Alex Rose-Innes
To counteract the effects of rising urbanisation, provide affordable housing and decrease waste, Msindazwe Ndhlovu’s The Noble Savage, clicks all the boxes of sustainability and a cleaner earth. The natural population increase and influx from rural to urban areas in Africa are already seeing the establishment of mega-cities on the continent with ten million inhabitants.
This Zimbabwean entrepreneur decided to simultaneously address all three issues to ensure a less damaging footprint and to date, his ideas had not only provided cheaper alternatives to poorer people on the African continent, but his eco-friendly products are proving to be stronger and more durable than those which had been used for many years. At The Noble Savage, plastic and glass waste is recycled to produce roof tiles and kitchen counters.
Recycled beer bottles are mixed with concrete resin and wood to provide far more superior and environmentally friendly products than those derived from cement and steel and are just as visually appealing as the expensive granite, Caesar stone and marble products on the market. The polymer resin is manufactured from plastic waste and sand.
Ndhlovu, a beneficiary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, had to date secured just more than 2% ($12 000) of much needed financial support ($500 000), which hampers his company’s ability to increase output. But despite this challenge, Msindazwe and his team of five employees believe in their products and had seen a growing demand for it.
In Zimbabwe, almost 2 million tonnes of waste is generated annually. With 80% of the population without sustainable incomes, more than one million affordable homes are desperately needed.
While Zimbabwe had been driven to the brink of economic collapse during Robert Mugabe’s presidency, other countries are seeing a constant growth of middle-class Africans in need of homes. In order to achieve his vision of growth and providing jobs for the poor, it is of major importance that The Noble Savage branch out into more affluent other African countries such as Ethiopia, Botswana, Nigeria and Zambia.
By cleaning up the environment and contribute to a greener earth, Ndhlovu plans to be a well-known and established entity on the continent within the next decade. With his unique, community-driven projects, superior and cheaper eco-friendly products, there is no doubt that The Noble Savage would become a brand to be reckoned with. All Ndhlovu needs is a financial injection towards realising his dream of a clean and waste-free society, which would also ultimately benefit Africa’s poor.
