SA recycling startup, Kudoti, receives $40K from Nestlé’s 2021 CSV Prize

Kudoti, a South African recycling startup, has emerged as one of the top five winners of the Nestlé 2021 Creating Shared Value (CSV) Prize.

Out of 171 outstanding applicants from all over the world, the SA-based startup together with four others- Promesa, Planet Protectors, RecyGlo, Ricron Panels– have been recognized and awarded for their innovative recycling impact through technology.

Kudoti will receive a cash prize of $40 000, Ashoka’s online, mentoring program as well as resources and workshops to explore potential collaboration with Nestlé.

The CSV Prize, awarded every two years, is an initiative of Nestlé that aims to help expand or replicate initiatives that address some of the most critical environmental and social challenges around the world.

Tagged ‘How do we create a waste-free future?’, this year’s competition was held in collaboration with Ashoka, a non-profit organization. It was geared at identifying and awarding innovative solutions with a unique approach and a strong growth potential, or a replicable model for other geographical, social, cultural settings.

Kudoti (meaning ‘trash’ in Zulu) is redefining business perspectives of waste into recovered materials through supply chain solutions.

The company’s digital approach helps track recyclable waste in real-time and matching it to demand. By leveraging technology, Kudoti improves market conditions for waste materials, which drives up recycling behaviour.

Co-founder and CEO of Kudoti, Matthieu de Gaudemar, expressed his 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”, he said.

De Gaudemar added that their platform’s success was a collective team effort in addressing systemic environmental issues.

According to him, this new financial investment and technical resources received will allow the startup to scale up its solution across South Africa.

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

“When people speak of the future, a world of hover crafts 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”, Tohlang concluded.