Thabo Blessing Mngomezulu

In rural South Africa, people are not only struggling with the rising costs of electricity, but with notorious power outages — disrupting the everyday lives of people, schools and businesses. Thabo wants to provide these communities with affordable energy for cooking, heating and lighting — by turning waste into energy. His biogas plants would become a franchised network, covering large parts of the countryside and areas where the countryside borders cities. Organic waste would be diverted from local landfills directly to Thabo’s plants. The young changemaker has done research, conducted surveys, and produced a pitch deck. Early conservations are underway with a supplier of equipment. He is convinced that — once he gets to the pilot stage and can start scaling his idea — he will not only cut emissions, but help communities across the country to become cleaner and healthier.