DevCom’s journey in education and special education projects started 5 years ago when we started working for Doxa Deo Schools. The Doxa Deo Schools were acquired by the Maravest Group, and we facilitated the change process and the rebranding process to Maragon Private Schools (Wining a IABC African Quill and IABC Gold Quill for the case-study). During 2014, we worked on the Sasol Solar Car Challenge with the Maragon Olympus school, and assisted the Solar Eagles to become the first high school to complete the race and end in 6^th position overall, powered by the sun from Pretoria to Cape Town.

The Solar Car project lit more than the way to Cape Town for the DevCom team. With the Maravest directors and in our own capacity, we started to investigate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education and other specialist education areas. We did market research, and we measured the impact of the Solar Car project in the Olympus school. The impact was astounding.

DevCom is motivated by social impact, and we build purposeful relationships using the power of communication to achieve business and social results. The project manager of the Solar Eagles team, Marinda Jordaan, is a mother of the school, and she inspired us and shared her vision to find a more cost-effective solution for schools to have a similar experience as building a solar car. She introduced us to GreenpowerZA, and DevCom became a service provider early in 2015. As our passion and work together grew, we knew that GreenpowerZA was something that showed everything we believe in – potential in human, the nation and a way to achieve social impact, a project to start earlier with practical STEM educaiton, and the future legacy we want to leave for our own children. (The DevCom team have 14 children between all of us, and they fell in love with the solar car, and subsequently, the GreenpowerZA car’s, as the pictures show!)

In August 2015, a month before the race, we had the opportunity to buy into GreenpowerZA. We now share the platform as partners with Marinda Jordaan, and had a very successful introductory race on 24 September 2015. Marinda’s technical, manufacturing and business skills, combined with our social marketing, strategic communication and rural development background makes for a winning team.

5 Ways to Click with GreenpowerZA

• Watch video footage of the inaugural race here:  https://www.enca.com/south-africa/pupils-build-and-race-electric-cars
• Lees meer oor die eerste kragmeting hier:  http://www.netwerk24.com/nuus/2015-09-25-di-motortjies-het-darem-vir-jou-krg
• Visit our website here: www.GreenpowerZA.co.za
• Follow us on Facebook here [www.facebook.com/GreenpowerZA] or Tweet us here (@GreenpowerZA).
• Click here ( info@GreenpowerZA.co.za) to email us and sign-up for our newsletter.

To us, GreenpowerZA is yet another strategic project to showcase the value of development communication. The principles of process and people are so deeply rooted in the GreenpowerZA flow. Watch this space for the excellent example of social entrepreneurship that will unfold further for local social and business outcome in one. The next race will take place on 24 September 2015.