Molebogeng Motlanthe, award winning impact entrepreneur and the founder and Director of Rem Technologies.
Molebogeng is an award winning impact entrepreneur and the founder of Rem Technologies, a subsidiary of Green Grid Building, a technology company using eco-friendly solutions to solve housing problems across South Africa.
“At Green Grid Building, we specialise in eco-friendly solutions and part of what we do involves converting shipping containers into low-cost housing for our clients. All our units are off-grid systems, meaning we use renewable energy solutions as part of our efforts to green the economy.”
Despite her difficult background, Molebogeng says she was spurred into action by a strong desire to contribute meaningfully to challenges in her community including youth unemployment, shortage of housing, dilapidating infrastructure that impedes service delivery and investing in townships across the country.
Commenting on the YALI program, Molebogeng says YALI offered her an opportunity to acquire new skills, refine existing ones and connect with a network of young people working in the renewable energy and construction industry across Southern Africa.
“YALI empowered me with skills that have enabled me to grow professionally and expand my business. I particularly found the training in proposal and grant writing useful because this is an area I felt I needed improvement in as we had started applying for government and private funding to expand our operations.”
In 2022, Molebogeng was among 29 young South African entrepreneurs who received a portion of over 18 million Rand from the South African Breweries (SAB) Foundation to implement their innovative entrepreneurial ventures. “I was extremely humbled to receive seed funding of almost R300 000 from SAB in October last year for our Green Grid Building project. We are now ready to scale up our project after securing 3 hectares of land in my home province of Limpopo. The funding will go a long way in delivering high quality services in previously marginalized and poor communities at affordable prices.” Says Molebogang
In recent years, South Africa has seen an increase in the number of informal settlements in many parts of the country, and this is linked to high costs of housing, poverty, unemployment and financial exclusion. Molebogeng says her interventions are aimed at closing these gaps by targeting mostly the working class and financially excluded who have the means to pay but cannot access credit from financial institutions.
“We have redesigned our business model to suit our clientele. Through the YALI program, I acquired crucial skills, for instance, the ability to use a Business Canvas to remodel and repurpose an existing business was an eye opener for me. I also acquired soft skills like the ability to create and build partnerships and networks, the science of communication and the ability to tailor messages for different audiences among other entrepreneurial skills.” Says Molebogang
