Changing the world, one idea at a time

PASSION is at the heart of SA’s growing community of female entrepreneurs taking their big and bold ideas to the world.

Life Whisperer's Michelle Perugini, kik founder Louise Nobes & Fleet Space's Flavia Tata Nardini at Keith Murdoch House, Adelaide. Story is about SA's female founder entrepreneurs. Picture: Bianca De Marchi

PASSION for change is at the heart of SA’s growing community of female entrepreneurs taking their big, bold ideas to the world.

This year’s Entrepreneurs Week will celebrate SA women entrepreneurs with global ambitions for their commercial and social enterprises.

Among the speakers is Flavia Tata Nardini, whose name is becoming synonymous with the SA’s desire to be a space technology hub. The Italian rocket scientist is the force behind Fleet Space Technologies.

“Space ignites a passion for me,” she told The Advertiser.

“Our world is facing some huge challenges … with population growth, increasing environmental challenges and rapid resource depletion.

“Space technology is on the verge of transforming every facet of life. The possibilities are endless from precision agriculture on isolated rural farms in Africa, lone worker safety applications in remote Canada, to maritime monitoring in the middle of the Indian Ocean,” she said.

Louise Nobes is also on a mission to solve complex challenges like youth disengagement and unemployment. Through her KIK Coffee chain, she is providing jobs and training in innovation to disadvantaged youth.

“As a social worker and social entrepreneur, I am in a wonderful position to encourage other like minded people to look at this emerging area of ‘doing good while doing well’.

“KIK has been able to show that through good social design, innovative solutions hold the key to addressing some of our communities’ most complex social issues.”

Dr Michelle Perugini knows technology can change lives — she is just using it to improve the chances to create one. The co-founder of Life Whisperer, which uses artificial intelligence to identify embryos with a higher chance of success during IVF, recently signed a deal with a US partner to test the technology.

“SA has an incredibly supportive environment … and is a fantastic launch pad to the world. The health industry is my passion … To be able to use technology to help people have children, is one of the most powerful and impassioned journeys I have ever been on.”