Merebank-born brothers - Ricardo and Nicolas Lognath - have both been listed on Forbes Africa's 30 under 30 list for their marvels in the e-commerce and healthcare space.
Their accomplishments were highlighted in Forbes Africa's April/May edition.
Ricardo Lognath, 29, who studied mechanical engineering at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), and Nicolas Lognath, 27, who studied civil engineering at DUT, currently live in Ballito.
They started their e-commerce business, Omninela, in 2017 and won the iLembe Chamber of Commerce award in 2022.
“Omninela is an emerging healthcare business set out to address healthcare challenges in South Africa. Omninela stands for ‘To seek’. Ultimately, individuals can seek and find healthcare devices like nebulisers, sugar monitors and pressure monitors through our platform," said Ricardo, the Chief Executive Officer of Omninela.
"Our company provides affordable healthcare merchandise for individuals, including nutritional drinks, personal health monitors and vitamins and supplements."
He said last December, they were anonymously nominated and went through a four-month vetting process with Forbes.
"There were many processes that were followed, and they looked at our social impact, which stretch far beyond business metrics and profit margins. My brother and I were among others highlighted as the top young people on the continent and that is truly amazing.
"Our website showcases pieces of us. We are like two sides of one brain, with me being more analytical, while Nicolas is more creative."
Nicolas, the director of Omninela, said it felt surreal being highlighted on Forbes Africa.
"We always saw information about people on Forbes and wondered what it would take to be there. Now we have made it ourselves and it is exciting. Being highlighted on the Forbes list gives us the positive recognition we need. We want to spread the value that Omninela holds and make people aware of the good service we provide," said Nicolas.
They hope to gain one million users on their platform this year.
Others who made the Forbes list included: Tyla (South African singer), Arooj Sheikh (Kenyan CEO), Victor Osimhen (Nigerian footballer) and Damian Willemse (South African rugby player).