueling electric vehicle fleet faster, cheaper & more convenient. Trophy presented to Chetan MAINI (Co-Founder and Chairman of SUN Mobility)
• Michelin International Mobility Award – BABY category**:  TARMAC TECHNOLOGIES – elimination of air delays by operational efficiency on the ground. Trophy presented to Anthoine DUSSELIER (Co-founder of Tarmac Technologies)

*The Blue Ocean Awards MENTOR category recognizes companies having created a new market, achieving more than 2 million euros annual revenues.

**The Blue Ocean Awards BABY category rewards companies that are creating a new market, achieving less than 2 million euros annual revenues.

Thanks to this award, both startups will gain access to development programs and guidance from mobility experts at Michelin.

The winners of the 1^st South African Blue Ocean Awards

The first South African edition was chaired by Emmanuel SUQUET, Head of mission at the French Embassy, representing the French ambassador to South Africa, with representatives from the South African government and the City of Tshwane, and made possible by VEOLIA Services Southern Africa (a player in sustainable ecological transformation), in partnership with MEDEF International. The ceremony took place at the French Embassy in South Africa at Pretoria.

• Blue Ocean Awards – South African Founders category: METSI A TENG – water purification through waste recovery. Trophy awarded by his worship Randall WILLIAMS, Executive Mayor of City of Tshwane, Emmanuel SUQUET, Head of mission at the French Embassy in South Africa, Daan DU TOIT, Deputy Director-General: International Cooperation and Resources of the South African Department of Science and Innovation, Prof. Puleng LENKABULA, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of South Africa (UNISA), Dr Vathiswa PAPU-ZAMXAKA (Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research, Tshwane University of Technology) and Stanley STEENKAMP, CEO of VEOLIA Services Southern Africa to Pinky Mokwena, Founder of Metsi a teng.
• Blue Ocean Awards – French Founders category:  SHOPIT– Expand your sales in informal markets. Trophy awarded by his worship Randall WILLIAMS, Executive Mayor of City of Tshwane, Emmanuel SUQUET, Head of mission at the French Embassy in South Africa, Daan DU TOIT, Deputy Director-General: International Cooperation and Resources of the South African Department of Science and Innovation, Prof. Puleng LENKABULA, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of University of South Africa (UNISA), Dr Vathiswa PAPU-ZAMXAKA (Deputy Vice Chancellor – Research, Tshwane University of Technology) and Stanley STEENKAMP, CEO of VEOLIA Services Southern Africa to Arnaud Blanchet, CEO of Shopit.

Quotes

« It is a privilege, as an African female to be granted an opportunity to speak into and contribute to the development and improvement of the systems that have an impact on how my society is shaped. I appreciate that BOA is not afraid to make space for the marginalized, unconventional, and new. This is how the world is changed – and I am here for it all. » Pinky Mokwena, Founder of Metsi a teng.

“It is an honor for us to receive the Michelin International Mobility Award as part of the Blue Ocean Awards. SUN Mobility is driven by a passion for innovation that supports safe, affordable solutions geared toward electric mobility. We are delighted to be able to seize opportunities to work with Michelin to scale up our sustainable mobility offering faster”, said Chetan Maini, Co-Founder and Chairman of SUN Mobility.

“We are honored to receive this prestigious award in recognition of our efforts to optimize and transform air transportation operations. We are looking forward to the opportunity to work with Michelin, the world leader in mobility, in order to continue transforming and reinventing air transportation. Lastly, we would like to thank the organizers and judging panel of this international competition who have made it an enriching experience and enabled us to fine tune our strategic approach”, said Anthoine Dusselier, co-founder of Tarmac Technologies.

“We are honored to receive the 1^st Blue Ocean Award in South Africa and grateful to the jury, the sponsors and the organization team. Shopit is on a mission to improve the distribution of affordable goods and services in low-income communities in Africa and this recognition will enable us to foster partnerships with companies interested in growing their sales in these markets”, said Arnaud Blanchet, co-founder and CEO of Shopit

“As a leading mobility company, Michelin aims to continuously improve the mobility experience of its customers in an innovative, sustainable manner. Granting the Michelin Mobility Award as part of the Blue Ocean Awards is an incredible opportunity for the Group to recognize and interact with both French and international companies that are developing innovative connected mobility services. This supports the Group’s open innovation approach in line with its goal of being a data-driven company and a major player in connected mobility,” said Lorraine Frega, Michelin Group.

Press contact

Bertrand Espitalier

Chief Communication Officer – Blue Ocean Awards

+336 61 78 12 52

communication@blue-awards.com

About the Blue Ocean Awards

The Blue Ocean Awards were created in 2014 by Alban Eral with the French Ministry for the Economy, Finance and Recovery and HEC Paris business school. The Blue Ocean Awards are the only event in the world rewarding companies that have followed a successful blue ocean strategy, which aims at creating and capturing uncontested market space far from the competition.