TRANSFORMATION

As a people-centred business, Energy Drive is leading transformation, setting an example of how it can be implemented to impact the ecosystem it operates in positively. As a business built upon a foundation of long-term partnerships, we understand that to be sustainable, we need to create growth opportunities for those who did not have the same chances when starting out so that they are empowered to further their growth into the future.

As a business actualising sustainability for our clients, we use this good business to drive social transformation and inclusive participation in various sectors of the economy.
Energy Drive facilitates innovative programmes that expose young men and women entrepreneurs to niche energy markets. They are empowered to enterprise within these markets and potentially partner with Energy Drive, contributing to our organisation's future success and long-term sustainability.

Each member of the Energy Drive team is committed to a genuinely inclusive working environment and to developing innovative ways to lead transformation.
We believe that it's the people who make transformation happen, which is why we consider the unique perspectives of every individual within our ecosystem and build on like-minded, committed views.

I want to be able to talk comfortably with every person I employ about their views on transformation. To really get to know them and how they align with our values, to uncover how they live and operate as opposed to what they say. We work in an empowered environment with an evolving demographic mix which we hope might influence our broader ecosystem.

– James Hynd, Chief Executive Officer

PARTNERSHIP

The substance of our business model is partnership. We partner and collaborate with various communities and young entrepreneurs committing to a long-term journey of development, just as we form enduring partnerships with our clients in the pursuit of actualising sustainability through energy efficiency.

Organisations we support

Skills development

We are passionate about the next generation and work to improve the lives of those less fortunate. Within our skills development initiative, we hope to empower young people to fulfil their true potential. We have many initiatives to fulfil this mandate, including school-based programmes, bursaries as well as learnerships. We have set up multiple learnerships through the Wildflower Foundation.

African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP)

African Women in Energy and Power (AWEaP) is a non-profit company established to accelerate African women entrepreneurs’ participation in

the Power and Energy sector. Energy Drive are proud to partner and collaborate with this inspiring organisation to help drive transformation in our currently male-dominated sector.

SG Project Consultants

Sadhana Govender, the owner and managing director of SG Project Consultants, always had a vision and passion for empowering people from underprivileged backgrounds through training and soft skills development. In her efforts to better the lives of those who struggle to find employment opportunities in her community, and with a long history in staff training and development at various levels, SG Project Consultants was born. The SG Project Consultants Learnership Program is a 4-month, full-time endeavour and provides invaluable skills training to delegates from underprivileged backgrounds, centred on end user computer skills such as Microsoft Office, as well as core communication skills and more. Once the delegates complete their learnerships they are placed in various industries including schools, where they gain critical work experience, giving them a unique opportunity to put their newly acquired skills to the test. Over the years, SG Project Consultants have trained people in every industry throughout South Africa, and are considered leaders in the field of Soft skills training programs.

Wildflower Projects

Wildflower Projects’ strategic focus is to build and create strategic partnerships. They collaborate and customise their offering to provide tailored solutions, placing a high premium on strategic alliances to increase the scope and reach of their programmes. These partnerships are established with a wide range of individuals, government departments, NGOs, and groups with similar focuses and goals. Integral to their vision is their desire to empower individuals and communities to become self-reliant and take ownership of the solutions to social change. Energy Drive have set up multiple learnerships in partnership with the Wildflower Foundation.

Graduate Programme

Led by Sheldon Bode, Energy Drive’s Head of Technology and Engineering Excellence, The Energy Drive Graduate programme provides graduates with the opportunity to grow and be mentored in various fields related to their paths of study, such as engineering or data analysis.

Graduates begin with a 14-week rotation, spending a week with a different person from the company to form a holistic understanding of how Energy Drive operates.

Throughout the year they are given the opportunity to build on their soft and hard skills with the unique experience of mentorship and practical industry exposure.

SG Project Consultants

Graduate Programme

Social upliftment

We believe that we have a responsibility towards the development and social upliftment of our communities while making a sustainable difference. The focus on socio-economic development is an integral part of our company culture, and we are committed to making a difference to the lives of individuals, families and society at large. In this regard we are working with:

Domino Foundation

The Domino Foundation is a registered NPO and PBO with a desire to see individuals and communities within South Africa living in dignity, justice, hope and purpose. Through eight focused community transformation initiatives, Domino directly impacts the lives of thousands of individuals daily across KwaZulu-Natal.

KwaCare

KwaCare was founded in 1995 in an effort to reach the community of Kwadabeka. Shortly after becoming the senior pastor of His Church, founder Fiona Des Fontaine, established KwaCare as a way to meet the needs of KwaDabeka, with the long-term vision of seeing the community transformed. Today KwaCare is a registered Non-Profit Company and Public Benefit Organisation and has brought hope and transformation to the lives of thousands of people.

iKhethelo Children’s Village

Queen's Kitchen

In partnership with ECR’s Big Favour, the Energy Drive team came together to support Queen’s Kitchen soup kitchen in Queensburgh. This incredible community-based kitchen, run by Elsie Schoeman and her dedicated team, had been gifted an entire kitchen interior – with nowhere to put it. Energy Drive provided a solution in the form of a shipping container, with access to water and electricity, that now houses the kitchen on-site. With the immense support Queen’s Kitchen received from not only Energy Drive, but the other companies who came together to help them, they are one step closer to achieving their goal of feeding people every day as well as providing food for them to take home to their families.

Khanyisa Internet Café

Lethukukhanya Crisis Centre

Lethukukhanya Crisis and Development Centre was established in 2008 with the aim to respond to issues relating to the HIV/AIDS pandemic and to assist and support Orphans and Vulnerable groups through diverse welfare programs in the community. Since being established and registered as a non-profit organisation in terms of NPO Act (Act No 71 of 1997), Lethukukhanya Crisis and Development Centre has changed many people’s lives through its community programs.

Trauma and crisis counselling services
Response during Covid 19
Public health educational awareness campaigns
Food security and hunger relief soup kitchens
Care of orphaned and vulnerable children
Youth care and development
Community health care
Social welfare services: advice, facilitation and/or referral services

Lilly of the Valley

Lily of the Valley was established in 1993. The focus of the organisation was on palliative care for children dying from AIDS. As the children were given proper medical care, nutrition and love, many recovered from AIDS-related illnesses, and their life expectancy dramatically increased. Over the years, Lily has evolved from an organisation that was preparing children for death to one that is now preparing them for life.

Lily cares for up to 120 children and young adults placed in their care through the Department of Social Development. The children’s ages range from 6 months to 21 years. Each child shares a home with up to 5 other children, and they are looked after by a housemother. Most of our children are orphans or have no family to support them. They often come at a young age to Lily and stay for a long time in their care. Some are mentally and/or physically disabled, and approximately 70% are HIV+. All of them have experienced trauma prior to arriving at Lily. Lily strives to create an environment where the children can flourish by providing a home, a surrogate family, and a profound sense of belonging.

Lily of the Valley has four main organisational programs (or focus areas) that need funding.

Give a child a home
Keep a child healthy
Give a child an education
Empower a life with resilience

YESS

YESS is a registered NPO that works to intervene at a primary school level through an after-school programme to promote literacy and numeracy.

This NPO was formed due to a concern that the local community's young people were lagging behind in the education field. The problems included subject choices that did not assist learners in unlocking opportunities in the form of learnerships in the technical sector, available to residents in the Durban South area.

The local community has many needs, and many high school students struggled to meet their outcomes due to a lack of foundations in mathematics and literacy. YESS is instrumental in scaffolding and augmenting learning outcomes through this literacy programme.