Thirty-four employees from Samsung’s global headquarters in South Korea, will be mentoring 19 start-ups in Cape Town for four days as part of the Samsung Employee Volunteer Programme. These volunteers are using their own time to assist these businesses in becoming digitised and helping them to find the right Information and Communications solutions for their needs. This is a part of Samsung South Africa’s ongoing mission to address the critical technical and engineering skills shortage and demonstrate its commitment to the Enterprise and Supplier Development agenda. The initiative is also aligned with government’s Vision 2030, that encourages entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives.

From 10 to 13 September 2018, small businesses will participate in a boot-camp to better understand the hurdles they face in developing their products and services. They will then showcase their business models to Venture Capital firms and a panel consisting of staff from Samsung South Africa, Samsung South Korea and SEDA. On the last day, Deputy Minister of Small Business Development, Cassel Mathale, will officiate at the prize giving ceremony.

“At Samsung we strive to encourage young minds and nurture the spirit of innovation. With the Global Start-up Acceleration Programme, our experts and engineers from various domains are volunteering to support the sustainable growth of local entrepreneurs in their early stages,” said Hlubi Shivanda, Director: Business Innovation Group and Corporate Affairs.

Since 2010, about 1,500 employees have joined this programme in 43 countries. This year, Samsung is focused on supporting local entrepreneurs and helping them build their businesses for a sustainable impact on society.

This programme is also being presented in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Among the winners in the four countries, five small businesses will be invited to visit Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea.

The selected participants work in a wide array of areas, such as security for cloud data, Artificial Intelligence-powered solutions, Information Management Systems, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Health-Care Solutions, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) for healthcare and energy efficient IoT devices.

Samsung employee volunteers bring their global business experience and expertise in the domains of B2B market research, pricing strategies, IoT strategic planning, Artificial Intelligence, cloud, data, strategic investments and planning, databases, machine leaning algorithms, Android programming, health-care businesses, computer vision technology and biomedical engineering to the table, amongst other skills.

“The kind of support a start-up receives in its initial phase can define its success. As a company that strongly believes in co-prosperity as one of our core values, we are proud to partner with SEDA and NGO Nangila to provide infrastructure and mentorship to fledgling businesses. We believe this can be the catalyst that helps the entrepreneurship ecosystem grow,” said Shivanda.

Samsung Electronics South Africa is paving the way for virtual reality to become mainstream. South Africans can find themselves captivated in a simulated 3-D environment, thanks to Samsung’s Gear VR powered by Oculus.

“New technologies are already changing the way people are communicating, marketing, playing games and living life. With Augmented Reality (AR), a digital element is overlaid over the real world as in Pokémon GO and Virtual Reality (VR), where users are immersed in a 3D virtual environment, there is practically no limit to the ways in which everyday life can be experienced,” says Craige Fleischer, Director of Integrated Mobility at Samsung Electronics South Africa.

The Gear VR teams up with a Samsung S7 handset to deliver a stereoscopic 3D experience for customers to explore in a realistic way. It tracks the user’s movements, allowing them to move around and interact with computer-generated situations.

Innovative businesses world-wide are already giving their customers new experiences using VR technology. Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, for example, partnered with Sublimotion, to host VR events where diners find themselves eating dinner in a range of exciting settings – even underwater. Another example; a US-based hotel and resort firm, Best Western takes prospective guests on 360-degree virtual walk-arounds of their accommodation before booking. Audi too is using VR in some of its international showrooms to give customers realistic views of various car configurations. Innovators are promoting VR headsets for educational purposes, where learners are able to discover new environments or participate in augmented reality experiments.

“The Samsung Gear VR, powered by Oculus, is designed to take VR forward, thanks to its comfortable fit, wide field of view and easy-to-use touchpad,” says Fleischer. “Gear VR is compatible with Samsung Galaxy smartphones and customers are able to enjoy optimised web browsing. Consumers are able to view 360-degree photos and videos in the Gear 360 VR Gallery or explore the Oculus store for an extensive range of VR games and content allowing them to travel across the galaxy, build expansive cities or battle unbelievable monsters,” Fleischer adds.

Samsung expands the boundaries of VR by making it possible for users to create, connect with and consume VR content using tools such as the high quality Gear 360 camera.

“If you thought VR was just for gamers, you’re mistaken. VR is about to change the way people experience virtually everything in the future,” concludes Fleischer.

Buy a Galaxy S7 / S7 edge and get a Gear VR or Accessory Kit (wireless charger and clear cover) for free with Samsung Rewards. Consumers will qualify for this promotion if they purchase a Galaxy S7 / S7 edge within the promotion period; 14 November 2016 – 31 December 2016. They need to download the Samsung Rewards application and registered as a member on the Galaxy S7 / S7 edge. Terms and Conditions: http://www.samsung.com/za/offer/redeem-your-gear-vr/