Ravi Naidoo (born 12 August 1964) is the founder of Interactive Africa and

Design Indaba Design Indaba is a trademark and brand founded and run by Interactive Africa in 1995 with a focus on design and under the slogan "A better world through creativity". Consisting of an online publication and a series of events and creative projects, ...

, an annual three day design conference hosted in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second larges ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

, as well as a suite of events such as

Design Commons Design Commons is a deconstructed conference founded by the CEO of Interactive Africa, Ravi Naidoo in collaboration with World Design Weeks founder Kari Korkman. The event was established in 2017 and acts as a travelling discussion platform on t ...

and antenna. Naidoo is also a co-founder of the Cape Innovation and Tech Initiative (CiTi) and Rain, Africa's first 5G network.

Career

Ravi Naidoo is the recipient of the 2015 Sir Misha Black Medal for innovation in design education. The founder of Interactive Africa, a Cape Town-based media and project management company responsible for the First African in Space mission with

Mark Shuttleworth Mark Richard Shuttleworth (born 18 September 1973) is a South African and British entrepreneur who is the founder and CEO of Canonical, the company behind the development of the Linux-based Ubuntu operating system. In 2002, Shuttleworth became ...

in 2002, and the marketing bid to host the

2010 Fifa World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

. In 2008, Naidoo launched a social impact design project through Design Indaba called the 10x10 Housing Project. The project created 10 low-cost houses in Freedom Park in the

Cape Flats The Cape Flats ( af, Die Kaapse Vlakte) is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which li ...

. The buildings were made using sustainable materials such as sandbags. Naidoo has a B.Sc. (Hons) degree in Physiology from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

and completed an MBA at the UCT GSB in 1994. Naidoo is a recognised thought leader and speaker in the field of creativity and design. He sits on the jury of the INDEX Design Awards in Copenhagen. In Amsterdam, he sits on the advisory board of THNK, and is the Chairman of the 2017 IXDA Awards In 2017 Ravi commissioned the Arch for Arch project, a tribute to

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...

that was constructed in the City of

. Naidoo, in the same year, cofounded

with World Design Weeks founder Kari Korkman. Design Commons is known as a deconstructed design conference. In 2016, Naidoo co-founded Rain, a South African data network, with Michael Jordaan and Paul Harris. Naidoo was awarded the Design Prize in 2017, a design prize dedicated to design culture. In 2019, Ravi served as the Chair of the annual YPO Edge Conference
YPO
is the premier global leadership organisation for more than 27,000 chief executives in over 130 countries and the global platform for them to engage, learn and grow. Th
YPO EDGE
conference is YPO’s largest flagship event, where each year, business leaders from around the world gather to hear luminaries in their respective fields tune in to the global zeitgeist; addressing key issues in business, politics, science, technology, philanthropy and the humanities. the 2019 event took place at the CTICC in Cape Town on 6 and 7 March. Over 2,500 members from around the world gathered to reconnect and learn from the most profound minds of our time.

References

External links

Design Indaba
– online publication * A
interview
with Ravi Naidoo by GOOD Magazine. * Ravi Naidoo interviewed for th
Radio702 podcast

Design Indaba Profile

Interactive Africa
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naidoo, Ravi Living people People from Cape Town 1964 births