The AI Opportunities Blitz
27 November 2024
What if, just for a moment,
we paused to explore
opportunities together?

The Challenge
How might we tap into transformative and intuitive AI opportunities;
In ways that solve challenges, inspire new products and services, exceed experiences and create connected businesses;
So that we imagine, design and build solutions that were previously out of reach—and shape responsive, smarter organizations?

70+ Blitzers
1 x Challenge
8 Hours
30+ Moonshots
10 x Concepts
On 27 November 2024 industry experts, clients, and colleagues gathered for AI Opportunities Blitz.
The Blitz was designed as an open innovation, cross sector ideas session - to explore solutions together that we typically wouldn't conceive of on our own.
Teams had open and strategic discussions about the potential of AI, how we should go about tackling challenges, and what initiatives we'd propose to respond to opportunities.
Our objective
Gather thoughts, inspire collaboration, cultivate ideas, trigger new conversations + concepts
Desired outcome
New insights, sharper focus, better alignment, greater impact, potential for collaboration, experimentation and incubation of new ideas




Outputs
Each Think Wrong Drill produces useful output. Documentation of our work provides a rich collection of ideas and insights to mine as we move forward.
We used I’m a Tool—a Flow Drill—to avoid the barriers created by titles, position, company, and hierarchy.
Instead, arrivals and introductions is a time to establish an informal, playful, growth mindset environment. Avoiding distinctions and status among Wrong Thinkers.
I’m a Tool helped us
- Introduce playfulness
- Kick start idea flow
- Give us insight into fellow Wrong Thinkers and the types of expertise in the room






We used Matters Most—a Move Fast Drill—to understand who might be most important to our success—and to whom our success might matter most.
Matters Most helped us
- Identify the highest potential beneficiaries and partners
- Develop starter thoughts on what they think about the problem we're addressing





We used Djibouti—a Flow drill—to improv with each other like a great jazz ensemble.
Djibouti helped us
- Shift our mindset
- Be more effective collaborators
- Reduce idea killing




We used Know Me—a Make Stuff Drill—to avoid the Think Right Bias of focusing on the key features and benefits that we can offer.
Instead, we applied the Think Wrong Practice of striving to understand the deeper needs, tensions, and motives of the people for whom our solutions might matter most. We shifted our mindset to connect more deeply with our stakeholders—those who matter most to our success and to whom our success might matter most.
Know Me helped us
- Better understand our audiences’ real pains and needs
- Identify opportunities for improvement or disruption of the status quo
- Conceive solutions that will matter to and be valued by our priority audiences



We used Deflection Point—a Be Bold Drill—to overcome the Think Right Bias for the status quo.
Instead we applied the Think Wrong Practice of imagining bold paths that deflect from the status quo—shifting from the way things are to how they might be.
Deflection Point helped us
- Frame the way things are and how they might be.
- Identify solutions that might be leveraged to shape our bold paths.
- Bring aspirational from/to shifts to life.
We used Anchors & Rockets—a Be Bold Drill—to get past the Think Right Reflex of focusing on why things can’t be done (in the name of risk reduction).
Instead we applied the Think Wrong Practice of identifying the biological and cultural anchors to overcome and rockets we might leverage for change and impact.
Anchors & Rockets helped us
- Understand what might stand in the way of solving our Blitz challenge.
- Understand how others have been successfully addressing our Blitz challenge.
- Gain personal connection to, identification with, and understanding of our Blitz challenge.



We used Truth + Truth—a Flow Drill—to kick start the session.
Truth + Truth helped us
- Introduce playfulness and connect
- Set the stage and mindset for the rest of the day
- Prepare for idea flow
- Position the mismatch between what we see and know
- Position the mismatch that two truths, doesn't make it true.







We used Brand Story—a Make Stuff Drill—as a point of inspiration to elevate our ideas.
Brand Story helped us
- Get into the minds of adjacent, real world innovations
- Find inspiration from fresh ideas
- Create linkages between technology and solutions
- Foster creative thinking beyond our solutions and boundaries






We used Moonshot—A Be Bold Drill—to imagine what might be and super charge our ideas.
Moonshot helped us
- Elevate our opportunity for and craft a shared vision of impact.
- Define aspirational goals.
- Identify reasons to believe we might accomplish them.
- Frame the way we currently talk about the company and how our customers may think of us
- Identify and align our aspirations for how we want to be seen
- Set the stage and mindset for the rest of the day
Moonshots
Team 1
- Automate the Treasurer's day to day activities - cash flow, forecasting, FX, hedging or budget availability
- The Force - unseen power, data orchestration layer
- Human, car, home, network inter-connectivity
- Collective intelligence between cars
- Replace private transport - travelling is not a time wasted
- Cars-as-a-Service - shared economy
- Immersive VR
- Renewable car panels - energy
- Beyond transport
- Always plugged in
Team 2
- AI autonomous Smart Port in Durban
- Smart container tracking
- Digital twin to predict ops and maintenance
- AI driven cargo prioritization
- AI driven drone fleet
- Integrate in global trade network - customs, logistics, all aspects of operations
- Self service autonomous port
- IOT data-led ports
- Port of Excellence
- Data sharing with customers
Team 3
- Unifi - universal wifi
- Everything connected
- Global wifi
- One "ring" to connect to all
Team 4
- Reimagine debt
- Gig 4 Debt Marketplace
- Turn debt into job opportunities
- Create a new debt collector ecosystem
- Reward network
- Fractional payoff on next purchase
Team 5
- Portable water
- Access to clean water
- Municipality wide solution
- Water Data - improve availability, accuracy, real time
Team 6
- Hyper personal newspaper for me
- Engine Hub
- Personal information assistant
- A journalist in your pocket
- Cross media investigation
- New value model for origination
- Become the hub for content origination
- Community collaborations
- Leverage existing business model with contributions from content providers
- Drowning in info, but starving for knowledge
- Improved algorithms
- Bundled subscriptions
Team 7
- Health guardian - doctor in your pocket
- Health repository
- Digital diagnosis scanner
- Early mobile detection for diseases
- User defined access to personal data
- Real time data
- Supports traditional and homeopathic preferences
- Empathy engine
- 2nd opinion automated
- Personalised treatment
- Access to global data and insights
Team 8
- AI powered regulatory monitoring
- ESG Leaderboard
- ESG data platform to provide advice
- Automated ESG reporting
- AI advice agent
- Works with all stakeholders of ESG
- AI recommendation platform with regulation, resource and environmental monitoring
Team 9
- Financial and data sharing to enable mutually beneficial risk environment
- AI robotic ops manager for SME's
- Cashflow and break even monitor
- Gen AI data demystifyer
- AI Partnership Partner
- Country trade specification and bolstering
- Cross border trade tokens for credit
- Every phone a CRM broadcaster
- Trust-as-a-Service
Team 10
- Create a safe and secure environment for use of AI in medical research
- AI regulation to stimulate economic growth
- Commercialise government data sets to fund AI ecosystem
- Create free and safe AI for all
- Influence regulation across labour and environment
- AI awareness for all citizens
- AI to regulate AI





We used Name It Scenario—A Make Stuff Drill—to craft stories for our emerging solutions and better understand how they might work, and how people might experience them.
Name It Scenario helped us
- Rule an idea in or out before investing any energy in it.
- Bring an idea to life to understand its potential—and to allow it to inspire other potential solutions.
- Develop early use scenarios
- Share our idea and learn from it
- Better understand our emerging solution





We used Biz in a Box—a Make Stuff Drill—to avoid the Think Right PowerPoint Orthodoxy of forcing everything into the business-as-usual format of bullet points and white pages.
Instead we embraced the Think Wrong Practice, using boxes to bring the most compelling facets of our business ideas to life.
Biz in a Box helped us
- Craft clear and compelling language.
- Identify adjacent strengths with which to build the business.
- Create rough models of the business’s products, services, processes, experiences, and so on.
Business in a Box
Team 1: The Force
Team 2: Port-A-Eye
Team 3: Unifi
Team 4: FairXChange
Team 5: Aqua Compass
Team 6: Re-Define
Team 7: SAIngoma
Team 8: Green Washer
Team 9: Ubique
Team 10: Afri-AI










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