South Africa - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

ZN Energy Solutions is startup company founded by a student who is currently studying at the University of KwaZulu-Natal finishing off his final year at the institution. We are Pietermaritzburg-based energy company looking to be the premium supplier for s

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

ZN Energy Solutions is startup company founded by a student who is currently studying at the University of KwaZulu-Natal finishing off his final year at the institution. We are Pietermaritzburg-based energy company looking to be the premium supplier for solar-powered energy to homes, businesses and industrial/commercial buildings. We design, assemble and install complete solar systems. The company wants to offer environmentally friendly clean energy to South Africans in a more cost-effective. Our main line of operations is to develop solar powered mini grids in rural areas as it is too costly for utilities to extend the grid to rural communities. We are seeking to do develop a pilot mini-grid within the region of uMsunduzi for a solar min-grid pilot project to supply households (Dependent on the Load Profile).

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

The Need In order to electrify areas utilities (Eskom) have to extend the grid. This becomes very costly due to the infrastructure investment that has to be made particularly in rural areas where settlements are dispersed. An alternative to this is the use of diesel generators, which not only does not work well with low loads however can be very costly with the current fuel prices. The Solution Individual solar systems which are grid-tied and all connected to each other. With development of mini-grids as you get further away from the current existing grid. Specifically within the Msunduzi Indigent household program, households are provided with 70kWh per household per month. With our solar system, households will receive a total of 300kWh per month, 270kWh more. It will then be at the Municipalities discretion as an agreed upon kWh portion provision per household on a monthly basis. With the balance of generated capacity being fed back into the main grid as means of assisting with o

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

1) Specifically within the Msunduzi Indigent household program, households are provided with 70kWh per household per month. With our solar system, households will receive a total of 300kWh per month, 270kWh more. 2)The power that will sustain the households will no longer be sustained through fossil fuels however through renewable energy source being solar energy. sustainable power. 3)The communities the project is provided to will have an opportunity to have ownership within the project to be able to finance further community developments

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

Overall, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 75 percent of the world’s population without access to electricity, the region’s access deficit has increased from 556 million people in 2010 to 570 million people in 2019. Importantly, though, while the number of people without access to electricity has overall increased within sub-Saharan Africa, from 33 percent in 2010 to 46 percent in 2019, the share has actually dropped due to rapid population growth. Such a trend indicates that electrification is lagging behind population growth in many places, particularly in countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Malawi. However, in countries like Kenya and Mali, advances in electrification outpaced their annual growth in population. Particularly in South Africa Electrification continues to increase, and this is reflected in the LEAP model. Electrified households include all households that have access to electricity regardless of the type of connection. The estimate for the nu

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2025-01-25

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

1

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

1

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

Qiniso Mayisela - After acquiring my Mechanical Engineering BTech Degree from the Durban University of Technology with a vision to utilize Africa’s rich renewable energy resources and make the continent more sustainable, I was left with no choice but to embark on my entrepreneurial journey in the green economy sector.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

https://www.instagram.com/zn_energy_solutions/?hl=en

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

a) Energy (equipment, services, sustainable energy and fuel)

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

3

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

2

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

Our company specifivally focuses on the green economy which fits the affordable and clean energy SDG and in a competition we once competed, While embarking on our journey, we have been named the South African Teen Entrepreneur of the year 2018 by SAGE (Students Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship) South Africa. We then went on to represent South Africa at the SAGE Global World Cup, where we were awarded the Gold Medal Winners of The Ken Grossman/Katie Gonser Family International Award for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal Number 7, for ensuring access to Affordable, Reliable, Sustainable and Modern Energy for all, presented at the 16th Annual SAGE Global World Cup August 9-13 2018, Durban Republic of South Africa.

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

4

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

3

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

4

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

The green economy is all about responsible consumption and production of energy in forms of renewable energy or cleaner technologies for the environment.

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

4

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

4

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

2

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

Our approach towards bring the projects to fruition has global partnership approach to it in regards to be bringing multi-partnership from the communities, traditional leadership of the area for projects within the rural areas, supplier's from both locally and abroad

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

4

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

3

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

1 - Strongly Disagree

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

4

05.08 Justification

For some of the places we will be developing there already is electricity and will change it to renewable energy source being solar energy and there are also place where there has never been electricity before and this will be its 1st time experiencing it directly in homes and will the through a renewable energy source being solar energy

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

The main competitor for the low income household would be the country' electricity company , Eskom and we differ in terms that they have a national crisis called Load shedding and have to focus on the production for the current grid and leaves a gap open in the low income households

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes, with working with female engineers