WATCH FOR REGISTRATION OPEN AND CHALLENGE LAUNCH IN JANUARY 2026
Leading Innovative technical opportunities toward a sustainable future with impacts across South Africa and in local communities.
The Challenges
EASTERN CAPE
Waste-to-Value in Urban and Rural Areas
Amid rising waste pressures and limited recycling infrastructure, new possibilities are needed to turn everyday materials into local opportunity. The challenge welcomes imaginative technologies that transform low-value waste into useful products, strengthening circular livelihoods across both rural and urban communities.
FREE STATE
Regenerative Agriculture in Large-Scale Commercial Farming
With soils under strain and climate impacts intensifying, commercial agriculture needs fresh pathways back to resilience. This call invites proven regenerative technologies ready for pilot deployment—solutions that restore soil health, conserve water, and embed sustainability across large, productive farming landscapes.
GAUTENG
Inclusive Innovation for Clean Public Transport: Automotive Smart City
As congestion grows and transport networks fray, the province’s mobility future demands cleaner, smarter ways to move people and goods. Innovators are encouraged to bring digital, post-proof-of-concept solutions that ease urban pressure, improve access, and create a more connected, low-carbon city.
KWAZULU-NATAL
Clean Port Logistics
In a province shaped by busy ports and industrial corridors, carbon-intensive logistics and energy instability continue to slow progress. This challenge seeks technologies that support cleaner freight, resilient energy systems, and circular manufacturing, helping industry thrive while protecting coastal and community environments.
LIMPOPO
Regenerative Agriculture in Small Scale Farming
Small-scale farmers face increasing heat, erratic rainfall, and fragile infrastructure. The challenge invites accessible clean technologies that bolster water, soil, and energy resilience—solutions that nurture emerging producers, strengthen food security, and support a regenerative rural economy.
MPUMALANGA
Clean Energy
As the region shifts from a coal-based past toward a cleaner energy future, communities need innovations that open new pathways for power and enterprise. Applicants are invited to offer practical, scalable clean-energy solutions that expand access, repurpose local skills, and support a just transition.
NORTHERN CAPE
Renewable Energy Generation and Transmission
In a landscape rich in sun and wind yet constrained by transmission limits and scarce water, new ideas are needed to unlock inclusive energy growth. This call welcomes renewable-energy and water-efficient solutions that strengthen reliability and resilience across farms, towns, and industries.
NORTH-WEST
Rehabilitation of Mining Lands for Agricultural Use
Vast stretches of post-mining land hold the potential for renewed life but require thoughtful regeneration. Innovators are encouraged to propose clean-technology solutions that restore soil and water systems while enabling food, energy, and circular opportunities for surrounding communities.
WESTERN CAPE
Hybrid Optimization of Wind, Solar, and Biomass Technologies
Against ongoing power instability and underused biomass resources, the province seeks more harmonious ways to blend renewable sources. The challenge invites hybrid energy solutions that weave wind, solar, and biomass into reliable, inclusive systems that support households, enterprises, and municipal services.
About NCIC
The South Africa National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) is the South African implementation of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Global Just Transition to the Future (JTF) program, a series of technology challenges in various regions of the world aimed at encouraging cleantech entrepreneurs to propose innovative solutions. The NCIC is a national program across South Africa’s nine provinces identifying critical problems in each region that, if solved, would significantly accelerate South Africa’s transition to carbon neutrality. The NCIC will then launch a comprehensive outreach program appealing to South African entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and scientists to offer their solutions. The “best” solutions will be offered a range of prizes, including the chance to pilot their inventions.
