The Technology Top 100 awards are designed to reward companies that use technology - and not just IT - in innovative ways to boost productivity and global competitiveness.

The grandly named Da Vinci Institute for the Management of Technology and Innovation, under the stewardship of Prof Roy Marcus, was formed in partnership with Britain`s Warwick University, with a founding principle based on the notion that South Africans from previously disadvantaged backgrounds have the potential to be world-class technology managers.

Two recent graduates, Octavia Gama and Vayi Nkunga, both from Eskom, attest to the value of the intensive, 18-month course, during which the candidates gain academic experience and work-based learning in managing technology-based businesses.