Caption: Ms. Christine Masaiti explains Grandstage’s work to Mr. Gerhard Fourie, Chief Director of the Green Industries Unit at the dtic and Dr. Diego Masera, UNIDO Regional Representative for Southern Africa, with UNIDO’s Mr. Nokwazi Moyo looking on.
AvoEcoPower, a project led by Ms. Christine Masaiti, the CEO of Grandstage Trading, was recently selected as a finalist in the BRICS Women in Business Competition.
Grandstage is one of the five shortlisted companies that received advanced acceleration support through the Direct Enterprise Support Programme offered under the South African Industry Climate Change Adaptation (SAIA) Project. The company also received grant support from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA) as part of the programme.
Funded by the Government of Flanders, the SAIA project is implemented by UNIDO, in collaboration with the National Cleaner Production Centre of South Africa Cleaner Production Centre South Africa (NCPC-SA) and TIA.
In acknowledging the role of the SAIA advanced acceleration support on her business, Ms Masaiti said: “The accelerator program has had a transformative impact on Grandstage Trading. It has provided us with critical resources, mentorship, and industry expertise, enabling us to refine our business model, improve operational efficiency, and enhance our product offerings.”
She explained that program also introduced Grandstage to valuable networks of investors and partners, preparing them to secure funding for scaling the AvoEcoPower project more efficiently. “Additionally, the program has sharpened our focus on the market, enabling us to better align our solutions with customer needs and industry demands. We applied the learnings from the program, and have become BRICS alumni,” she concluded.
Grandstage also exhibited at the recent SAIA conference in Midrand.
Well done, Christine! We are looking forward to the next exciting step in Grandstage Trading’s journey.
