Durban - A Chatsworth man is on the brink of revolutionising industries with his innovation, using recycled tyres.
Selvan Naiker says he is almost at an advanced stage of refining his innovation after he decided on a course of action that would see him collect recycled tyres and examine its merits. Tyres have the same consistency as plastic.
Naiker is receiving assistance from the Grassroots Innovation (GI) programme implemented by the Technology Localisation Implementation Unit (TLIU) funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
After witnessing the enormous stockpiling of end-of-life tyres, his entrepreneurial and innovative intuition kicked in.
His aim is to create a sustainable business that is economically viable and environmentally and socially responsible to target manufacturing industries.
Naiker’s journey has been guided every step of the way by the GI team whom he says has been a constant source of encouragement. He is at the research and development stage to perfect the innovation further
Born and raised in the community of Chatsworth, South of Durban, Naiker has had little formal education.
“My education has and continues to be the University of Life and my textbooks and facilitators are the daily newspapers. The lack of any formal education necessitated me into becoming a serial entrepreneur. I started off selling ice-cream by foot on the beachfront, working in restaurants, to owning a logistics fleet and evolved to trying my hand at owning and managing at the time the largest independent bakery, to currently owning and managing a spice manufacturing business, ” said Naiker.
Ashley Bhugwandin, head of the TLIU unit said they wanted to recognise and work with innovators and help them commercialise their ideas.
“Many innovators that exist within communities are making a positive impact. The programme is aimed at providing a formal approach to growing the innovations of these individuals. Many innovators are creating solutions based on challenges within their community to ensure that their community can lead a better life. We aim to recognise innovators irrespective of their educational background, age, race or place in society and will continue to provide them with a platform to excel at what they do,” said Bhugwandin.