Bright South Africans’ great ideas
Winners will go on a free trip to Silicon Valley in the US
AJOBURG innovator has won R120 000 and an allexpenses-paid trip to Silicon Valley in the US for his innovative Mobile Farm.
Bandile Dlabantu’s idea took top honours at the 2017 Global Cleantech Innovative Programme in South Africa (GCIP-SA).
He will be heading to the US in February next year to compete against top performers in other GCIP programmes from across the globe at the Cleantech Open Global Forum.
“It is a great honour to be recognised by such an esteemed panel. Thank you to the GCIP-SA for believing in me and helping to make my dreams a reality,” Dlabantu said.
The 37-year-old said 60% of poultry farmers were running out of business due to expensive costs of feed. He said his invention has bridged the gap by using soldier fly larvae to convert organic waste into animal feed which assist farmers to organically improve their yields.
Dlabantu said his grandfather was a poultry farmer, and that had enabled him to afford his grandchildren’s university fees.
His Mobile Fly Farms currently have a facility running in Krugersdorp, but Dlabantu intends to incorporate more facilities in Gauteng, North West, Mozambique and Swaziland.
Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor highlighted that the GCIP-SA’s highly successful programmatic approach accelerates commercial opportunities and creates platforms for participants to promote their products and raise funding.
Sara Andreotti, 33, from KwaZulu-Natal, and Euodia Naanyane-Bouwer, 36, from Bloemfontein, each won R60 000, and they will be joining Dlabantu at the Cleantech Open Global Forum.
Naanyane-Bouwer’s innovation, “Gracious Nubian”, are washable and re-usable sanitary towels guaranteed to last a long time.
This idea was inspired by disadvantaged girls in the Free State who would miss school when on their periods due to not having sanitary towels.
Andreotti developed the Sharksafe Barrier, which is a barrier that keeps sharks away from humans without harming them.
This barrier is made of narrow tubes, each held to the surface using cement.
“I want to learn more on how to succeed in business. I’m also hoping to attract good investors during my time there,” said Andreotti.
Another winner, Stephanie Pons, 40, scooped the most promising woman-led business award for her Touch Tap innovation, which makes water more easily accessible for disabled rural women.
Pons said she survived a car accident in 2008 and sustained permanent injuries which led her to find a solution to continue living a normal life, leading to the birth of the Touch Tap.
This is similar to the electrical sensors on taps seen at places like shopping malls and airports.
Pons won R20 000 and aims to use the money towards building the Touch Tap brand.
GCIP-SA is a competition-based business accelerator offering participants extensive training and mentoring to help them get their products investment-ready, and connect them to networks of local and international peers as well as potential partners and funders.
It is funded by the Global Environment Facility and implemented by the UN Industrial Development Organisation (Unido).
“Unido is committed to help in the development of green businesses all over the country, and engage them towards the sustainable management of natural resources.
“Unido looks forward to further successful partnerships of this nature, and expresses its appreciation for the support provided by the South African government and all stakeholders involved in this success story,” said Khaled El Mekwad, Unido representative and head of its South Africa regional office.