Green City Startup awards 8 finalists R2m to make Joburg greener
02 November 2016
Food from crickets, cleaner streets, reduced emissions, a bicycle and scooter sharing scheme and a waterless urinal system could all be new features of the City of Joburg once the winners of the Green City Startup competition are announced.
These are some of the ideas of the eight finalists of the City of Joburg's competition. They were selected from over 60 entries and awarded R250 000 each to develop prototypes of their ideas. The winner of the Green City Startup will receive R1-million to boost his or her green startup, and will be announced on 9 November 2016.
Says Ravi Naidoo ,executive director: Department of Economic Development: "The aim of the Green City Startup initiative is to unearth creative entrepreneurs that live in our city and want to make it greener and create jobs. The competition accelerates innovation in Johannesburg in terms of our buildings, energy and water use, transport and waste.
"Many people mistakenly think that biodiversity only exists in rural areas and in protected sites, but this is not the case. We want Jozi citizens to be conscious of creating a greener city as they live, work and play here."
The shortlisted candidates have also received in-depth technical support to improve and refine their ideas as well as guidance as how to sell and promote their innovations.
This initiative of the Green Challenge Fund was developed by the City of Johannesburg, in partnership with the University of Johannesburg and Resolution Circle. Resolution Circle is the University of Johannesburg's technology commercialisation company and incubator.
In addition, The Green City Startup has developed a tv and online magazine show that highlights the competitors, entrepreneurship news and offers tips for startups. It is being broadcast on MindSet DStv Channel 319 and via YouTube.
Last year's winner was Paseka Lesolang. He won R1 million for his WHC Leak-Less Valve™ which prevents up to 70% of the water loss in the case of a toilet leak. He says that the competition has created great awareness of his product, allowed him to protect his intellectual property, scale his business and that it has led to a contract to supply the City of Tshwane with 1000 units; among other interested municipalities and private sector entities. "Winning the competition helped us to further enhance our design and expedite mass production. We are thrilled to have created 26 jobs and this is set to rise," says Lesolang.
He says that because WHC facilitates the employment of youth, women and disabled people, and ease with which job creation can be scaled, WHC is part of Tshepo 500,000, a Gauteng initiative to create 500,000 jobs in the province. WHC will be creating 500 jobs with EWSETA already on board as a collaboration partner along with corporates who want their CSI to have maximum impact.
The eight 2016 finalists
Endoki is is a modern, urban farming project which sells live crickets and cricket powder, an alternative, nutritious, environmentally-friendly source of food which is farmed locally in Johannesburg and has created jobs in the green sector.
iBoni is South Africa's first commercial bicycle and scooter sharing business that aims to share bikes without the need for individual ownership.
Kgoshigadi is a business-in-a-box solution that manufactures bio-degradable and affordable sanitary pads.
To conserve water, save money, reduce maintenance time and cost and provide better waste management, Liquid Gold has developed a waterless urinal system that can be retrofitted in existing buildings.
Clean Street supplies and services double-sided bins for disposal of cigarette and gum litter free to municipalities, which also feature double-sided advertising space to generate revenue.
MISER is a new, hydraulic version of hybrid transmission for vehicles that offers fuel savings of up to 70% and significantly reduced emissions.
Rydawi Fish Farms has developed a product, Farm-in-a-box, which is a complete farming system, ready to add water and Tilapia fish - ideal for small scale farmers.
Managing resources in buildings is easy, reliable and accurate with Solid Insight's technology solution which brings energy and water data to the age of cloud computing.
ENDS
#GreenCityStartup
Web: www.thegreencitystartup.co.za/
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC8i3tr-l8cYVga9xDQfGoyA
Twitter: @TheGCStartup
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheGreenCityStartup
More about the top 8 finalists
1. CLEAN STREET
Clean Street supplies and services double-sided bins for disposal of cigarette and gum litter free to municipalities, which also feature double-sided advertising space to generate revenue.
The bins clamp around street light poles and traffic light poles, offering convenient points of disposal of cigarette and gum litter in full view of the thousands of daily commuters and pedestrians. The design blends the bin easily into various different environments.
Clean Street's bins are made from 80% recycled plastic, which also makes it less attractive to thieves as the scrap value is low. Clean Street offers mass exposure for advertising products and services while keeping communities clean and green by removing the most commonly found street litter worldwide.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93dE5oczZvdkI0Z1E?usp=sharing
YouTube video
2. DUCERE HOLDINGS
MISER is a new, hydraulic version of hybrid transmission for vehicles that costs less and is more efficient. MISER offers fuel savings of up to 70%. A fully automatic transmission, it achieves significantly reduced emissions. It is ideal for new vehicle designs but can also be fitted to existing vehicles. MISER covers a wide range of vehicles ranging from passenger vehicles to large earth moving trucks due to the inherent abilities of hydraulics. The system improves electric hybrids.
MISER allows the vehicle to store and reuse kinetic energy which is usually lost as vehicles stop and start. It also allows for engine optimisation and fuel efficiency.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93dXBtakRkUnlrR2s?usp=sharing_eidp&ts=5809e52f
https://www.facebook.com/misertransmissions
YouTube video
3. IBONI BIKE SHARE
iBoni is a bicycle and scooter sharing start-up that's in concept phase, South Africa's first commercial bike sharing business. The sharing economy is a disruptive tool that iBoni wants to use to create a more sustainable ecosystem with the existing public transportation infrastructure. The idea is that bicycles and scooters are shared among people in communities without individual ownership. Customers will rent the bicycles/scooters at a bike parking station near their current location, start their commute, and drop it off at a bike parking station nearest to their final destination.
The scooter and bicycle stations at transportation hubs will encourage motorists to use public transport. This will reduce traffic which will in turn reduce carbon emissions, improve air quality, and create more sustainable cities. The bicycles are GPS tracked, which is a crime prevention tool and also shows users how far they have cycled or travelled.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93dXBtakRkUnlrR2s?usp=sharing_eidp&ts=5809e52f
YouTube video
4. KGOSHIGADI
Kgoshigadi is a social enterprise which sets up mini-factories in overlooked communities and upskills local women in townships to manufacture and distribute affordable, bio-degradable sanitary pads.
Kgoshigadi enables these women to become business owners of their own social franchise, secure their own livelihoods and address menstruation-related absenteeism in high school girls. The business-in-a-box solution also hosts women's health workshops, which are safe spaces for women to discuss issues affecting them and access information that is both reliable and factually accurate. Kgoshigadi's products do not negatively impact the land quality of the communities it supports. The product is bio-degradable, thus also addressing the problem of menstrual waste management, given that it is estimated that a single woman will produce between 125kg-150kg of waste over her life time.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93LXQ4R2JlRWNlV2c?usp=sharing
YouTube video
5. LIQUID GOLD
LiquidGold has a waterless urinal waste system which helps to conserve huge amounts of precious water. It also saves money, reduces maintenance time and cost, provides better hygiene and is far less odorous than conventional urinals.
The waterless urinal, which is a urine-only system, works for both male and female systems in commercial, domestic and portable sanitation as well as public kiosks. The urine diversion system is suitable for both existing and new infrastructure. Using flow simulation, collection tanks are used for liquid waste management. The urine is then crystallised for a natural, slow release and environmental friendly fertiliser.
As a water scarce country, LiquidGold offers a way to save fresh drinking water, reduce energy and remove nutrient pollution in our waste water treatment plants that land up in our aquatic systems. The solution enables closing the nutrient cycle on our farms by providing a natural fertiliser that is rich in nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements essential to plant growth.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93V3dMUnMxRWtjT1k?usp=sharing
https://www.facebook.com/liquidgoldsa
Twitter @liquidgoldsa
YouTube video
6. RYDAWI FISH FARMS
Rydawi Fish Farms has developed a product, Farminabox, which is a complete farming system, ready to add water and Tilapia fish. The systems are easy to install, operate and understand, making it ideal for small scale farmers. The company provides training and mentorship. The farms are modular and scalable to any size.
Without the need for rivers and dams, Farminabox systems enable the farming of more fish in more locations to put more fish on more plates. Water is recycled and very energy efficient. Waste is 100% recoverable.
www.tilapiafarming.co.za and www.fish-farm.co.za
Images: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0BxyjSsXPwk93MGZDdW8tSVhvOVU
https://www.facebook.com/AgriAquaAfrica/
Twitter: @RydawiFishFarms
YouTube video
7. SOLID INSIGHT
Solid Insight is a one-stop solution to manage resource use in buildings. It connects energy and water meters and other sensors in buildings and reliably brings that data to the web where it can be used to powerful effect. The interface allows users to create live dashboards presented in a clear and understandable format. From here, resource use may be controlled. By making energy and water management as easy as internet banking, stakeholders are able to easily understand and reduce resource use.
Whether used as a live dashboard in a building foyer, for carbon emissions reporting or to manage distributed solar production, Solid Insight brings energy and water data to the age of cloud computing.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93dWFKeWZDekN1Nlk?usp=sharing
Twitter: @Solid_Insight
YouTube video
8. ENDOKI
Endoki is a modern, urban farming project which sells live crickets and cricket powder, an alternative, nutritious, environmentally-friendly source of food which is farmed locally in Johannesburg and has created jobs in the green sector. The Endoki dream is to integrate innovative methods of farming which are sustainable and feasible in urban landscapes, providing access for all to food that is healthy and nutritious.
Crickets are one of the most protein rich and nutritious foods. In addition, farming crickets has proven to be among the most water and land-efficient forms of farming. The initiative seeks to create local employment opportunities and open the door to pioneering research.
Images: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/0BxyjSsXPwk93WVNyMzNWV3liZ3c?usp=sharing https://www.facebook.com/Endoki.Pty.Ltd
Twitter: @endoki_SA
For more information, photographs or interviews, please contact Turquoise PR & Marketing Communications:
Michelle K Blumenau, T 011 728 5004 / 083 273 9891 michelle@turquoisepr.co.za
Despina Harito, T 084 453 1755 despina@turquoisepr.co.za