There is so much that can be done to make South Africa a more innovative and inclusive country. For example, a major hurdle to social innovation is the high cost of mobile data. Zero-rating specific mobile services would reduce the cost of social innovation and diversify the range of information sources available.

There are ‘easy wins’ that keep being overlooked, which could open new possibilities for national development.

People with disabilities continue to be socially and economically marginalised, often through practical challenges like transport. Innovations like UberACCESS provide new possibility to overcome some of these challenges, if a viable economic model can be found to involve the private sector in services often subsidised at high cost by the State.

The elderly, as well as abused women and children, are highly dependent on the efficiency of the State to contract with suitable service providers. Yet processes of contracting non-government organisations are often inefficient, with little mutual accountability. Similarly, there are often major inefficiencies in State-provided services, which demoralise public servants and undermine the quality of service provision.