As the quest for energy, climate and economic development grows more urgent by the year in South Africa, applications for the National Cleantech Innovation Challenge (NCIC) 2026 have opened in the search for sustainable, locally led solutions.

Opened on February 5, this nationwide programme elevates practical, locally grounded solutions to tangible provincial challenges.

In a media release, the NCIC explains that this year’s event breaks from the traditional single, centralised competition model.

This move has been led by the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) in partnership with nonprofit company Network for Global Innovation (NGIN), various regional innovation hubs and entrepreneurial support organisation Start-Up Culture.

This year, the competition consists of nine provincial challenges, each focused on a predefined market or technology gap that hinders individual provincial development.

“This is all built around actionable delivery.

“All our provinces are beset by different transition realities. We wanted to create a framework where national coordination can support solutions ready to be tested and taken to market by local innovators,” says TIA executive for innovation and enabling support Vusi Skosana.

He says this year’s competition comes as provinces are pressured to translate policy into action.

The NCIC explains that Mpumalanga, for example, is navigating the move away from coal and the need to create alternative sources of employment.

Additionally, while the Northern and Western Cape are expanding renewable energy generation, grid access is a challenge.

Farming provinces such as the Free State, meanwhile, are under immense strain from declining soil quality, climate events and the legacy of mining.

This is all while urban centres like Gauteng face mounting waste volumes and transport bottlenecks, says NCIC.

“With NCIC 2026, we place small and medium enterprises at the centre of these responses,” Skosana remarks.

“Applications are open to all South Africa-based innovators, entrepreneurs, small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and research teams with scalable cleantech solutions aligned to provincial priorities.”

According to the challenge rules, each province has been allocated a defined challenge to solve.

In the Eastern Cape, the focus is on waste-to-value in urban and rural areas; in the Free State on regenerative agriculture in large-scale commercial farming; in Gauteng smart mobility; and in KwaZulu-Natal on clean port logistics.

Further, in Limpopo the focus is on regenerative agriculture in small-scale farming; in Mpumalanga, clean energy; North West, the rehabilitation of mining lands for agricultural use; in the Western Cape, the hybrid optimisation of wind, solar and biomass technologies; and in the Northern Cape, renewable-energy generation and transmission.

Skosana describes NCIC 2026 as a solid representation of South Africa’s participation in the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme, a UN Industrial Development Organisation initiative supported by the Global Environment Facility.

“Since 2014, more than 800 South African ventures have entered this pipeline, with hundreds progressing into structured acceleration and post-acceleration support,” says Skosana.

He says the focus of NCIC 2026 is about taking viable ideas out of the pilot phase and into everyday use.

Participants gain access to technical and commercial expertise, acceleration pathways and networks of partners and investors interested in technologies that can be deployed at scale.

“As the pace of our transition needs to accelerate, we have no choice but to embolden our people. And we do this through national coordination, provincial priorities and enterprise-level innovation.

“Do it right, and we make developmental progress a motivator for provincial and national success,” says Skosana.

Applications remain open to all South Africa-based innovators, entrepreneurs, SMMEs and research teams.

Applications will close on April 21. For full eligibility criteria and application details, visit www.ncic-sa.org.