• My Zone Careers

Creating jobs and saving the environment

- 2023-08-11 00:00:00

Using his acquired background in bio-chemical engineering and industrial engineering, bio-chemist and chemical engineer Walter Stephanus founded Rise South with his fiancé, Antoinette Heita.
The initiative was recently selected as one of the 2023 Sanlam Bridge winners. The business was established two years ago, with the first prototypes created last year.
"It was established to solve the problem of expensive landfills by diverting waste away from landfills and saving landfill airspace," said Stephanus.
Additionally, the initiative creates employment opportunities through the circular economy and was created to solve the problem of housing shortages by creating quality, sustainable, eco-friendly building materials for the low-cost housing segment.

Rise South detailed
The initiative includes various projects such as a community recycling collection centre, upcycling incubators, an eco-brick yard (which provides environmentally friendly building materials at reduced rates to the local community), an e-waste processing centre, a composting yard, and a plastic and glass collection warehouse.
Stephanus says a training centre will be established to address training needs. "This project has the potential to create 700 direct jobs and 2 000 indirect jobs, train 500 people, and recycle 300 000 tonnes of waste in the first five years of operation," he said.
In addition, the founder says the business has the potential to earn N$8 million in revenue in its first year of full operation.

Sanlam Bridge winner
Stephanus says being selected as one of the 2023 Sanlam Bridge winners is an exciting feeling.
He says the opportunity provided by Sanlam is a blessing and a tremendous boost for his business. "We are now able to invest in an aggressive marketing drive and branding to take the product to market. Thank you, Sanlam!"
As part of his future plans for the business, the founder wishes to see it expand to other regions.
His business, which was one of five winners, is also unique in several ways.
"We unlock the full value of recyclable waste through local value addition and beneficiation at source and by so doing, reducing the carbon footprint and creating jobs locally," he said.
A major challenge for the business has been the sourcing of funds or seed capital, as it is expensive to invest in research and development and prototyping.
Meanwhile, the company's accomplishments include having prototyped different products with necessary quality testing certifications, such as those from the South African Bureau of Standards (SABS).
Stephanus advises young entrepreneurs to persevere. "The entrepreneurial journey may seem difficult and lonely, but only the ones that stay committed and persevere will get to the winning post," he said.