Home 5 News 5 CALL FOR ENTRIES: Invest Cape Town | Business Hub GreenPitch Challenge 2021

4 November 2020

GreenCape, in partnership with the City of Cape Town’s Invest Cape Town | Business Hub, invite innovators and entrepreneurs with economically viable green economy innovation business ideas to enter the Invest Cape Town | Business Hub GreenPitch Challenge 2021. Entries are open from Wednesday 4 November 2020, and close at noon on Friday 27 November 2020. The digital entry form is online on the Invest Cape Town | Business Hub GreenPitch Challenge website.

 

Enter your green economy innovation business idea to stand a chance of pitching to a panel of esteemed judges at a “shark tank-style” hybrid networking event, hosted in Cape Town in February 2021. Network with potential investors, business incubators, local government decision-makers and green economy experts.

 

“The green economy has massive potential to attract investment that leads to job creation. This is why the City is proud to partner with and, through my Enterprise and Investment Department, fund GreenCape. Sustainability innovation reflects the next generation of economic development thinking,” said Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee member for Economic Opportunities and Asset Management. “It combines environmentalism’s protection of natural systems with the notion of business innovation while delivering essential goods and services that serve the social and economic goals of the City of Cape Town. Key to the City’s Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy post the COVID-19 is to empower businesses and communities to innovate and take action to grow the green economy and thereby, creating jobs,” he added.

 

One of the means of specifically promoting sustainability innovation is through green economy business innovation. The Invest Cape Town | Business Hub GreenPitch Challenge 2021 speaks to the need for spurring innovation, and providing a testing ground for entrepreneurs to pilot their business venture. Enabling such innovation aligns to the City of Cape Town’s Inclusive Economic Growth Strategy in that it seeks to foster the retention and expansion of businesses in Cape Town.

 

“Innovation needs the right platform with the right partners. The innovation challenge opens an excellent pathway for entrepreneurs to leverage their innovation and helps build to scale your solution for impact,” said Orion Herman, winner of the 2018 Water Innovation Challenge, co-hosted with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom. “Several doors have opened for LiquidGold in both private and public sectors, allowing us to truly understand our value proposition and how to position our innovation to ensure market growth and sustainability,” he added.

 

Entry requirement

Your green economy innovation business idea has to be positioned within at least one of the Green Economy sectors – refer to the investment opportunities highlighted in GreenCape’s 2020 Market Intelligence Reports.

 

Who should enter?

Innovators and entrepreneurs with economically viable green economy innovation business ideas. The business idea has to be in the Start-up (Registered and trading/Research and development) or Pre-growth (Registered and trading/ Break-even) phase.

                                                                                                        

Why enter?

As part of the journey towards resilience, GreenCape and Invest Cape Town | Business Hub offer their support to innovators and entrepreneurs in the green economy landscape. The winner of the Invest Cape Town | Business Hub GreenPitch Challenge 2021 will be awarded with business development support worth R60 000 through GreenCape, and includes:

 

  • Marketing assistance, including media exposure and guidance in developing marketing collateral.
  • 20 hours of business plan development with tailored market intelligence insight from GreenCape sector desk
  • 5 hours of finance facilitation to assist in identifying financing suitable for the winner’s business case
  • Access to business mentorship, skills training and financial grants through GreenCape and City of Cape Town networks.

 

The support will commence in 2021.

 

How to enter

Fill out the digital entry form available online here. The digital form allows you to submit either a 500-word written motivation, or a 10-slide PowerPoint.  

 

Key dates

 

GreenPitch Challenge entries open: Wednesday 4 November 2020

Closing date for entries: Friday 27 November 2020 @ 12:00

Finalists announced: Thursday 10 December 2020

Pitch event: Wednesday 10 February 2021  

 

Finalists will be notified by 16:00 on Thursday 10 December 2020. The finalists will get coaching support in preparation for the pitch event.

 

The winner will win in kind business development support worth R60 000, delivered through GreenCape. The winner will be selected by a judging panel on the day of the event. Their decision is final. Terms & Conditions apply. The support will commence in 2021.