A tangible buzz of pride ran through the streets of Blackheath this week as one of its sons, Dr Ricardo Virgill Smart, was named one of the African continent’s icons of 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the classrooms of Blackheath High to the glittering stages of Johannesburg his journey is a powerful reminder to every young person that their geography does not define their destiny. As a local hero on the global stage at the prestigious Icons of Africa Awards 2025, which will be held at the Iconic Conference Centre in Randburg, Gauteng on 6 December, Smart will stand among the continent\u2019s most distinguished leaders and innovators. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But to those in Blackheath who know the man himself he is more than just an icon; he never forgets where he came from and where his real commitments lie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is a profound honour,\u201d said Smart, a celebrated PhD holder in Wine Biotechnology from Stellenbosch University. \u201cBut every accolade I receive is just a testament to the community that raised me. This is for Blackheath.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Professional Provident Society (PPS), the only mutual financial-services company in South Africa that provides tailor-made insurance, investment and healthcare solutions to graduate professionals, where he’s a technical development specialist and data analyst, he is admired not only for his intellect but also for his commitment to serving the community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Residents of Blackheath recall Smart’s dedicated work providing free mathematics classes and professional development programmes locally at the Evergreen Resource Centre in Austinville (Blackheath) as well as in his role as executive committee leader for the Golden Key International Honour Society at Stellenbosch University. He also taught free mathematics classes to ABET learners in Stellenbosch, proving his motto that \u201ceducation is the key to innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A beacon for youth, Smart\u2019s transition from a microbiology lab to the corporate environment saw him recognised as one of Africa\u2019s Top 100 Brightest Young Minds, with a clear message to the youth of Blackheath: \u201cWe need to show our children that a boy from Blackheath can become a Doctor of Science, a corporate leader and an Icon of Africa. The challenges we face locally build the resilience we need to succeed globally.”
<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As he heads to Gauteng to accept this latest honour Smart carries the hopes and congratulations of an entire community, having shown that with hard work, education and a spirit of service the sky’s the limit.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cBut every accolade I receive is just a testament to the community that raised me. This is for Blackheath.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":297307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_linkdex":"64","_yoast_wpseo_content_score":"30","_yoast_wpseo_inclusive_language_score":"90","_yoast_wpseo_is_cornerstone":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_opengraph-image-id":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-title":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-description":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image":"","_yoast_wpseo_twitter-image-id":"","newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","_crsspst_to_novanewscoza":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozabloemnewsexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozacityvision":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozadistrictmailhelderberg":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaeikestadnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozahermanustimes":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakomani-karoo":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozakougaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozamthathaexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozanoordkaapbulletin":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapaarlpost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozapeoplespost":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaswartlandgazette":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaudexpress":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavistanews":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozavrystaatkroon":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweskusnuus":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaweslander":false,"_crsspst_to_novanewscozaworcesterstandard":false,"_EventAllDay":"","_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":"","_EventShowMapLink":"","_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":"","_EventVenueID":"","_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":"","_VenueShowMapLink":"","_application":"","_batch_id":"","_company_name":"","_company_tagline":"","_company_twitter":"","_company_video":"","_company_website":"","_custom_id":"","_EventDuration":"","_EventOrigin":"","_EventTimezoneAbbr":"","_featured":"","_filled":"","_job_expires":"","_job_location":"","_media_credit":"","_media_credit_url":"","_menu_item_menu_item_parent":"","_menu_item_object":"","_menu_item_object_id":"","_menu_item_target":"","_menu_item_type":"","_menu_item_url":"","_menu_item_xfn":"","_navis_media_can_distribute":"","_navis_media_credit_org":"","_OrganizerOrigin":"","_provider":"","_pum_built_in":"","_pum_default_theme":"","_pum_form_conversion_count":"","_remote_id":"","_remote_name":"","_remote_position":"","_report_frequency":"","_report_reference_dates":"","_send_attempts":"","_site_id":"","_sitemap_exclude":"","_sitemap_frequency":"","_sitemap_priority":"","_source_url":"","_subscription_period":"","_subscription_period_interval":"","_subscription_price":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":"","_template_type":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_tribe_aggregator_allow_multiple_organizers":"","_tribe_aggregator_content_type":"","_tribe_aggregator_file":"","_tribe_aggregator_finalized":"","_tribe_aggregator_hash":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_id":"","_tribe_aggregator_import_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_interactive":"","_tribe_aggregator_origin":"","_tribe_aggregator_post_status":"","_tribe_aggregator_preview":"","_tribe_aggregator_source_name":"","_tribe_aggregator_type":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_hide_attendees_list":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":"","_tribe_ticket_version":"","_type":"","_VenueOrigin":"","_wp_attachment_context":"","_wp_attachment_image_alt":"","_wp_font_face_file":"","_wp_old_date":"","_yoast_wpseo_estimated-reading-time-minutes":"2","_yoast_wpseo_focuskeywords":"[{\"keyword\":\"Blackheath local Dr Ricardo Smart named Africa icon of 2025\",\"score\":56}]","_yoast_wpseo_focuskw_text_input":"","_yoast_wpseo_keywordsynonyms":"[\"\",\"Blackheath community celebrates as Dr Ricardo Smart wins prestigious Africa award\"]","_yoast_wpseo_primary_block-catalog":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"1","_yoast_wpseo_primary_job_listing_type":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_nova_retailer":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_publication":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_tribe_events_cat":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-duration":"","_yoast_wpseo_videositemap-rating":"","_menu_item_classes":[],"_tribe_modified_fields":[],"_wp_attachment_backup_sizes":[],"_wp_suggested_privacy_policy_content":[],"_yoast_post_redirect_info":[],"_yoast_wpseo_video_meta":[],"activation_date":"","archive_insertion_is_repeating":"","archive_insertion_posts_count":"","article_feature_media":"1","article_feature_type":"normal","article_main_image_caption":"Dr Ricardo Smart is receiving another reward.","article_media_icon":"1","article_template":"news","author_byline":"","background_color":"","block_editor":"1","byline":"Brenden Ruiter","cmplz_hide_cookiebanner":"","competition_end_date":"","contact_advertise_email":"","contact_advertise_phone":"","contact_editorial_email":"","contact_general_email":"","contact_general_phone":"","contact_office_hours":"","contact_physical_address":"","enabled":"","featured_image_custom_caption":"","featured_video_url":"","fields":"","font_body":"","font_header":"","frequency":"","headline":"Smart is \"icon of Africa\"","hide_border":"","icon":"","is_wp_suggestion":"","issuu_download_url":"","issuu_embed_url":"","language_version_url":"","large_border":"","name":"Dec3_brsmart","nm_contact_name":"","nm_contact_number":"","nm_date_lost":"","no_overlay_background":"","node-url":"","obituary_born_date":"","obituary_died_date":"","obituary_memoriam_text":"","origin":"","overlay_color":"","overlay_opacity":"","overlay_size":"","placement":"","plural_label":"","post_author":"","post_id":"","post_language":"en","secret-key":"","sponsored_utm_campaign":"","sponsored_utm_content":"","sponsored_utm_medium":"","sponsored_utm_source":"","sponsored_utm_term":"","start_date":"","utm_suppression":"","video_embed_url":"","wp_pattern_sync_status":"","data_version":[],"enclosure":[],"pongrass_image":["Dec3_brsmart_P1"],"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"scaip_prevent_shortcode_addition":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[7874,7904,91],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"publication":[],"class_list":["post-297306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-local-news","tag-local-stories","tag-top"],"yoast_head":"\n