As Africa faces growing environmental pressures and persistently high youth unemployment, partnerships that combine innovation, long-term capital and global reach are critical to unlocking the continent’s sustainable growth.
Against this backdrop, Nedbank through its Foundation and beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship have come together to establish the partnership – a pan-African initiative focused on accelerating youth-led eco-entrepreneurship and building commercially viable green businesses.
The partnership forms part of the beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship, a global initiative created with the aim of equipping young people with the skills, support and confidence to drive environmental innovation and build a global community of 10 000 planet-positive innovators and supporters by 2030. The fellowship connects young people to mentors, experts and organisations committed to advancing environmental solutions that can scale across borders.
According to Mariah Levin, Executive Director at beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship, this partnership with Nedbank Foundation strengthens the fellowship’s African footprint through the bank’s local green economy expertise, proven funding capability and well-established ecosystem-driven social impact approach that supports entrepreneurs from ideation to scale.
‘beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship was created to empower young people to lead the transition to a more sustainable future,’ Levin said. ‘Partnering with Nedbank, through its Foundation, allows us to combine global ambition with deep local expertise in the green economy. Together, we are creating a platform that helps young innovators turn purpose-driven ideas into sustainable, real-world solutions.’
Poovi Pillay, the Executive Head of Social Impact at Nedbank, explains that at the heart of the partnership is a shared belief that sustainability, social justice and commercial success must go hand in hand, and that youth innovation is key to achieving all three.
‘The partnership brings together 2 organisations that see the future differently,’ explained Pillay. ‘Nedbank’s purpose is to use its money expertise to do good for individuals, families, businesses and society. And by partnering with beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship, we have another impactful way of backing young entrepreneurs and innovators who are not only passionate about the environment but also building enterprises that can scale, create jobs and deliver real economic value.’
The larger fellowship aligns closely with Nedbank’s Green Economy Social Impact Strategy, which was launched in 2021 to help the bank move beyond traditional once-off social impact funding towards a systems-led and ultimately commercially viable model of impact. The strategy focuses on the 4 high-impact sectors of renewable energy, water and sanitation, waste, and regenerative agriculture – all areas where youth-led innovation can drive both economic and environmental outcomes.
Over the past 4 years, this strategy has supported more than 1 300 enterprises, created over 2 500 jobs and generated more than R400 million in social value, demonstrating how structured funding, mentorship and market access can help green businesses become financially sustainable.
‘What makes beVisioneers: The Mercedes-Benz Fellowship different is that it is not about funding ideas in isolation,’ Pillay added. ‘It’s about building ecosystems that support entrepreneurs from early-stage ideation through to commercialisation, providing mentorship, skills development, access to markets and, where appropriate, concessionary and commercial funding. We’ve revolutionised social impact and are progressing even further through funding models that help enterprises to stand on their own and grow.’
The partnership announcement marks the first phase of the programme roll-out, with a broader official launch planned for later this year.
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