The world celebrates people like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos not because of their enormous wealth but because of their ability to make the world a better place. A genius doesn’t come along everyday and that is why people like Musk and Bezos are idolized.
Looking at the unemployment rate in South Africa as well as the lack of entrepreneurship support, the country is desperate to give birth to a so-called genius, meet Priven Reddy, born and raised in Durban who is now based between the UAE and South Africa has multiple businesses that are looking at making the world a better place. Priven owns Kagiso Interactive which is a mobile application and software development company alongside multiple other businesses like Dryvar which is an e-hailing company. Priven has built some incredible businesses over the last few years.
Priven grew up in Chatsworth, a KwaZulu-Natal suburb, in South Africa. In his childhood he earned income by selling cardboard boxes to a recycler, later on working as a waiter and then a car guard. Today Priven Reddy is seen as the greatest innovator to come out of Africa. We had the opportunity to sit down with the established businessman.
Who is Priven Reddy?
I am an innovator, a change-maker, a mover and shaker, someone who wants to change the world as we know it. I strongly believe that the earth can be a beautiful place for all the people that live on it but it takes growth and consistent innovation to build the world we all want to live in. My companies have always been at the forefront of innovation and we continue to do that until today.
You are the CEO of Kagiso Interactive, what is the company all about?
I co-founded Kagiso Interactive Media and sit as CEO of the company, it is a mobile app development company in Africa. Our company have been a recipient of multiple awards. In 2017 we launched Krypteum, an A.I enabled cryptocurrency investment coin which changed the cryptocurrency space.
What is Dryvar Foods all about and tell us more about the cloud kitchens you created?
We created an e-hailing platform that also has a food delivery service to it, which is called Dryvar and Dryvar Foods respectively. To capitalize on the rapid growth of prepared-food delivery sector, in May 2020, we announced the roll out of our “cloud kitchens” start-up business model with over 100 locations throughout South Africa’s major metropolitan areas. Cloud kitchens, also known as ghost kitchens, are purpose-built facilities that are leased to restaurants to prepare food for delivery, off-site from their full-service/walk-in location. Cloud kitchens also allow “virtual restaurants” (those with no full-service location) to launch brands and offer delivery-only service. Dryvar Foods cloud kitchens, business operates under the name Cloud Kitchens (Pty) Ltd
Why did Dryvar Foods struggle to grow in South Africa and what are some of the other lessons you have learnt through tough times?
Firstly it’s difficult to get local drivers on board because the local drivers don’t have bike licences , we can look at the monopoly that big corporates like Uber and Mr Delivery has over the market. The minute they see any start up, they offer incentives to the drivers of the new start up to move them over to them. These big corporates also offer insane promotions just to make it impossible for start-ups to stay competitive and therefore they shut down, allowing the big players to keep their market share.
We believe that you are creating a metaverse for the UAE, what is that all about?
It is a first of its kind in the world, this metaverse is connected to the real world in hyper detail where it will be launched in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The UAE is a hotspot for tourism with its incredible attractions and it’s out of the world experiences so it just makes sense why we would start there. Now users globally will be able to experience the incredible city of Dubai and Abu Dhabi from the comfort of their own homes linking the physical with the digital world.
This metaverse that we will launch will connect to real world utility. There will be virtual universities and virtual shopping malls. Users will be able to commute within the metaverse, users will be able to book meeting rooms, take meetings and do consultations all within the metaverse. We are basically building the Layer 2 of Dubai on Web3 as our Version 1.
The future looks very promising.
Talking about the future, what do you think of the youth of South Africa?
I believe in the youth of South Africa, we have some of the brightest minds in the world. We need more support for entrepreneurs and we need to create an environment for true innovation. I can see a lot of great entrepreneurs come out of Africa in the next 5-10 years, hopefully they grow within the continent and they don’t have to move out to the US or Europe to elevate.
NFT’s are the new big thing, tell us more about the marketplace you created for NFT’s?
I created Piqsol, which is a user-friendly marketplace on the Solana blockchain which makes NFT ownership accessible to the masses with fractional NFT trades and zero-fee lazy minting. Making the NFT minting process super simple, a user has only to type a title, description, determine the number of pieces, and link to their social platforms–essentially minting an NFT in as little as 60 seconds.
What is the one quote that you live by?
“Change your thoughts and you change the world.”