By Nasmera Buckus, Chief Operating Officer, Greater Tygerberg Partnership

 

Who gets to participate in South Africa’s next economy?

 

It is a question worth asking as South Africa moves towards a greener, more resource-efficient economy. Because if the green economy is going to deliver meaningful growth, we need to think beyond the companies with the capital, technology and infrastructure to make the transition first.

 

We need to ask what it means for the small business owner, the informal trader and the entrepreneur trying to build something from very little. For me, the green economy is simply a smarter economy.

 

It is about creating economic value while using resources more efficiently. Yet sustainability is still too often treated as a separate conversation from business, something associated with environmental compliance or corporate responsibility.

 

I believe we should be looking at it differently.

 

The green economy presents a significant opportunity for SMMEs and the informal economy to develop new products, services and markets, while strengthening the local economies in which they operate.

 

The circular economy is part of that opportunity. It is not simply about recycling. It asks us to think differently about how products and resources move through the economy: repairing rather than replacing, finding new uses for materials, extending the life of products and creating businesses around recovering value.

 

An informal trader repairing clothing rather than selling something new is participating in this economy. So is an entrepreneur producing furniture from reclaimed materials or a small business finding a commercial use for resources that would otherwise have little value.

 

Many of these entrepreneurs would never describe themselves as “green economy businesses”. They are simply solving problems, responding to demand and finding ways to make a living. That is precisely why they matter.

 

South Africa already has considerable entrepreneurial energy, particularly within its SMME and informal sectors. What many businesses lack is not ambition or ingenuity, but access to infrastructure, skills, markets, networks, finance and visibility.

 

If we are serious about an inclusive green economy, those are the barriers we need to address.

 

My experience in Bellville has reinforced this view. Working in urban regeneration has shown me that economic development, environmental sustainability and the quality of a place cannot be separated neatly into different boxes. They are connected.

 

A stronger local economy creates resilience, income and combats unemployment and poverty. Better public spaces can support trading and investment. New value chains can create opportunities for entrepreneurs and skills development can help people move into areas of growing demand.

 

The real opportunity comes when these things start working together.

 

One of the things that has surprised me most is how entrepreneurial our communities already are. People are not necessarily waiting for someone to rescue them, they are waiting for opportunity. That observation changes how we should think about economic development. The question is not simply how we can help people who are excluded from the formal economy. It is how we can create the conditions for more people to become active contributors to the economy.

 

This is particularly important as new green markets emerge.

 

If we only look to large businesses and new technologies to drive the transition, we risk missing thousands of entrepreneurs who are already innovating at the local level. Repair, reuse, sustainable production, food systems, renewable energy, eco-tourism and circular business models all have the potential to create new enterprise and employment.

 

The informal economy also deserves to be viewed through an economic lens rather than simply as a problem to be managed. Informal traders and small businesses understand their markets intimately. They adapt quickly and often innovate because their survival depends on it. Our role should be to connect that entrepreneurial capacity to opportunity.

 

That means better access to training and business support, but also stronger links to markets, finance and larger value chains. It also means creating partnerships and collaborations that allow smaller enterprises to access knowledge, technology and procurement opportunities that might otherwise remain out of reach. 

 

No single institution can build an inclusive green economy on its own. Government, business, academia, civil society, communities and entrepreneurs each hold part of the solution. When those parts connect, new possibilities emerge.

 

Cities are particularly important in this regard because they bring economic activity, infrastructure, communities and environmental challenges together in one place. My work in Bellville has taught me that meaningful urban change does not happen through isolated projects. It happens when different interventions reinforce one another and when the people who live and work in a place are recognised as part of the solution.

 

Women are an important part of that economic picture. Women are already building businesses, creating household income and participating in local economies in ways that are not always visible in traditional measures of economic activity. Ensuring that women-owned and women-led enterprises can access emerging green markets is therefore an economic opportunity in its own right.

 

Ultimately, I think we need to change the question we are asking.

 

The green economy is not only about how we protect the environment. It is about what kind of economy we want to build, who participates in it, who benefits from it and who gets the opportunity to create value.

 

South Africa cannot afford to leave entrepreneurial capacity on the sidelines. We have people who are already repairing, repurposing, producing locally, finding efficiencies and creating income from limited resources. The opportunity now is to recognise that activity, connect it to markets and help it grow.

 

If we get that right, the green economy can become more than an environmental transition. It can become a pathway into enterprise, employment and stronger local economies. The question, then, is not whether South Africa has the entrepreneurs to build its next economy.

We do, and the question is whether we will create enough opportunities for them to participate in it.

 

Nasmera Buckus is the Chief Operating Officer at Greater Tygerberg Partnership