Ajay Lalu is a qualified Chartered Accountant and Certified IoT Professional as well as co-founder & director of the Consumption Information Real Time (CIRT). He is part of a new breed of 4th Industrial Revolution Entrepreneurs. In 2006 he left his post as Acting CEO of Utajiri Investments which negotiated and participated in the Deutsche Bank BEE transaction valued at an estimated R1 billion. Prior to negotiating the Deutsche Bank deal, Ajay was the Director for BEE services at Ernst & Young where he was responsible for growing the new business unit focused on Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE). Ajay spent 5 years at Ernst & Young in the Corporate Finance arena and was promoted to Director in July 2003.
CIRT has developed several innovative solutions for clients like ABInBev. Their Fidgeloc Connected Cooler solution was showcased at IoT Solutions World Congress (IoTSWC), the largest IoT conference in the world in Barcelona in 2019. CIRT were the first and only African company to showcase a solution at IoTSWC.The Connected Cooler solution was also showcased by Microsoft at their stand at NRF Show in New York in January 2020. Consumption Information Real Time (CIRT) a local 100% black owned and 38% black women owned company. During hard lockdown CIRT created a contactless cashless retail checkout solution with hyper personalised promotions called Q-Hop. Q-Hop was selected as one of 10 companies globally to be included in GSD Accelerator Programme out of silicon valley and has been identified as a potential unicorn by Silicon Valley veterans. Q-Hop has industry heavyweights on their board including Steve Jobs personal data security expert.
Ajay is a keen photographer, runner, cyclist and loves to travel (not so much now under COVID-19 lockdown). He is deeply committed to changing the lives of ordinary South Africans through his involvement in various NGOs. He is passionate about developing SMMEs based on his real life experiences.
