SA Innovation Summit Competitions 2015
From the South African Innovation Summit:
The 8th Annual Innovation Summit takes place from the 26th to the 29th of August this year, at the Cape Town Stadium. We would like to invite you or your team to enter the SA Innovation Summit Competitions 2015.
The Summit is proud to have two competitions for inventors, entrepreneurs and companies. Finalists will be awarded their prizes at the exciting Market on the Edge, happening alongside the Innovation Summit. A share of R100,000 in cash prizes is up for grabs. Both competitions opened on the 1st of March, and close on the 30th of June 2015.
For all information on the competitions and to enter visit the Invent and Pitch Page on the SA Innovation Summit website at http://www.innovationsummit.co.za/invent-pitch/
PITCHING DEN COMPETITION
Are you ready for the Pitching Den? Pitch to an experienced panel of judges, tap into different markets, and access expertise, advice and capital. There are two categories – Start-ups and the PwC Vision to Reality. Pitch for funding, incubation, IP consultation, distribution channels or support for your business! The Start-ups category calls for great concepts and early stage businesses. Emerging companies with tech-enabled solutions can enter the PwC Vision to Reality Category, which is for high growth businesses. These entrants should have a current turnover of R5 – 50 million. You can enter for both categories as many times as you like.
For any Pitching Den Competition enquiries contact Tshego on +27 12 844 0668 or pitch@innovationsummit.co.za
INVENTORS GARAGE COMPETITION
Are you an inventor crafting up a storm or is your business launching a new product? Do you have a proven concept, demo or prototype to showcase and it’s not commercialised or just been commercialised? Enter the Inventors’ Garage Competition online by uploading a photo of yourself and your invention and get immediate exposure for your product! Apart from the prizes, the finalists will enjoy free exhibition space allowing for networking opportunities with fellow inventors, investors, mentors and experts which can lead to possible deal-making! Vote for your favourite inventions on the SA Innovation Summit Facebook Page by liking the photos of the entries. R5000 cash to be won for t he entry with most likes!
For any Inventors Garage Competition enquiries contact Elzabe on +27 12 844 0670 or invent@innovationsummit.co.za.
Invitation to Host Organisations for Interns
Social Enterprise Academy will be managing the placement of 22 post-graduate students in internships with Cape Town social enterprises.
These students are from Oslo University. They have a variety of skills and all have prior work experience. They will be here for 12 weeks between 8 June to 28 August 2015.
Interns will serve host organizations from Monday-Thursday each week. They will be required to deliver a valuable piece of work to the host organization. They will be full-time “consultants”.
We are busy gathering a list of host organizations and Consulting Assignments for these student interns to complete for them. If you need help with a distinct project or assignment, then please complete the attached form and email to Jaco at jaco@socialenterprise.academy. The Academy will then match the skills/experience of the students with the needs of the host organization.
It is possible for a host organization to submit multiple Consulting Assignments, and request multiple interns.
Attached is the template that needs to be completed for each Consulting Assignment. Deadline is Friday 20th March 2015.
Find the Application Form here: Consulting Assignment for SEA Intern
Entrepreneurs selected for Green Pioneer Accelerator
A few weeks ago we talked about the Green Pioneer Accelerator looking for entrepreneurs to join their programme in 2015. Well, the results are in! A total of 23 entrepreneurs have been selected for the programme, hosted by Hivos, VC4Africa, GrowthAfrica, and Impact Amplifier.
The eleven entrepreneurs selected for the program in Kenya are listed below.
The uniqueness of this batch is the diversity of the social enterprises tackling some of Africa’s most pressing agriculture, energy and environmental concerns.
- Strauss Energy (Kenya) – Tony Nyagah
Strauss Energy is building an integrated photovoltaic roofing tile for residential houses and commercial units. The excess power generated will be fed into the national grid so that home owners can earn income from the feed-in-tariff. More here.
- Afrisol Energy Limited (Kenya) – Amos Nguru
Afrisol specializes in design, installation and maintenance of biogas digesters to produce clean and cheaper energy for institutions. More here.
- Boma Safi Limited (Kenya) – Joyce Gema
Boma Safi sells affordable solar products, clean cook stoves and briquettes to rural households through a hub-spoke and promoter distribution model.
- Classic foods Limited (Kenya) – Wachira Kariuki
Classic Foods processes dairy products, fruit juice, tomato sauce, honey, flour milling and manufactures animal feeds. More here.
- Cobitech Solar (Kenya) – Samson Gichia
Cobitech works with microfinance institutions and savings and credit cooperatives to provide the solar kits on loan to rural poor households for repayment within one year. More here.
- Consumer’s Choice Limited (Kenya) – Mohammed Kadhi
Consumer Choice replaces the use of fossil fuels with more efficient, more economical Bio-Ethanol Gel and environmentally friendly clean cook stoves. More here.
- Green Pencils Limited (Kenya) – Ivan Ochieng
Green Pencils sources old newspapers from registered groups like the disabled, women and youth groups to produce customized pencils and ball pens. More here.
- Kencoco Limited (Kenya) – DR. Said Twahir
Kencoco uses coconut shells, husks and other biomass material to produce charcoal briquettes and sells to households and institutions. More here.
- Plexus Energy Limited (Kenya) – Edward Kinyanjui
Plexus distributes off grid power solutions such solar lighting, solar water heating and UPS systems for network masts for telecommunication companies and data centres for internet service providers. More here.
- Sanivation (Kenya) – Andrew Foote
Sanivation installs portable toilets and charges a monthly fee to provide household sanitation and energy services to people living in congested areas. More here.
- Skynotch Energy Africa (Kenya) – Patrick Kimathi
Skynotch Energy runs a mini-hydro power generation plant, and works with small dealers to provide last mile distribution for solar lanterns and solar energy applications. More here.
The twelve entrepreneurs selected for the program in South Africa are listed below.
- Savvy Loo (South Africa) – Dudley Jackson
Savvy Loo provides a waterless toilet for rural areas and temporary settlements that offers cleaner, safer and healthier sanitary solutions.
- SolarTurtle (South Africa) – James van de Walt
SolarTurtle establishes female run franchises that turn used shipping containers into mobile solar battery charging stations, bringing electricity to off-grid communities. More here.
- Lady Bonin’s Tea (South Africa) – Jessica Bonin
Lady Bonin’s Tea sources tea from biodynamic, organic, cooperative and fair-trade farms and packs throughout South Africa. More here.
- Phambili Energy South Africa ( South Africa) – Musa Msimango
Phambili Energy develops off-grid electrification and clean energy technologies, utilising biomass-to-energy techniques to provide eco-charkettes and stoves. More here.
- Mellowcabs (South Africa) – Neil du Preez
Mellowcabs manufactures and operates new electric mini-cabs that provide an on-demand, flexible and affordable taxi and transport service in cities. More here.
- Mechanical Concrete (South Africa) – Robert Jooste
Mechanical Concrete is an innovator in the road construction field using car tyres to manufacture geo-cylinders, which provide a high quality, high performing reinforcing base for concrete roads.
- Project Solaris (South Africa) – Samantha Bartle
Project Solaris provides a novel biofuel feedstock crop, Solaris, to suitable regions in Sub-Saharan Africa. More here.
- Shakti Energy (South Africa) – Vijay Mitha
Shakti Energy supports energy entrepreneurs in off-grid informal settlements to operate a pedal powered generator to recharge LED lights and mobile phones. More here.
- MySmartFarm (South Africa) – Wolfgang Von Loeper
MySmartFarm is a one-stop-shop-all solution for a farmer’s data: a consolidation of high tech agricultural hardware and data services on one cloud platform. More here.
- Botanica Natural Products (South Africa) – Will Coetsee
Botanica Natural Products cultivates an indigenous South African succulent plant, Bulbine frutesce and produces natural ingredients for the cosmetic and neutri–ceutical industry. More here.
- New Earth Health Solutions (South Africa) – Yesheen Singh
New Earth Health Solutions produce Phyto Pro, a range of plant based protein products made from peas, for consumer and medical consumption. More here.
- Spekboom Trading (South Africa) – Zoe Visser
Spekboom Trading generates blue-chip carbon credits through the restoration of degraded land by the cultivation of spekboom, which acts as a carbon sink. More here.
For more details, visit the VC4Africa site
SAIIN Conference 2015 – Pitch Your #SocEnt
The SAIIN (Southern African Impact Investing Network) 2015 Conference is on it’s way! South Africa’s premier impact investment event will be taking place on 16 & 17 February, 2015, at the Gwefey Meeting Spaces in Sandton.
Social Entrepreneurs will have an opportunity to pitch their enterprises to key impact investors, industry experts, and corporates at the plenary session. The pitching session will take place on the 2nd day of the conference.
Criteria:
Social enterprises applying to pitch must:
- Be a for-profit or hybrid social enterprise
- Be an early or mid-stage venture
- Demonstrate a strong investment position
- Be profit and social purpose driven
Applications close on Friday, 30 January, 2015 at 16:00 (SAST). To enter, please provide a two pager explaining what your social enterprise does, why you would be a good business to pitch at the conference, and confirm and expand on the criteria. Inquiries and submissions can be made to Lisa van Eck at lisa.vaneck@aspeninst.org
For more information, please visit the SAIIN Website
Just want to attend SAIIN 2015?
“The Southern African Impact Investing Network (SAIIN) Conference is the region’s leading impact investing event. The aim of the conference is to promote the concept and practice of impact investing in the region, and, in doing so, contribute to the development of an investment ecosystem that brings new ideas and sources of capital to developmental challenges.”
Register online or contact Carmen Coetzee via email or on 021 685 9780.
Acumen Global Fellows – Open for Applications
Programme Overview:
Established in 2006, the Global Fellows Program is a 12-month fellowship for individuals dedicated to serving the poor and who have the business and operational expertise, and moral imagination needed to effect long-term social change. The fellowship begins with an eight-week training program in the Acumen New York office, where Fellows learn about business models for the poor, hone their leadership skills, and learn more about Acumen.
After training, each Fellow works for the CEO or senior management of an Acumen investee on a critical business issue facing the organization. Fellows have worked on projects ranging from leading operations of a new business unit at a cotton ginnery in Uganda, to expanding the clinic network of a pharmacy company in India, to developing branding strategies for a microfinance institution in Pakistan.
Since 2006, we have received more than 4,400 applications from 100 countries and trained 63 Fellows from 21 countries. After the Fellowship year, Fellows continue to create social change, with 85% of the alumni currently in leadership positions at socially progressive organizations such as IDEO.org, Bridge International Academies, Endeavor, Bamboo Finance, New Island Capital, We the Change Foundation, Living Goods, Ashoka, Omidyar Network, and The Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition.
Learn More and Apply
http://acumen.org | http://acumen.org/leaders/global-fellows/
Green Pioneer Accelerator Programme 2015
Is your business working on an innovative solution in the “Green Economy”? Are you trying to raise capital to scale your business? If yes, consider joining the 2015 Green Pioneer Acceleration Program.
They are looking for entrepreneur working on innovative products in rapidly expanding environmental sectors such as sustainable agriculture, (including apiculture and aquaculture), ecotourism, sustainable forestry, non-timber forest products, and renewable energy. An equal emphasis is given to opportunities in food waste, ecological housing, recycling or other green innovations. Applicants should benefit local communities who are an integral part of protecting the earth’s natural capital. This program is a joint initiative of Hivos, VC4Africa, Impact Amplifier and Growth Africa.
View more details at the Impact Amplifier website here: http://www.impactamplifier.co.za/green-pioneer-accelerator
Jaco Slabbert 