Mosa Mapheto, a Unisa LLB student, is the founder and director of Greatfuel, a renewable energy company specialising in converting waste cooking oil into biodiesel and crude glycerol production. Greatfuel, in addition, offers biofuels training in collaboration with other institutions.

Birth of Greatfuel

Mosa Mapheto

Mapheto explains that in line with the United Nation’ Sustainable Development Goals, Greatfuel was founded out of a passion for environmental sustainability and a vision to create innovative energy solutions, adding: "I was inspired from recognising the environmental hazards posed by improperly disposed waste cooking oil and the growing demand for clean energy solutions in South Africa."

Continuing, Mapheto says that used cooking oil, if not properly disposed of, leads to serious environmental and health hazards. She explains: "Many small food businesses and households still reuse cooking oil multiple times, which poses health risks such as increased levels of harmful-free radicals that can cause heart disease and cancer. By collecting and repurposing this oil into biodiesel, Greatfuel helps reduce these risks while promoting a circular economy."

Mapheto has collaborated with local fast-food outlets and waste management companies that offer used cooking oil, which is her current method of collecting used cooking oil in the country. She adds: "Teliospace, a start-up company of dynamic clean-tech circular economy technology innovators, is currently developing Greatfuel’s waste collection app."

While acknowledging that the big franchise companies are already ahead, Mapheto says that this will not stop her and her team from continuing to dream beyond limits. She states: "Big franchises have already created a monopoly for themselves in that they supply restaurants with the clean oil, then collect the waste for repurposing."

In order to keep up with demand, Mapheto says that she has bought a plant that produces 500 litres an hour. She is assisted by chemical engineers at the Biofuels Business Incubator, and has just joined a programme from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research to help get to the right standard.

Fuelling the future: Mosa Mapheto and her team

Greatfuel is currently based in rural Limpopo, with farmers as the main customers of biodiesel for their tractors. In addition, Mapheto says she has received letters of interest from mining and petroleum companies, who have demonstrated keen interest in future collaborations.

Considering local emission factors, Mapheto says that she would appreciate assistance to work on a real-time carbon tracking system where customers can input their fuel usage and get instant emission reduction data.

Boosting entrepreneurship

"A key by-product of biodiesel," says Mapheto, "is 'crude glycerol', and with that we envisage to have training facilities whereby we train the youth to make glycerine and cleaning detergents out of the glycerol so that they can sell them. This will ultimately contribute to job creation."

Advocacy for sustainable fuel

Concluding, Mapheto says that Greatfuel is actively involved in discussions and collaborations with industry bodies to push for favourable policies that support biofuels and circular economy principles. "On the other hand," she continues, "we are currently engaging with government institutions, universities, and environmental organisations to add their voices towards advocacy for regulations that encourage sustainable fuel alternatives and waste reduction strategies."

Mapheto is a 2024/25 cohort member of Indalo Inclusive, an initiative powered by Nedbank, which supports female-owned enterprises in the agriculture, waste recycling and management, water, and energy sectors through the South African Women Entrepreneurs Climate Change Awards Programme (SiAWECCA). This initiative showcases innovative, climate-smart women-owned enterprises in the country, fostering a green climate-resilient economic transition while promoting gender equality. 

* By Godfrey Madibane, Acting Journalist, Department of Institutional Advancement