Mfanelo S’phelele Calvin Ndlela

Nominee's Province:
Kwazulu-natal

Age:
30

Project Name/Description:
Electri-Coal Technologies (Pty) Ltd

More info:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mfanelo-s-phelele-calvin-ndlela-076a8b81

Mfanelo S’phelele Calvin Ndlela was born in 1992 in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal. In 2012, he passed his first year BCom Accounting at the University of KwaZulu-Natal but ran out of funds to enrol for second year. In October 2013, he was stabbed seven times during a mugging and survived. In 2014, he registered for second year but dropped out in June due to a lack of funds again. In September 2014, he founded Electri-Coal Technologies. The company, which has multimillion-rand projects locally and in Zambia, manufactures, installs, services, digitally monitors and controls renewable energy and smart utility systems. Electri-Coal has R247 000 funding from the Department of Science and Innovation’s Technology Innovation Agency and has a three-year enterprise supplier development contract with the T-Systems, a German conglomerate, and Business Doctors, to supply smart utilities system. The system is designed switch on and off electricity of non-essential elements, such as air conditioners, geysers and exterior lights, and can help reduce Eskom’s loadshedding significantly. In February this year, Ndlelas’ Electri-Coal was awarded at the South African Youth Climate Innovative Awards for its Smart Sensor and Water Tank Monitoring System. The system was lauded for innovation as it allows local municipalities to deliver water to communities efficiently.