GreenCape and Westerwelle Startup Haus Mombasa, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF), are excited to announce the 18 finalists for the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge, chosen from ~310 entries received from Botswana, eSwatini, Kenya, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania.
These pre-growth green business solutions represent exciting African innovation in circular economy and waste, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility, water and wastewater.
Meet the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch finalists (listed in alphabetical order):
East Africa Top 9
- Chemichemi Green Organics (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste: Restores degraded soils, increases farmers yields and protects the environment through local production of organic inputs from recycled organic waste.
- Ecorich Solutions Limited (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste, Sustainable agriculture: A climate-tech/agritech company that transforms organic waste into organic fertiliser within 24 hours using a proprietary innovation called the Wastebot.
- Eden Recyclers (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste: A circular economy venture converting paper waste majorly from schools into affordable, eco-friendly products for learners, including black shoe polish.
- Imani Collective (Kenya) | Circular economy and waste, Renewable energy: A Kenya-based sustainable design firm creating handcrafted home décor and lifestyle products through circular manufacturing and dignified artisan employment.
- Mukaia Carbon Hub (Kenya) | Water and wastewater: Leverages AI, satellite imagery, and environmental monitoring technologies to enable ecosystem restoration, carbon project development and climate finance access for African communities.
- Ngwala Inventions (Tanzania) | Sustainable agriculture: AI-powered, circular bio-inputs and solar-automated dispensing systems delivering affordable, safe, climate-smart, dual-action biofertiliser and biopesticides to farmers through pay-as-you-go and after-harvest model.
- Plant Natural Feed Limited (Tanzania) | Circular economy and waste, Sustainable agriculture: A Tanzanian climate-tech company converting waste biomass into activated biochar fertilisers through biotechnology and circular economy solutions to restore soil health, improve farmer productivity and promote climate-smart agriculture.
- Pollen Patrollers (Kenya) | Sustainable agriculture: Africa’s first precision pollination company, combining IoT smart hives and AI-driven pollination services to boost crop yields and beekeeper incomes for smallholder farmers across East Africa.
- Seta Farm Limited (Kenya) | Sustainable agriculture: Circular economy and waste: A decentralised circular agritech transforming agricultural waste into mushrooms and farmer income.
Southern Africa Top 9
- EBIKES4AFRICA (Namibia) | Electric mobility: Builds the African BushBike, a rugged, solar-ready utility e-bike that provides affordable, off-road clean mobility for African farms, communities and businesses.
- Flushh (Namibia) | Water and wastewater: Tackles sanitation challenges with a waterless, circular sanitation-as-a-service model that conserves water and transforms waste into valuable resources.
- Green Brine Technologies (Namibia) | Circular economy; Water and wastewater: Desalinates industrial wastewater to locally manufacture high-purity chemicals, replacing vulnerable imports with a circular regional economy.
- Kaeane Renewable Energy Developers (Lesotho) | Renewable energy; Circular economy: Deploys fixed dome biogas systems to transform organic waste into clean cooking energy and high-quality biofertiliser for communities in Lesotho.
- Mattie’s Success (Pty) Ltd (Botswana) | Circular economy: Transforms banana stem agricultural waste into safe, biodegradable hair braiding fibre, eliminating toxic chemicals found in synthetic alternatives.
- Organic Naturals (Pty) Ltd (Botswana) | Circular economy: Upcycles indigenous orphan crops into active skincare products by combining traditional knowledge, science and technology.
- PeeCycling (South Africa) | Circular economy; Water and wastewater: Uses a highly energy-efficient process to convert source-separated human urine into valuable NPK fertiliser and clean, non-potable water.
- Preserve Botanica (South Africa) | Circular economy: Supplies bulk hop oils manufactured from fresh hop waste, supporting sustainability and circular economy initiatives for major global brewers.
- ReSurfify (South Africa) | Circular economy: Transforms vegetable oil refinery waste into affordable, high-performance biosurfactants using a fermentation-based process, making sustainable, green ingredients accessible at scale for the global formulation industry.
“The expansion of the FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge beyond South Africa marks an exciting new chapter for green innovation on the continent. From Table Mountain to Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya, this partnership is helping to build a stronger cross-African ecosystem for entrepreneurs developing practical solutions to Africa’s sustainability challenges. This expanded partnership reflects FNF’s commitment to empowering entrepreneurs, advancing regional collaboration and supporting market-driven solutions for Africa’s green future,” said Kwezi Sogoni, Programme Manager, FNF.
The finalists will now prepare to pitch to panels of judges and investors at “shark tank-style” networking events in South Africa (Cape Town) on 3 September 2026 and Kenya (Nairobi) on 25 September 2026.
As part of the build-up to the pitch events, the Top 18 finalists will participate in a capacity building workshop hosted by RMB Ventures, where they will engage in one-on-one conversations with investors and other business experts. As part of the prize, the finalists will also participate in a “Let’s talk financing” workshop, hosted by Viridian.
The winner and finalists of the 2026 FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge will be awarded a range of cash and in-kind prizes to the value of ~$20 000 (Southern Africa cash prize sponsored by RMB Ventures).
Ewan Gray, Senior Transactor at RMB Ventures, comments: “The calibre of this year’s finalists reflects the growing maturity of Africa’s green economy. Across a diverse range of sectors, these entrepreneurs are developing practical, scalable solutions to real-world challenges while creating jobs and unlocking new economic opportunities. We are proud to support a platform that helps connect promising founders with the expertise, networks and capital needed to turn innovation into lasting impact. “
“It has been great to see the wide range of enterprises interested in The FNF Afri GreenPitch Challenge and the valuable work they are doing in their communities. Their applications showed us how much innovation and sustainability are already happening across the continent, often driven by founders solving problems they have lived through themselves. Moving forward, we’re proud and excited to see these founders build and grow to greater heights.” said Sharon Nekesa, Programme Coordinator, Westerwelle Foundation Kenya.
“From its first iteration, as a desperate search for innovation to deal with the Day Zero drought in Cape Town, the GreenPitch challenge has grown into a launchpad for SMME in the green economy. The SMMEs are from broader categories and now from multiple countries, but the desperation to find solutions that create jobs and put our economies on a climate-smart trajectory remains,” said Mike Mulcahy, CEO of GreenCape.
