Imvelisi Enviropreneurs Programme accelerates SA’s green economy

Imvelisi, an early-stage business development platform has partnered with GreenMatterZA and the South African Young Water Professionals Network (YWP-ZA) to address SA’s green economy through an innovative Enviropreneurs Programme. 

Funded by the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the programme aims to bridge the gap in SA’s green economy by equipping eco-innovators with the correct resources and mentorship that will lead to a sustainable business. 

 Imvelisi assists SA enviropreneurs through the Enviropreneurs Programme

In an official press release, Janavi Da Silva, Director of Programmes at GreenMatter explains that the Enviropreneurs Programme was developed for young environment driven entrepreneurs who are in the early stages of ideation.

“There are hundreds of business incubators, enterprise development, and business mentorship programmes operating in South Africa, yet ideation phase enviropreneurs still struggle due to a lack of support in the early stages of the business development cycle. Our Enviropreneurs Programme provides ideation training to young enviropreneurs, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, and resources to assess market potential, structure a business and partnership proposal, and test the viability of their ideas and concepts. We create opportunities for them to learn, adapt, and network in the green sector.”

The first boot camp, hosted by the Imvelisi Enviropreneurs Programme took place in 2015, and since, the programme has reportedly trained 132 enviropreneurs. 

Da Silva comments on the success of the virtual boot camp

“We’ve seen a massive difference since the introduction of our virtual bootcamp, where entrepreneurs are pitching much stronger business ideas to the team. This is a significant improvement compared to previous years and we owe it to the additional hands-on support from industry experts we’ve been able to bring on board. Going into the future, we plan on

continuing to innovate so we can reach even more Enviropreneurs and expanding the impact we’ve been able to make so far, looking into the future for a greener economy on the African continent.”

Imvelisi Enviropreneurs Programme

The programme consists of two key components, a training bootcamp, and 12-weeks of support with access to mentorship. 

The training bootcamp provides 50 young innovative entrepreneurs with the opportunity to gain insight into launching a business in sectors that prioritise water, biodiversity, and the environment. 

The 12-week one-on-one support and access to mentorship will be offered to six participants that demonstrate high potential in the bootcamp phase of the programme.

Lucky Litelu, Project Lead from South African Young Water Professionals explains the importance of the programme for enviropreneurs.

“The Imvelisi Enviropreneurs programme is a necessary step for entrepreneurs looking to develop themselves professionally. We’re proud to be a part of such an impactful initiative, which forms a critical part of early-stage entrepreneurial development. The programme enables entrepreneurs to turn their green business ideas from cerebral thoughts into tangible businesses and gives me confidence that the future of South Africa and the future of the African continent is in the right hands.” 

The programme continuously adapts to support young environmental entrepreneurs to offer relevant business advice and technical insights that align with entrepreneurs’ business plans.

The programme has recently introduced guidebooks that provide information about invasive alien plant species removal and beneficiations businesses that are specifically designed for environmental entrepreneurs to gain insight into.

Imvelisi

Imvelisi, an early-stage business development platform addresses SA’s green economy by offering knowledge and expertise from industry experts. Imvelisi aims to enable environmental entrepreneurs to develop and launch impactful sustainable businesses.

The insight Imvelisi offers helps entrepreneurs recognise business feasibility, operational processes, the importance of networking, and how to effectively manage employees. 

Imvelisi breaks down the barriers to entry and minimizes the uncertainty of entrepreneurs looking for potential markets for their product or service offering.

The early-stage business development platform provides detailed Market Intelligence Reports that display a variety of business opportunities in the green economy. The reports reduce the cost of market entry.

Read more: Free business training initiative launches for SA informal micro-entreprises
Read more: Rapid test for SARS-CoV2 wins first prize in annual Gauteng Accelerator

Featured image: Imvelisi  (Supplied)