Ricardo Lognath, an entrepreneur revolutionising healthcare, recently won the Young Entrepreneur of the Year at the South African Youth Awards - for himself and his brother Nicolas. The event was hosted by the National Youth Development Agency, which was established primarily to address challenges faced by young South Africans.

Ricardo, 30, who studied mechanical engineering at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), and his brother, Nicolas, 28, who studied civil engineering at DUT, currently live in Ballito and are the co-founders of Omninela.co.za.

They both attended the awards on Saturday at the Gallagher Convention Centre.

Omninela.co.za is an emerging healthcare business set out to address healthcare challenges in the country. It provides access to 10 000-plus health, beauty and pet care products from more than 250 suppliers across over 400 brands. The business enables critically-ill patients to receive their required health items on a recurring basis - delivered to their homes.

“The South African Youth Awards seeks to honour young South Africans, who are making a positive impact not only in their communities but also across the African continent and the world. The awards aim to acknowledge individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to youth development, encouraging further collaboration from the public sector, private sector, and civil society to advance the youth agenda,” said Ricardo.

He added that the company was built from its inception to full operational capacity, developing and implementing critical systems that support every aspect of the business.

This strategic approach, he said, had positioned Omninela.co.za as a leading player in the online health and wellness industry.

“There were over 2 000 nominations across nine categories. In my category, there were two other finalists. We were flown to Johannesburg to attend a two day judging process before the winners in all the categories were announced.”

He said he represented Omninela.co.za for Nicolas and himself.

Ricardo added that winning was a testament to the innovative solution Omninela.co.za provided to patients nationwide and the work they have done over the past four years.

“Being recognised as the winner after being first named on Forbes Africa's 30 under 30 list for 2024 is a double triumph that Omninela.co.za is building traction that can assist more patients nationally with the right support structures enabling the growth.”

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