Thinkerneur creates brand identity for Dime, a UNDP and Wakanda Food Accelerator initiative

“For us as a consultancy, the aim was to not just put colours and pictures together, it was to capture the essence, not just visually, perhaps most importantly; the intention”, Bogosi Motshegwa, founder and chief strategy officer of Thinkerneur, shares.

“DIME has substance and sustainability built in it, as such, we wanted to ensure the relevancy of our solution wouldn’t just stand the test of time, but also carry significant meaning for all stakeholders,” continued Motshegwa.

The "Pixel" philosophy: Solving the problems around the problems

In 2024, a tragedy exposed deep gaps in South Africa's food safety systems: Twenty (23) children lost their lives due to unsafe food sold in local shops. DIME was born to ensure that this never happens again. When Thinkerneur approached the challenge, we rejected "boardroom theory" in favour of "street reality." We recognised that you cannot solve systemic challenges by oversimplifying them. This led to our core design philosophy: The Pixel.

A pixel is the smallest unit of an image, but when connected, it forms the full picture. This metaphor drives the DIME brand: we are breaking down massive, systemic failures; regulatory voids, supply chain breaks, and safety risk, into granular, solvable components.

This approach is strongly aligned to Miles Kubheka’s (founder and CEO of Wakanda Food Accelerator) philosophy to problems; “Sometimes, the problem isn’t the problem itself, but the problems around the problem”; and DIME is inherently built to be systemic. The ‘pixel’ pays homage to this philosophy, recognising that every aspect and layer of the independent economy matters, and every detail of the problem requires attention to detail. As such; the pixel also reflects the multi-layered and systemic approach to solutions required.

The pixel also represents each human individual of the independent economy, suggesting that DIME is a comprehensive and encompassing solution that has a face to it, because the people of the independent (informal) economy are seen, heard, recognised, and empowered.

The resulting visual identity is therefore a promise of precision, momentum, interdependence and holistic problem solving.

DIME also reflects the belief that “we must stop ‘managing poverty’ and start ‘unlocking prosperity’, we must have "the audacity to imagine lives in these places... that thrive.", a proclamation aptly articulated by Ahunna Eziakonwa, assistant administrator and director, Regional Bureau for Africa, UNDP.

Progressive innovation: How DIME actually works

Tumi Chamayou, chief enterprise business officer at MTN SA, excellently captured DIME’s innovation sentiment when she said; “This is a super exciting time to be African, to be on the African continent, and to also be launching solutions that allow us to take control of our own future.”

The brand architecture we developed is not just a logo; it is a functional utility that organises the initiative’s four operational pillars: Spaza, Digital, Community, and Network.

“Each pixel represents each component that makes up the community, this making the brand CI as much of the solution as the operational pillars”; emphasised Phil Wilson, creative lead on the project.

By joining the launch immersion in Alexandra, which was supported by the City Of Johannesburg and various brands such as MTN and Standard Bank; we saw how these pillars translate from design concept to economic engine:

• The Spaza and Digital Pillars (Dignity through Compliance):
  The brand comes to life in the story of Tshepiso, a trader in Alexandra who rebuilt his life from a crate on the street to a functional spaza shop. Through DIME’s Sphazamisa platform, shops like Tshepiso’s are digitally onboarded, moving them from "survivalist" to "compliant". The brand signals safety here; and Tshepiso can now manage stock, improve visibility, and sleep a little easier knowing he is part of a supported network.

• The Community Pillar (Interdependent Infrastructure):
  The brand was designed to represent interdependence. This is visible in Gcwalisa, a solar-powered retail model that doesn't just sell food, it powers the community. This is the brand in action: a circular economy where retail supports infrastructure, and infrastructure supports life.

• The Network Pillar (The Human Mesh):
  Technology means nothing without human hands. The Digital Youth Ambassadors we met, like Musa and Mulanga, are the living "pixels" of this network, bridging the gap between the app and the aunties selling vegetables and atchaar. They ensure that DIME is not an imposition from above, but a solution built from the ground up.

Progressive, sustainable thinking and optimism

DIME operates in environments that can feel heavy or grim, which is why we strategically chose a palette of Pink, UN Blue, Green and Orange. Rooted in renewal and balance, green signals growth, safety and integrity. As DIME tackles systemic food safety and supply chain issues, green becomes a symbol of both environmental and social sustainability.

The result is a brand that signals Trust (UN Blue) to the regulator, hustle (Orange) to the entrepreneur, sustainable prosperity (Green), and warmth (Pink) to the mother buying bread.

Thinkerneur is proud to have engineered the visual vessel for this mission. We didn't just design a brand for DIME; we designed a seal of trust for the "one trillion dollar" independent economy.

Credits:

Consultancy: Thinkerneur
Strategic lead: Bogosi Motshegwa, CEO and chief strategy officer
Creative lead: Phil Wilson
Design lead: Shannon Wilson