What is the name of your organization?
Lathitha Holdings
What is the name of your solution?
Lathitha Biodiesel
Provide a one-line summary or tagline for your solution.
Production of biodiesel made from waste cooking oil
In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?
Johannesburg, South Africa
In what country is your solution team headquartered?
South Africa
What type of organization is your solution team?
For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models
Film your elevator pitch.
What specific problem are you solving?
Lathitha Biodiesel addresses the environmental and health crisis caused by improper disposal of waste cooking oil in South African townships and beyond. In many low-income communities, used cooking oil is often poured down drains or dumped into rivers, leading to water pollution, clogged sewage systems, and increased greenhouse gas emissions. According to the Water Research Commission, one litre of oil can contaminate up to one million litres of water. South Africa generates over 120 million litres of used cooking oil annually, much of which is not recycled.
What is your solution?
Lathitha Biodiesel offers a simple, sustainable solution: we collect used cooking oil from households, restaurants, and informal food vendors and convert it into biodiesel a clean, green energy that can power diesel engines. Our process begins with educating communities on the importance of safely storing used oil instead of discarding it. Once collected, the oil goes through a chemical process called transesterification, where it is filtered and treated with methanol and a catalyst to produce biodiesel and glycerin.
Our technology is small-scale, modular, and adapted for use in township settings. It’s low-cost, energy-efficient, and designed for replication. This approach not only reduces pollution and carbon emissions, but also creates green jobs and skills training opportunities for youth and women. The result is a locally driven circular economy model that turns waste into fuel, protects the environment, and empowers communities.
Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?
Our solution directly serves underserved township communities in South Africa, with a focus on youth, women, and informal food vendors. These groups are often excluded from the formal economy, face high unemployment rates, and lack access to clean energy alternatives. Informal vendors typically dispose of used cooking oil unsafely, not knowing the environmental harm or the potential value of this waste.
Lathitha Biodiesel empowers these communities by turning waste into opportunity. We educate and engage residents on proper waste oil disposal, offer incentives for oil collection, and train youth especially young women in green skills like biodiesel production, quality testing, and entrepreneurship. This creates employment pathways in a growing clean energy sector while addressing environmental degradation in their own neighborhoods.
Our model fosters a sense of ownership, reduces pollution in local rivers and drains, improves air quality by replacing dirty fuels, and creates a circular economy that benefits those most affected by climate and economic inequality.
