Joburg-based digital recycling platform Kudoti was announced as one of five winners of Nestlé’s 2021 Creating Shared Value (CSV) Prize, for innovative recycling impact through technology. 

Winning a cash prize of $40 000 (about R568 000).

In a statement, Nestlé says the winning teams were selected for their innovative recycling impact through technology.

The food and beverage company has been running the CSV Prize for over 10 years, to identify multiple initiatives for some of today’s most critical environmental and social issues around the world.

This year’s event, in partnership with NPO, Ashoka, was themed ‘How do we create a waste-free future?’. The awards aim to identify innovative solutions with a system-change approach and strong growth potential, or a replicable model for other social, cultural or geographical settings.

Selected winner Kudoti, which is Zulu for ‘in the trash’, provides a digital platform to help waste management and recycling companies optimise their operations through the use of data collection tools.

The cloud-based platform digitises and automates waste management operations from start to finish through SMS interactions and Web-based interfaces.

Matthieu de Gaudemar, one of the founders of Kudoti, says: “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.”

De Gaudemar adds the platform’s success is a collective team effort. “It truly takes everyone to address systemic environmental issues. Through this financial investment and technical resources, we will amplify our impact by scaling up our solution in South Africa.”

In addition to the cash prize, Kudoti will receive Ashoka’s online resources and workshops to explore potential collaboration with Nestlé and a mentoring programme.