From close to 40 excellent nationwide entries, the following 10 innovations have been announced as the top 10:
The Top 10 will now pitch to a panel of expert judges at a virtual event, hosted on 10 February 2021. They will have the opportunity to interact with potential investors, business incubators, local government decision-makers and green economy experts. The judging panel is made up of local and international investment and innovation experts representing the City of Cape Town, Western Cape Government Department of Economic Development and Tourism, SAREBI, EdgeGrowth and the Solar Impulse Foundation.
“The green economy has massive potential to attract investment that leads to job creation. This is why the city is proud to partner with and, through my enterprise and investment department, fund GreenCape. Sustainability innovation reflects the next generation of economic development thinking,” said Alderman James Vos, mayoral committee member for economic opportunities and asset management. “It combines environmentalism's protection of natural systems with the notion of business innovation while delivering essential goods and services that serve the social and economic goals of the City of Cape Town. Key to the City’s draft inclusive economic growth strategy post the Covid-19 is to empower businesses and communities to innovate and take action to grow the green economy and, thereby, create jobs,” he added.
The entries had to be positioned in at least one of the green economy sectors, and align with identified investment opportunities highlighted in the 2020 GreenCape Market Intelligence Reports. (To access all the reports for free, click here.)
The 2021/21 edition of the challenge builds on the 2018 and 2019 greentech innovation challenges hosted by GreenCape, Friedrich Nauman Foundation for Freedom and the City of Cape Town. View highlights from the 2019 and 2018 challenges.
As part of the journey towards resilience, GreenCape, and Invest Cape Town offer their support to innovators and entrepreneurs in the green economy landscape. The winner of the Invest Cape Town | Business Hub GreenPitch Challenge 2021 will be awarded with in-kind business support through GreenCape.
About GreenCape
GreenCape is a non-profit organisation that drives the widespread adoption of economically viable green economy solutions from South Africa. The team works with businesses, investors, academia and government to unlock the investment and employment potential of green technologies and services, and to support a transition to a resilient green economy. GreenCape’s vision is to create a thriving and prosperous Africa using green economy principles. Our aim is to be globally relevant in driving the uptake of green economy infrastructure solutions in the developing world context.
