Ravi Naidoo (born 12 August 1964) is the founder of Interactive Africa and Design Indaba, an annual three day design conference[1] hosted in Cape Town, South Africa, as well as a suite of events such as Design Commons and antenna. Naidoo is also a co-founder of the Cape Innovation and Tech Initiative (CiTi) and Rain, Africa's first 5G network.
Ravi Naidoo | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | CEO of Design Indaba |
| Children | 2 |
Career
editRavi Naidoo is the recipient of the 2015 Sir Misha Black Medal for innovation in design education.[2] The founder of Interactive Africa,[3] a Cape Town-based media and project management company responsible for the First African in Space[4] mission with Mark Shuttleworth in 2002, and the marketing bid to host the 2010 Fifa World Cup.[5]
In 2008, Naidoo launched a social impact design project through Design Indaba called the 10x10 Housing Project.[6] The project created 10 low-cost houses in Freedom Park in the Cape Flats. The buildings were made using sustainable materials such as sandbags.[7]
Naidoo has a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Physiology from the University of Cape Town and completed an MBA at the UCT GSB in 1994.[8]
Naidoo is a recognised thought leader and speaker in the field of creativity and design.[9] He sits on the jury of the INDEX Design Awards[10] in Copenhagen. In Amsterdam, he sits on the advisory board of THNK,[1] and is the Chairman of the 2017 IXDA Awards[11]
In 2017 Ravi commissioned the Arch for Arch project, a tribute to Archbishop Desmond Tutu that was constructed in the City of Cape Town.[12] Naidoo, in the same year, cofounded Design Commons with World Design Weeks founder Kari Korkman. Design Commons is known as a deconstructed design conference.[13] In 2016, Naidoo co-founded Rain, a South African data network, with Michael Jordaan and Paul Harris.[14] Naidoo was awarded the Design Prize in 2017, a design prize dedicated to design culture.[15]
In 2019, Ravi served as the Chair of the annual YPO Edge Conference.[16]
References
edit- ^ a b "100 World Class South Africans: Ravi Naidoo". News24. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "Ravi Naidoo | Misha Black Awards". www.mishablackawards.org.uk. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ Dovey, Rachel (22 March 2017). "Fast Company Names 12 "World Changing Ideas" From Chicago to the Bay Area". Next City. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
- ^ "about ravi naidoo". www.africaninspace.com. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ "100 World Class South Africans: Ravi Naidoo". News24. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Sand-bag houses by MMA Architects | Dezeen". Dezeen. 26 February 2008. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
- ^ Indaba, Design (18 May 2009), The 10x10 housing project, retrieved 26 April 2017
- ^ "Meet Design Indaba's Ravi Naidoo, the man who helped bring the World Cup to SA". 702. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Ravi Naidoo". GOOD Magazine. 23 December 2015. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "INDEX: Design to Improve Life - INDEX: Award". award.designtoimprovelife.dk. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "Ravi Naidoo/ 2017 Jury Chair/ IxD Awards". awards.ixda.org. Retrieved 23 April 2017.
- ^ "'Arch for Arch' tribute to Tutu planned for Cape Town". News24. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ "DesignCommons - Helsinki". designcommons.info. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
- ^ Cohen, Tim (19 September 2016). "New group aims to snatch a head start on building 5G data network". Business Day. Archived from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2023 – via PressReader.
- ^ "The Design prize 2017: the winners | Abitare". Abitare. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
- ^ "Who is YPO? | the Global Leadership Community of Extraordinary CEOs".
External links
edit- An interview with Ravi Naidoo by GOOD Magazine.
- Ravi Naidoo interviewed for the Radio702 podcast.