Three green-economy innovators — PeeCycling, Preserve Botanica, and ReSurfify — will represent South Africa at the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge.
GreenCape and Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), recently announced the challenge’s 18 finalists, chosen from almost 310 entries received from Botswana, eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania.
Circular Economy & Waste Management Started from Day Zero
These green business solutions represent exciting African innovation in the circular economy and waste, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility, water and wastewater.
“From its first iteration, as a desperate search for innovation to deal with the Day Zero drought in Cape Town, the GreenPitch challenge has grown into a launchpad for SMMEs in the green economy.
“The SMMEs are from broader categories and now from multiple countries, but the desperation to find solutions that create jobs and put our economies on a climate-smart trajectory remains,” said Mike Mulcahy, CEO of GreenCape.
Ewan Gray, senior transactor at RMB Ventures, said that the calibre of this year’s finalists reflects the growing maturity of Africa’s green economy.
“Across a diverse range of sectors, these entrepreneurs are developing practical, scalable solutions to real-world challenges while creating jobs and unlocking new economic opportunities,” says Gray.
Meet the finalists (listed in alphabetical order):
East Africa
- Chemichemi Green Organics (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste: Restores degraded soils, increases farmers’ yields and protects the environment through local production of organic inputs from recycled organic waste.
- Ecorich Solutions Limited (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste, Sustainable agriculture: A climate-tech/agritech company that transforms organic waste into organic fertiliser within 24 hours using a proprietary innovation called the Wastebot.
- Eden Recyclers (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste: A circular economy venture converting paper waste mainly from schools into affordable, eco-friendly products for learners, including black shoe polish.
- Imani Collective (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste, Renewable energy: A Kenya-based sustainable design firm creating handcrafted home décor and lifestyle products through circular manufacturing and dignified artisan employment.
- Mukaia Carbon Hub (Kenya) | Water and wastewater: Leverages AI, satellite imagery, and environmental monitoring technologies to enable ecosystem restoration, carbon project development and climate finance access for African communities.
- Ngwala Inventions (Tanzania) | Sustainable agriculture: AI-powered, circular bio-inputs and solar-automated dispensing systems delivering affordable, safe, climate-smart, dual-action biofertiliser and biopesticides to farmers through pay-as-you-go and after-harvest models.
- Plant Natural Feed Limited (Tanzania) | Circular economy and waste, Sustainable agriculture: A Tanzanian climate-tech company converting waste biomass into activated biochar fertilisers through biotechnology and circular economy solutions to restore soil health, improve farmer productivity and promote climate-smart agriculture.
- Pollen Patrollers (Kenya) | Sustainable agriculture: Africa’s first precision pollination company, combining IoT smart hives and AI-driven pollination services to boost crop yields and beekeeper incomes for smallholder farmers across East Africa.
- Seta Farm Limited (Kenya) | Sustainable agriculture: Circular economy and waste: A decentralised circular agritech transforming agricultural waste into mushrooms and farmer income.
Environment & Natural Resources Southern Africa
- EBIKES4AFRICA (Namibia) | Electric mobility: Builds the African BushBike, a rugged, solar-ready utility e-bike that provides affordable, off-road clean mobility for African farms, communities and businesses.
- Flushh (Namibia) | Water and wastewater: Tackles sanitation challenges with a waterless, circular sanitation-as-a-service model that conserves water and transforms waste into valuable resources.
- Green Brine Technologies (Namibia) | Circular economy; Water and wastewater: Desalinates industrial wastewater to locally manufacture high-purity chemicals, replacing vulnerable imports with a circular regional economy.
- Kaeane Renewable Energy Developers (Lesotho) | Renewable energy; Circular economy: Deploys fixed dome biogas systems to transform organic waste into clean cooking energy and high-quality biofertiliser for communities in Lesotho.
- Mattie’s Success (Pty) Ltd (Botswana) | Circular economy: Transforms banana stem agricultural waste into safe, biodegradable hair braiding fibre, eliminating toxic chemicals found in synthetic alternatives.
- Organic Naturals (Pty) Ltd (Botswana) | Circular economy: Upcycles indigenous orphan crops into active skincare products by combining traditional knowledge, science and technology.
- PeeCycling (South Africa) | Circular economy; Water and wastewater: Uses a highly energy-efficient process to convert source-separated human urine into valuable NPK fertiliser and clean, non-potable water.
- Preserve Botanica (South Africa) | Circular economy: Supplies bulk hop oils manufactured from fresh hop waste, supporting sustainability and circular economy initiatives for major global brewers.
- ReSurfify (South Africa) | Circular economy: Transforms vegetable oil refinery waste into affordable, high-performance biosurfactants using a fermentation-based process, making sustainable, green ingredients accessible at scale for the global formulation industry.
Circular Economy & Waste ManagementDuduzile Mathabela 19 May 2026 The finalists will now prepare to pitch to panels of judges and investors at “Shark Tank-style” networking events in Cape Town, South Africa, on 3 September 2026, and in Nairobi, Kenya on 25 September 2026.
As part of the build-up to the pitch events, the top 18 finalists will participate in a capacity-building workshop hosted by RMB Ventures, where they will engage in one-on-one conversations with investors and other business experts.
As part of the prize, the finalists will also participate in a “Let’s Talk Financing” workshop, hosted by Viridian.
The winner and finalists of the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge will be awarded a range of cash and in-kind prizes to the value of $20 000.
The winners will be selected by a judging panel on the day of the events.
