AI gave us tools, now it's time to build the right thing
Researchers explore the role of AI in transforming mental health care.
Image: RON AI
The 29th of May will see Cape Town host Specno's annual Innovators Den forum, offering a space and opportunity for entrepreneurs, investors, and innovators operating in the tech industry to interact and learn from one another.
The theme of this year's event is 'Is South Africa ready for Ai?,' a topic with great relevance and importance for businesses, corporates and anyone operating in the tech industry today.
The wider and growing trend of business and public use of artificial intelligence presents a pertinent moment for the tech industry in our country.
If we all have access to AI, then we should be asking questions around uptake: what separates the fleeting from the transformative?
What makes a digital product not just functional, but valuable, adopted, and revenue-generating?
New tech, like new tools, is only useful when used by a skilled and purposeful wielder. With the rise of AI — via platforms such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, and Copilot — people have not been given access to a single tool, but a sandbox of possibilities from which to build and create.
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For many, AI remains a means of distraction or as entertainment — but in the right hands, it offers the means to prototype, iterate, and launch digital products and services.
Building something new is now easier than ever — placing ever-more emphasis on true innovation. With this democratisation in the ability to build, the tech landscape is growing to favour true value, regardless of origin.
The challenge now is not to build something, but to build the right thing.
For SMEs, building products with the help of AI tools requires more than technical know-how: it requires insight, strategic guidance, and relentless user-focus.
The market place is easily inundated with products and services vying for the loyalty and uptake from potential customers.
But quantity does not equal quality, as many of the services, tools, and products lack usability, scalability, or value. SMEs need to acknowledge the fact that as product development and rollout becomes synonymous with speed, strategic and purposeful thought and design becomes a competitive edge.
Marketing, modern presentation, and the sleek designs produced by AI-aided processes are nice, but they do not ensure that great tech lives up to the moniker.
Instead, great tech is born out of the ability to understand not just what users say they need, but what they actually need — often discovered only through iterative testing and the guidance of experienced product teams.
After all, even the most impressive of AIs need to be led in the right direction by those in the know. And the most important direction is one which leads to users.
The best tech solutions are exactly that: solutions.
They are envisioned and designed around the need to address a real, well-defined problem that affects a clearly defined group of people. Africa is often lauded for its uptake in online banking, mobile money apps, and tech-enabled micro finance — all of which work in the context of an underserved market facing problems in transacting.
No AI can tweak for contexts the way an expert can, allowing for SMEs to take operational constraints, cultural nuances, and regulatory environments into account when building and refining.
Specno, by leading the Innovators Den, has made this approach a foundational aspect of its processes.
The work done between Specno and companies like Wardworx, in collaboration with Dr. Peta-Anne Browne, offers a great case study. Wardworx was built as a South African medical app designed by doctors for doctors to streamline patient task management in hospital settings.
It enables healthcare professionals to create and manage patient lists, track patient locations and information, and assign, prioritise, and complete tasks efficiently.
The app fosters secure team collaboration, ensuring all members are updated on patient care activities.
With its user-friendly interface, Wardworx aims to enhance efficiency and organisation in medical wards, while reducing reliance on traditional paper-based methods.
This is where the value of digital innovation agencies and seasoned venture builders becomes critical.
Agencies like Specno don't just build — they validate, guide, and de-risk projects alongside those who want to build solutions that will change lives and ways of working.
These are consultants that offer expertise in user experience design, technical feasibility, market positioning, and growth strategy, by asking the hard questions and challenging assumptions.
This process ensures that whatever gets built is something people actually want — and are willing to pay for.
For SMEs and entrepreneurs operating in the tech space, Specno's Innovators Den is more than just a showcase — it's a collaborative ecosystem.
It's a place where ideas are challenged, innovations are born, and partnerships are formed.
It offers a platform through which industry stakeholders and leaders can actively create the infrastructure required for sustainable innovation.
The Innovators Den is one of the many foundational layers contributing to greater tech success across the country.
At previous events, companies like JOBJACK, OfferZen, and Naked Insurance have shared how strategic guidance, iterative development, and a focus on impact helped them go from concept to market.
Ultimately, with the change and adoption of new tech, those who are informed and committed to clever adoption are the ones who lead the way. While every industry is clamouring for greater AI integration, tech companies are in a place of privilege, nestled at the heart of the debate. In recognition, this year's Innovators Den promises even deeper discussions around the opportunities and risks that come with AI-fuelled development. Ultimately, it is not tools and materials that build skyscrapers, but professions and communities of like-minded people.
Daniel Novitzkas, Chairman of Specno.
Image: Supplied.
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