SA cleantech challenge opens applications

Applications are now open for the National Cleantech Innovation Challenge 2026. The nationwide competition calls on South African innovators and SMMEs to develop practical cleantech solutions for provincial infrastructure and sustainability gaps.

The 2026 edition shifts to a province-led model, moving from a single national contest to nine challenges focused on energy, agriculture, mobility, logistics and waste. Applications close 21 April.

The programme is led by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in partnership with the Network for Global Innovation, regional innovation hubs and entrepreneurial support organisation Start-Up Culture.

Each province has been allocated a defined challenge to solve:

• Eastern Cape – Waste-to-value in urban and rural areas
• Free State – Regenerative agriculture in large-scale commercial farming
• Gauteng – Smart mobility cleantech challenge
• KwaZulu-Natal – Clean port logistics
• Limpopo- Regenerative Agriculture in Small Scale Farming
• Mpumalanga- Clean energy
• North West – Rehabilitation of mining lands for agricultural use
• Western Cape – Hybrid optimization of wind, solar, and biomass technologies
• Northern Cape – Renewable energy generation and transmission

“This is all built around actionable delivery,” says Vusi Skosana, TIA executive for innovation and enabling support. “All our provinces are beset by different transition realities. We wanted to create a framework where national coordination can support solutions ready to be tested and taken to market by local innovators.”

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This year’s competition comes as provinces are pressured to translate policy into action. Mpumalanga is navigating the move away from coal and the need to create alternative sources of employment. The Northern and Western Cape are expanding renewable energy generation, but the grid remains volatile. Farming provinces like the Free State are under immense strain from declining soil quality, climate events and the legacy of mining. This is all while urban centres like Gauteng face mounting waste volumes and transport bottlenecks.

“With NCIC 2026, we place small and medium enterprises at the centre of these responses,” says Skosana. “Applications are open to all South Africa-based innovators, entrepreneurs, SMMEs and research teams with scalable cleantech solutions aligned to provincial priorities.”

Skosana says NCIC 2026 is a solid representation of SA’s participation in the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme, a United Nations Industrial Development Organisation initiative supported by the Global Environment Facility.

“Since 2014, more than 800 South African ventures have entered this pipeline, with hundreds progressing into structured acceleration and post-acceleration support.”

He says the focus of NCIC 2026 is on taking viable ideas out of the pilot phase and into everyday use. Participants can gain access to technical and commercial expertise, acceleration pathways and networks of partners and investors interested in technologies that can be deployed at scale.

“As the pace of our transition needs accelerate, we have no choice but to embolden our people. And we do this through national coordination, provincial priorities and enterprise-level innovation. Do it right, and we make developmental progress a motivator for provincial and national success.”

* For full eligibility criteria and application details, visit the website here.