SA Tech Recycling Waste Startup Kudoti Recognised at Nestlé Global Awards

South Africa-based digital recycling platform Kudoti was announced as one of five winners of Nestlé’s 2021 Creating Shared Value (CSV) Prize, for innovative recycling impact through technology. For over 10 years, the CSV Prize has identified multiple initiatives solving critical global environmental and social issues. This year’s event, in partnership with NPO, Ashoka, was themed ‘How do we create a waste-free future?’. The awards aim to identify innovative solutions with a system-change approach and strong growth potential, or a replicable model for other social, cultural or geographical settings.

The Kudoti offering

The startup – founded in 2019 by Gift Lubele and Matthieu de Gaudemar – received a $40 000 cash prize to continue expanding its innovative digital waste solutions. In addition, the startup will benefit from Ashoka’s online resources and workshops as well as a mentoring programme and potential collaboration with Nestlé. Kudoti (‘trash’ in Zulu) is changing business perspectives from ‘waste’ to ‘recovered materials’ through supply chain solutions. The offering tracks recyclable waste in real-time and matches it to demand. The use of technology improves market conditions for waste materials, which drives up recycling behaviour.

Co-founder and CEO de Gaudemar expressed the startup’s gratitude to Nestlé and Ashoka for this CSV initiative. “Businesses and individuals have a concept of waste as waste when we should have a concept of waste as a resource. With new business models, we can change the way that waste is viewed.” de Gaudemar added that Kudoti’s success so far is a collective effort. “It truly takes everyone to address systemic environmental issues. Through this financial investment and technical resources, we will amplify our impact by scaling up our solution in SA.”

Saint-Francis Tohlang, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Director at Nestlé East and Southern Africa Region (ESAR) said:

“When people speak of the future, a world of hovercrafts or holograms may come to mind. But at Nestlé, we are seeking a more environmentally futuristic landscape. Through these awards, we are on a mission to identify and empower market disruptors in the hope of accelerating a waste-free future. Innovations such as Kudoti not only help reduce waste but also drive consumer behaviour change which is key to achieving a waste-free future and takes us closer to a circular economy.”