BIOMIMICRY

Inspired by the way elephants create pathways for other animals create a digital platform where those who want to start a business in Mdantsane can be guided on process flows and local bylaws.

Inspired by the elephant dung nutrients that are freely available to other organisms and how elephants also create watering holes for other animals to drink, deploy solar and wind powered public mobile phone charging facilities to enhance Wi-Fi use.

Inspired by seed dispersal by elephants, they develop a digital platform where the community can list their challenges and those upvoted by many people provide indication to entrepreneurs about business ideas that can be commercialised based on confirmed demand.

Inspired by elephants digging holes in the earth which makes the soil loose and easy for seeds to sprout, train coders and web developers who can assist local businesses to market and sell their products.

Inspired by the insects laying and incubating their eggs in elephant dung and vibrations from walking elephants that help to loosen the seeds from the soil – establish innovation hubs co-funded and managed by municipalities in partnership with the private sector where the youth can acquire skills such as coding and website designs.

Inspired by the food chain such as plants eaten by elephants, whose dung is eaten by insects, which are eaten by birds, design a platform which shows the value chain in Mdantsane in order to leverage the same and create better network benefits. Each business could be required to indicate where it sources its inputs and to whom it sells. Such intelligence can help build more resilient supply value chains so that local producers, for example, can bridge the demand when supply chains are disrupted by factors such as pandemics.

Inspired by the elephants opening the canopy for sunlight and indirectly contributing to the growth of many plants and trees, which in turn provides habitat for many animals, open up opportunities for start-ups by pairing them with bigger companies (as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility) in South Africa and producing explainer videos on various business concepts (such as preparing business plans) hosted in the intranet.

Inspired by the elephants' role in formation of new waterholes by digging, link up Mdantsane with local universities so that post graduate research students can focus on issues that can provide solution options for challenges faced by the community.

Inspired by the elephants dropping large amounts of leaves and plants on the floor of the forest for repurposing/recycling, develop distributed resource centres where the community can ‘lease’ items they do not have to own such as tools for upgrading or renovating their houses. A digital platform can be developed to book and track availability of what is needed and collect when available. Local businesses can be asked to donate some resources that can be managed by the resource centers for the collective benefit of the community.

Inspired by elephants' tendency to help trees that provide shade that can also decrease the temperature of the area, create employment programmes that involve planting trees in the built-up areas to improve air quality and reduce hot zones.

Inspired by the recycling analogy of elephants, develop a coordinated recycling programme where recyclers can see the prices of different recycled products, where the material is still available and where it can be taken. App connects ‘waste to producers, collectors and recyclers.

Create spaces where companies and organisations with free space can avail it for free or at a fee to small businesses so that the space is optimised, especially the extra space that has become available due to teleworking.

Inspired by the elephant's ability to create and maintain ecosystem diversity, maintain and disseminate demographic statistics in the community digital platform, for example, number of persons with disabilities looking for work, gender equity etc.

Elephants alter landscapes by digging for tubers, which alter soil temperatures and moisture availability. They disrupt river feeding habits by bathing and splashing. Inspired by how elephants create water drinking holes for other animals, create a digital marketplace where tender and other business opportunities are publicised.

Inspired by the elephants ability to detect tsunamis from a safe distance leverage the Wi-Fi to link the community to early warning systems such as flooding sensors that send mass communication messages to the community and emergency services

Inspired by the elephants ability to detect tsunamis from a safe distance leverage the Wi-Fi to link the community to early warning systems such as fire sensors in the forest that send mass communication messages to the community and emergency services