#YouthMonth: Making sustainable living accessible

Ndivhuho Raphula, director NCPC -SA and Tiaan de Jager at Eco-Logic Awards

Tell us a bit about what GreenFin Financial Services does?

GreenFin’s aim is to assist households and small businesses in acquiring sustainable and renewable energy solutions by offering finance and rental options to clients wishing to make the move to green.

Although we focus predominantly on financing solar water geysers and turnkey energy solutions (including solar panels, inverters and batteries), we also finance a range of other green solutions like electric vehicles and fireplaces, amongst others.

We have partnered with over 800 renewable energy suppliers and installers across the country and are currently offering finance solutions to their clients.

What drew you to the eco-green field?

As a financial services company, we are also impacted by the energy crisis in South Africa in various ways and we wanted to do our bit to reduce the demand on the electricity grid. Our whole company philosophy is that of operating a low-cost business model by providing all our services online, operating from one central head office instead of a branch network, reducing paperwork, as well as many other green initiatives. We strongly believe going green is the future and we want to be a leader in this field in South Africa.

Today's generation has the monumental task of ensuring a paradigm shift away from business as usual. How do we ensure sustainable development is implemented meaningfully across sectors?

We believe these changes are unavoidable and should not necessarily be seen as a monumental task, but rather an exciting challenge, as enhancements in technology and access to information make it much easier to make or adopt the required paradigm shifts.

The only real requirement is the will to change. South Africa is still a follower and not yet a leader in the sustainable development space, which means there are lots of good business cases or practices that we can copy or learn from.

The only challenge is that the business community should embrace this opportunity, take the lead in making these shifts and not wait for government and related taxes or legislation to enforce it.

What are some of the resource challenges, particularly in terms of environment, future generations will face?

Although we are not environmental experts, we are becoming more aware of increased shortages in energy and clean water, as well as increased food scarcity across the country and the world.

What are the best ways for us to approach these challenges?

Individuals and businesses should by now realise and accept that each person in their own capacity is responsible for the future of this world and one cannot continue to expect governments and institutions to take the full responsibility of ensuring a sustainable future.

It is only a mind-set change that is required. Like changing one’s eating habits or exercise habits to live healthier, every person can start making those small changes to his or her life with regards to the way we consume and preserve our resources.

The solutions are already there and widely available, but the associated costs remain high and the return on investment seems far off. But it is almost like saving; the earlier you start, the greater the return in the long run.

Young or old, who inspires you?

This can be anybody from Elon Musk, to the creators of Airbnb or Uber who are predominantly creative and disruptive thinkers and problem solvers.

What does Youth Month mean to you?

Youth Month for me is not only about commemorating the 1976 riots and the loss of life that ensued, but is also a reminder to South Africans that something like that should never happen again.

Forty years on and our youth is still not receiving the best quality education, which is critical to ensure more opportunities and a better future for all.

As a young South African, to what do you attribute your success?

‘Success’ is a relative term and it has a different meaning to everybody, but I define it simply as having achieved what I set out to achieve.
Apart from a good education, caring parents and blessings from above, there is still no substitute for dedication and hard work. You will only ever appreciate the things in your life you’ve had to work hard for.

Tiaan de Jager is the co-founder and CEO of GreenFin Financial Services. Previously, he was group head of Finance of Transaction Capital Limited, and before that the chief financial officer of Toyota Financial Services South Africa. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours), is a qualified Chartered Accountant (2003) and holds an MBA from GIBS (2011).