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InnovationSouth Africa

From Load Shedding to Opportunity: Ntando’s Vision

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In the middle of the crippling electricity shortages that gripped South Africa around 2019, Ntando Magagula saw an opportunity to not only become part of the solution but to also establish a business that would contribute towards a positive change.

Thanks to his determination and a strong desire to succeed in his entrepreneurial journey, Ntando – the founder and chief executive officer of Renewal Power Development – South Africans can get around the challenges of load-shedding and power cuts by exploring alternative energy sources that keep the lights on.

Alternative energy solutions

Like their name suggests, Renewal Power Development offers renewable energy solutions through affordable products. They have succeeded in ensuring that many homes are able to enjoy uninterrupted electricity supply through alternative infrastructure systems that are not dependent on the national power grid.

“We provide products that produce energy using kinetic motion like hydro power, wind turbines and tidal waves including solar energy.

“We do not have a lot of employees working for us at the moment but our team is bound to grow as we continuously seek to expand our projects so that we penetrate the markets in many other countries besides South Africa.

“We are based in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. We have enjoyed a lot of success in South Africa and our operations to expand into other African regions are now our main objective. The goal is to be able to bring access to electricity in parts of Africa that do not have consistent access to power,” Ntando explains.

Coming face to face with power cuts

Ntando’s story starts in Katlehong, located in South Africa’s bustling Gauteng province, where he was born.

“As I grew older I moved from Katlehong to Midrand, where I was able to complete my secondary education studies at Midrand High School.”

Like many people living in South Africa and other countries experiencing electricity shortages, Ntando came face to face with the load-shedding associated with the country’s electricity challenges.

With most people relying on national energy supplier Eskom for their power needs, persistent electricity cuts were not only inconvenient to everyone, they also became one of the biggest threats to the growth of the country’s economy.

However, as the country was grappling with this crisis, Ntando’s entrepreneurial ambitions took over after he realized an opportunity he could exploit by offering an alternative means of electricity supply.

The birth of Renewal Power Development

“I founded Renewal Power Development in 2020 as a solution to address the load-shedding issues we were dealing with in the country. The business is growing, and we now have a bigger ambition of changing the state of the whole African society for the better with regards to electricity supply.

“Within the past few years we have been in existence, the objective of Renewal Power Development has changed from just producing renewable energy to building a sustainable future for Africa.”

Continental footprint

Ntando believes the power of renewable energy should be harnessed by as many African countries as possible as such a development would go a long way in tackling the numerous electricity shortages that have stifled development.

He says Renewal Power Development has a very big role to play in this regard.

“We are ready to play a leading role in creating free access to electricity using renewable energy. Such projects have the potential of positively transforming Africa. In the long run, we are looking to expand infrastructure development across the continent.”

He believes the rise of Africa as a continent is hinged around her ability to transform the potential of renewable energy and ensure it is able to fuel industry and create more jobs, which – in turn – will lead to more development.

“We want to contribute to the growth of the continental economy by helping black entrepreneurs to expand their operations into other countries. We would like to be part of the story that helps to grow businesses that will produce reliable products and services to the African economy and create employment across all the African regions.”

He believes that the future of African businesses does not lie in the intervention of governments, but – instead – in collaboration among each other across national and regional boundaries.

“As Africans, it is high time we change the situation in this continent by ourselves. We are seen as a poor continent, but we are rich in terms of the intellect as well as natural resources and minerals,” he says.

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