Nedbank ReNEW – Accelerating South Africa’s Circular Economy Up to R1 million in Funding

Nedbank ReNEW, is an acceleration programme, managed by Impact Amplifier and funded by the Nedbank Foundation, confronting two of South Africa’s most urgent challenges: youth unemployment and environmental degradation.

In alignment with the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s Circular Economy Strategy, and in partnership with Circular South Africa, Nedbank ReNEW is unlocking waste-related circular economy innovations that create meaningful jobs and economic opportunities for young South Africans. The Nedbank ReNEW programme will combine business development support with funding up to R1,000,000 per business.

Over the next 12 months, Nedbank ReNEW will:

• Accelerate 30 entrepreneurs.
• Provide funding of up to R1,000,000.
• Drive the creation of 90 sustainable jobs or micro-enterprises, focused on youth.
• Showcase the best of breed innovations and stimulate the circular economy ecosystem in South Africa

Over the next 12 months, Nedbank ReNEW will:

Include gender, equity and climate change resilience as central pillars. Accelerate the growth of validated circular economy business models. Support the replication of the business models into new geographies. Target businesses with strong waste management solutions, such as recycling, reuse, upcycling, and waste-to-product models that are asset-light and able to operate profitably in low-income communities.