On Thursday, 02 October 2025, 1 Mutual Place, Old Mutual Sandton’s flagship location played host to the second Specno Innovator’s Den - Johannesburg, in partnership with NEXT176. The event brought founders, entrepreneurs, investors and corporate leaders together to exchange insights and inspire each other. While everyone came from different fields and points in their business journey, the evening’s topic has been on everyone’s lips, or their devices, to be exact. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has moved from a futuristic fad to a corporate must-have, but many business owners still don’t really know how to incorporate this powerful tech in a way that works for them. Surely we don’t all need a personalised chatbot… or do we? 

A bit of scepticism makes sense. Perhaps it isn’t clear at first glance how AI can add value to a business in tangible ways. Besides, most start-ups already spend a lot of cash on technology, and anything extra should make sense - for employees, customers and the bottom line. 

Shifting from scepticism to strategy 

At the event, Daniel Novitzkas, Co-founder and Group Director of Specno, quipped that it’s like the steam engine has just been invented, and it’s being criticised before its true use has been proven. Instead of being worried about robots taking over if we incorporate AI into our companies, perhaps we should learn how to harness it for our best gains. 

Our speakers at the Innovator’s Den had some strong ideas, backed by experience:

• Priaash Ramadeen, Co-founder and CEO of The Awareness Company (a NEXT176 portfolio company), said AI has started to play such a big role in his decisions that it has impacted how he raises and uses venture capital. His company uses both bespoke and existing AI within products themselves, and for how they do business, such as in their hiring and marketing. He has found that this not only helps speed up how many features they can roll out, but the communication within the team.
  

"AI for me is making us as humans smarter. That's step one. Leverage it to make yourself smarter… and it's going to make you faster,” he says. 

• Harry Lee, the Chief Technology Officer at Melio AI, offers AI solutions for a variety of companies. He has found that AI has helped them prototype products much faster than previously, for instance, by working through iterations of code quickly to find the right fit. 

• Simbarashe Mafukidze, the Business Improvement Manager of Infinity - Vodacom uses AI in business optimisation, customer experience, and employee workflows. He found that the beauty of AI is that it can take away the slowness or grunt work, so that you can focus on creativity and customer relations. 

Getting the foundations right

The trick, though, isn’t in what innovative companies do with AI, but how. 

Lee joked that he used to tell clients that they didn’t need to have a full AI strategy, just a good response if someone asked about their business and AI. That has changed. 

"Think about the AI that's existing today... it is the worst AI that's ever going to exist. It's only getting better and better and better. So, leverage it. You want to build a business. Leverage it to make your business better and then find your niche," says Ramadeen. 

Mafukidze brings it down to the simple equation of figuring out what your main problems are and what your ideal solution would be, and then basing a process on that. This should be your focus, rather than hopping onto AI because you don’t want to miss the wave. 

To start, you should be aware of the current state of your data. If you use old workflows and databases, Ramadeen says there’s no point in trying to jump ahead into an AI product. First, you must clean up and ready what the technology will build on. 

Next, once you have your strategy, you may be confused about whether to build or buy your AI solutions. It can be hard to know where to put your energy, but Ramadeen says to focus on where your company is at its best and to match your strategy accordingly. 

The exciting and terrifying thing about bringing new technology into your business is that it will always be an experiment, to a degree. You will fail, and that’s how you’ll learn. You may build something totally new, or add bits to your current set-up. 

Ultimately, the AI wave is here to elevate the work done by businesses. And while AI won’t solve every problem, with the right strategy, it can solve the right ones. The biggest take-out from the event: Start with your data, define your goals, and let the tech follow.

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