Shaping the Future Global Conference 2023, George, Western Cape, South Africa
By: Freda Gray
The Global Conference 2023 in George, titled "Shaping the Future," brought together academics, local government officials, sustainable businesses, impact investors, and community representatives. This convergence promised positive outcomes. I found this conference exceptionally inspiring!
Sustainability has evolved into a comprehensive concept encompassing not only food, energy, water, and waste systems but also integral components of business and community development. Businesses have an advantage in accessing and implementing the best technologies and solutions due to their available resources. In contrast, community developers, including governments, communities, and organizations like Ranyaka, often face resource limitations in seeking or developing their solutions. Simultaneously, our universities serve as abundant sources of innovative sustainable approaches, methods, and products in agriculture, energy, and supply chains.
Sponsored by Nedbank, this conference went beyond mere discussions or showcasing potential solutions. Their partner, Ranyaka Community Transformation, utilized this opportunity to conduct in-depth workshops with a local George community. The aim was to collaboratively discover solutions to the community's most pressing needs. Based on the outcomes of these workshops, it is likely that some of these solutions could involve the creation of social enterprises using the technologies and solutions demonstrated at the conference. This approach offers a dual benefit as new businesses generate jobs and economic advantages, especially when they are built around inherently sustainable products.
The combination of the Ranyaka workshop and the Nedbank presentation by Grant Kelly, Executive Head at Nedbank, and Nina Wellsted, the Sustainability Manager, emphasized that social enterprises are inherently more sustainable than charities. While charities undoubtedly play a vital role in society by providing essential social value, social enterprises address social and environmental challenges using business methods to achieve and sustain financial sustainability.
The question our team is currently exploring is whether Waloyo can create more social value by employing a well-designed business model to drive financial sustainability.
Here are links to some of the conference participants and companies who caught my attention:
DIVAGRI – an initiative to facilitate collaboration for technology improvement and to provide training for the agricultural industry.
Ekasi.energy – Innovative biomass energy solution. Their “FabStove” burns renewable pellet fuel at double efficiency while reducing emissions by over 80%. It also produces biochar as a by-product which can be used to enrich the soil to improve crops.
Fern Impact Partners – The New York-based investment manager specializes in positive impact-themed investments that will be shaping the world in years to come.
Ilima - iLima Digital Foundry has a unique AI-driven Construction Innovation Platform (ACIP) matches all stakeholders across the building lifecycle of affordable housing projects.
NewCarbon - transforms biomass from a variety of organic sources into biocarbon, activated biocarbon, wood vinegar, heat energy, and other market-related products.
Ranyaka Community Transformation - a non-profit, urban planning consultancy that develops transformative strategies for towns and neighbourhoods by harnessing the power of collaboration and active citizenry.