The first round winners of the City’s Green City Startup programme, sponsored by the Green Challenge Fund, have been announced and the winner and runner-up will be selected in six months.
MMC for Economic Development, Ruby Mathang said the initiative which promotes eco-friendliness was important for the future of the City and it fulfilled the City’s 2040 plan, provincial strategy and the National Development Plan to build a green economy and involve young and ambitious entrepreneurs through innovative breakthroughs.
Driven by the City’s Green Technology Hub, the programme also involves world-class entrepreneurs; science and technology departments at Wits and University of Johannesburg; incubation specialists at City hubs; venture capitalists and financiers. Mathang said the winners’ innovations were worthy of celebrations.
They are:
- Baoberry, a potentially-revolutionary process for treating waste water and which maybe piloted in one distressed area
- Energidrop, a business model using flexible solar panels to improve fuel efficiency in trucks and buses
- FNS, a simple, low-cost switch that helps time electricity usage in medium-income households and which can be rolled out to 1 000 homes in the next few months
- GezaJozi, an electric tricycle that improves working conditions and the income of waste pickers, and can be used on streets and cycle lanes
- MellowCabs, an electric mini-cab for convenient transport
- PowerOptimal, an automated load-shifting system to simplify and reduce electricity usage
- PublicAccess, a smart bench to improve public space and collect data on the environment
- Braamfontein and Maboneng WHC, a valve designed to stop water leakage in homes.
The executive director for Economic Development, Ravi Naidoo said the City would run the Challenge Fund again, but for larger initiatives within the private sector.
Details: Nthatisi Modingoane; 011 407 7354, 082 467 9228 or nthatisem@joburg.org.za
