South African entrepreneurs – Jamie Thurston Wyngaard, the co-founder of fintech company Loop and Dimakatso Kanyane, founder of Dillets – were on the winning team at the 2025 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) Healthcare Hackathon. Using their respective expertise and innovation, alongside Dr Lahja Ndapewa Omagano Ipinge from Namibia, they showed the way in which cross-border and cross-industry collaboration can unlock bold new ways to save lives and protect mothers and babies.
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They’ve been awarded their share of $20,000, presented by Afrilabs and Afreximbank, which will be used to scale their innovative solutions, expand access to essential healthcare services, and enhance impact across Southern Africa.
The winning team combined three change-makers with complementary expertise:
- Wyngaard brought Loop's access to cashless transport and payments through WhatsApp to help patients reach healthcare safely.
- Dr Lahja Ndapewa Omagano Ipinge, a medical doctor specialising in cardiology and sports medicine, contrinuted clinical insight and innovation to the team.
- Using her innovation in menstrual healthcare products, Kanyane found ways to improve women’s health outcomes.
Craig Abel Appel, South African deputy director: international cooperation, Department of Small Business Development (DSBD), said: "This recognition is more than a prize—it’s proof of how partnerships translate into real outcomes.
“Through the Department of Small Business Development and its agency, the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEFDA), two of our supported businesses, Loop and Dillets, showcased how collaboration can scale African solutions.
“Their success at IATF 2025 reflects the spirit of the South Africa–Algeria cooperation framework and the opportunities we are unlocking to stimulate innovation, support startups, and improve healthcare access across the continent."
Jamie Thurston Wyngaard added, "Access to healthcare isn’t only about clinics and medicine—it’s also about getting there safely.
“At Loop, we’re enabling mothers and babies to reach healthcare facilities without carrying cash, all via WhatsApp.
“What we do goes beyond technology; it’s about solving African problems together, with solutions rooted in our realities."
This recognition highlights the power of Southern African collaboration and the potential of African entrepreneurs to reimagine healthcare across the continent.
Their success demonstrates how innovative thinking, cross-sector collaboration, and technology can create lasting impact for communities.
