Sixty entrepreneurs from South Africa’s Limpopo province are taking part in a three-day energy Master Class designed to help small and emerging businesses access opportunities created by the country’s transition towards lower-carbon energy, as policymakers and industry seek to broaden participation in renewable energy, hydrogen, nuclear power, natural gas and related technologies.
The programme, hosted in Polokwane from August 18 to 20 by African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP) in partnership with the University of Limpopo, forms part of the organisation’s Just Energy Transition (JET) Skills Development Programme. Limpopo is the third province to host the initiative, following programmes in Gauteng and Mpumalanga, bringing the number of entrepreneurs reached through the programme to more than 160.
The initiative comes as South Africa faces the difficult task of balancing decarbonisation with energy security, industrial development and employment. The country’s energy transition is expected to require substantial investment in new generation capacity, transmission infrastructure, energy storage and emerging industries, but the economic benefits will depend in part on whether local enterprises can secure positions in the supply chains being created around those investments.
For businesses in Limpopo, the transition presents opportunities beyond electricity generation. The province has significant mining and industrial activity and is increasingly being positioned as a potential centre for green hydrogen development. The Fetakgomo Tubatse Special Economic Zone, for example, is associated with plans for a green hydrogen facility, while South Africa’s reserves of platinum group metals provide a potential industrial link to hydrogen technologies and related manufacturing.
Solly Kgopong, Interim Chief Executive of the Fetakgomo Tubatse Special Economic Zone, is expected to address these opportunities during the Master Class, including localisation, supplier development and the role of platinum group metals in the emerging hydrogen economy.
According to AWEaP, the programme is intended to give entrepreneurs a practical understanding of the policy, technical and commercial conditions shaping these markets. Sessions cover renewable-energy value chains, hydrogen, nuclear energy, natural gas, artificial intelligence, project finance and business development, with participants required to present potential business opportunities to an expert panel.
The focus on project finance is significant because access to capital remains one of the main constraints facing smaller businesses seeking to enter energy markets. Energy projects typically require substantial upfront investment, long development periods and technical expertise, creating barriers for enterprises without established balance sheets, industry relationships or investment-ready business models.
Energy Project Finance Specialist Ruse Moleshe is leading sessions on financing structures, investment readiness and funding opportunities for emerging energy businesses. The programme also seeks to address less technical barriers, including market positioning and personal branding, which can influence an entrepreneur’s ability to attract investors, customers and strategic partners.
The programme reflects a broader challenge in South Africa’s Just Energy Transition: ensuring that new investment generates domestic economic participation rather than concentrating opportunities among established utilities, international investors and large industrial companies.
Bertha Dlamini, Founding President of AWEaP, said entrepreneurs needed to become participants in emerging energy markets rather than observers of the transition. Her comments point to a wider policy question facing African economies as they attempt to attract climate and energy investment while creating local value chains, employment and enterprise opportunities.
The skills programme also extends beyond renewable energy. Princy Mthombeni, Founder of Africa4Nuclear, is addressing opportunities within South Africa’s nuclear-energy value chain, while Hillary Campbell, General Manager for Renewables and Energy Storage at NEC XON, is examining the use of artificial intelligence in clean-energy businesses.
The inclusion of natural gas and hydrogen reflects the complexity of South Africa’s energy transition. While renewable energy is central to decarbonisation plans, the country continues to manage an electricity system heavily shaped by coal, while policymakers debate the role of gas, nuclear power, storage and other technologies in maintaining system reliability.
The South African National Energy Development Institute (SANEDI), which supports the programme as its patron, is contributing sessions on natural gas and hydrogen, including commercial opportunities associated with the country’s Hydrogen Society Roadmap and efforts to develop a green hydrogen industry.
For Limpopo, the commercial implications extend beyond individual businesses. Developing local suppliers and technical capabilities could help retain a larger share of the economic value generated by energy investments within the province, while also creating opportunities for businesses that can provide engineering, maintenance, digital, logistics, financial and professional services.
The University of Limpopo’s involvement also reflects the growing role of higher-education institutions in linking research, entrepreneurship and regional economic development. Victor Kgomoeswana, the University’s Marketing and Communication Executive Director, said the partnership was intended to connect academia, industry and government around opportunities emerging from the energy transition.
The question for South Africa is whether initiatives such as the Master Class can translate skills development into commercially viable enterprises. Training alone does not guarantee market access, and entrepreneurs will still need procurement opportunities, affordable finance, reliable infrastructure, technical partnerships and regulatory certainty to establish sustainable businesses.
That challenge is particularly relevant across Africa, where energy-transition investment is increasingly being presented as both a climate imperative and an industrial-development opportunity. African countries need to expand energy access while attracting investment into renewable power, transmission, storage, clean cooking, green fuels and related infrastructure. The ability of domestic enterprises to participate in those markets will influence how much economic value remains within local economies.
AWEaP plans to extend the Entrepreneur Master Class to KwaZulu-Natal, the North West and Northern Cape, suggesting that the organisation is seeking to build a wider pipeline of energy-sector entrepreneurs across South Africa. Its broader network spans 32 chapters across Africa and has reached more than 20,000 women entrepreneurs and energy professionals since its establishment in 2018.
For Limpopo, the immediate test will be whether the 60 participating entrepreneurs can convert knowledge of emerging energy markets into bankable ventures and commercial relationships. More broadly, their progress will offer an indication of whether South Africa’s energy transition can develop not only new power systems, but also the businesses and skills needed to support them.
