Dr Benjamin (Benji) Pretorius

As the Founder and Principle of Erada Technology Alliance Ltd, Benji brings a great deal to the table as Managing Director. Educated in South Africa, he initially studied as a Biokineticist and became a lecturer in Physiology and Anatomy at the University of North-West, where he was later recognized for his achievements by the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly as part of their ‘Future Leader’ award program.

His skills as a General Medical practitioner  were honed at a number of hospitals throughout South Africa and he undertook appointments as an Emergency Unit Doctor which he still holds today. Throughout his time as a medical practitioner Benji has always been driven by the challenges and rewards of research, resulting in him becoming Director Operations and Clinical Research Unit Head at Parexel, Port Elizabeth.

Benji is still actively involved at the sharp end of medicine, as a Senior Partner in a very busy Family Medicine and General Medical practice in Musina, where he counts amongst his major corporate clients, De Beers, Coal of Africa, SF Health and Swanepoel & Partners. It was here that Benji and his partner founded Musina Ventures Ltd, a company focused on Strategic Investment in medical technology and general business consultancy services.

Like many medical practioners in Africa, Benji has faced the challenges of dealing with Malaria throughout his career. His expertise was in demand by the prestigious John Hopkins University in the USA where he has provided Malaria Management and Diagnostics consultancy. One event in Benji’s life that was an inspiration in his drive to find a major contribution in the reduction of Malaria was when he was unfortunate enough to contract the disease himself. He knows first-hand the debilitating effects of Malaria and is acutely aware that the ability to rapidly and accurately diagnose the disease is a significant step in treating patients before long-term damage is sustained. The added benefit of being able to accurately identify ‘carriers’ of the disease will also provide a significant contribution towards the ultimate eradication of Malaria.

Benji’s vision, drive and experience will lead Erada Technology in our mission to identify and eradicate Malaria. In what little spare time Benji has, he is a devoted family man to his Wife and two Daughters.

George Duncan

As Director of New Business Development, George is responsible for identifying new business partners, suppliers and markets to meet the vison and goals of Erada Technology Alliance. He ensures, in coordination with our Marketing Group, that our path to providing operational products to our clients is as short and effective as possible.

George began his career as a military pilot with the UK’s Royal Air Force. He then set up a number of very successful businesses associated with ‘Aviation training’ and was one of the first people to implement the now-mandatory program designed to reduce human error in aviation, worldwide. The program is recognized as having significantly reduced the number of aircraft accidents caused by human error in both military and commercial aviation environments across the globe. George then incorporated this successful strategy in both the petrochemical and medical industry.

George has provided cutting edge consultancy to medical and surgical teams in general practices and hospitals, focused on reducing human errors which can lead to situations causing unnecessary harm to patients. Human error in life and business critical situations is a problem across industry and the medical sector is no exception. His expertise in fatigue and the limits of Human performance have been widely acknowledged resulting in him being invited as a key note speaker at symposiums around the world.

Having been responsible for more than five successful start-up businesses and the timely recovery and development of other multi-national businesses, his experience and innovation will help drive our business development plan forward and his expertise in leadership and Human Factors will be of benefit to all of our team and our business as a whole.

George is married with four children and his passions include reading and studying quantum mechanics.

Dr Richard Schmidt

Dr Richard Schmidt is an experienced general family practice doctor, emergency medicine physician, occupational medical practitioner and business entrepreneur.

His career started with 7 Medical Battalion Group, the specialist Airborne Medical Battalion of the South African Military Health Service. In this group he rendered emergency medical support to the South African Special – and Airborne Forces.

His MBChB (medicine and surgery) degree from the University of Pretoria, was completed during his military career with general practitioner work following in New Zealand and South Africa.

He qualified as an Occupational Medical Practitioner, also through the University of Pretoria, and currently provides day to day support to De Beers South Africa and various other industries as part of the occupational health practice in Musina, South Africa.

He played an essential role in building the Swanepoel & Partners medical practice in Musina, since 2013 and still manages this busy practice everyday with annual growth and successes. Malaria management and interaction with key opinion leaders in the the infectious disease and Malaria fields, supported the initiative to found Musina Ventures (Pty) Ltd and Erada Technology Alliance Ltd (Erada).

Dr Schmidt with his strong clinical, analytical and practical business skills, provide the foundation to act as the clinical development director for Erada and will function at top level together with the likes of Dinglasan Malaria laboratory in Florida, US and other associated clinical development partners.

His passion for people, life and finding solutions to make a difference, make him a loving and caring family man, with high ethical medical and business values.