It seems as though South Africans' innovative winning streak has continued from  2013, with the latest news being that another South African has made his mark on the global scene. Capetonian Neil du Preez garnered  the nod for his electric microcab, named Mellowcabs, during an international competition, the 1776 Challenge Cup.

Du Preez’s invention ticks a number of boxes on the clean energy side. To start with, the microcabs are mostly made from recycled materials. They can further cover 100 km a day, and are intended to help commuters with short distances within a 3 km radius. Running off hydrogen fuel cells and a rechargeable battery means that the Mellowcabs are also environmentally friendly from an emissions point of view.

Much like many great ideas, on the surface, the idea behind Mellowcabs is simple, straightforward and genius. They cater to distances that may be a little too long to comfortably walk, but are too short to justify the hassle (and increasing expense due to soaring petrol prices) of getting in a car; while being light enough to take advantage of battery-powered motorization.

Small moves and great things

Microcabs aren’t the only things moving in the right direction. It appears that the same can be said for Du Preez. As a regional winner, he will now have the opportunity to enjoy a fully paid for trip to Washington D.C in the US for a week to participate in the finals; along with exposure and mentoring opportunities.

For the top eight winners, a more extensive five day mentorship program awaits, with entrepreneurial workshops and opportunities to meet with investors and corporate partners. Furthermore, these finalists will also receive an unspecified financial investment in their startup.

The competition, which aims to “identify and celebrate the most promising startups tackling the biggest challenges,” encompasses four categories, namely education, health, energy, and the category for which Du Preez received the nod, smart cities. The aim of this category was to find startups that somehow improved city living, and with Mellowcabs catering to first and last mile transport, that certainly fit the bill.

Proudly South African

Another prestigious US organisation clearly agreed with the 1776 Challenge Cup judges, as more recently Forbes magazine listed Mellowcabs as one of its top seven innovative products coming out of Africa.

Even better, within the first two months of the year, South Africans are already showing they have the ‘right (innovative) stuff’. Recently, it was South African Timothy McGuire who secured a spot on the finalists list for Google’s Africa Connected competition, who now has a solid chance of winning a substantial prize.