Empowering Local Stakeholders

JUST SA builds local government capacity and supports women, youth and marginalised groups to drive inclusive, sustainable green development in Mpumalanga.

JUST SA strengthens institutional capacity by training municipal officials through various programmes such as municipal training and the TAMDEV programme, and piloting practical activities that equip local governments to lead sustainable economic development within the just transition. The project also collaborates with the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency to advance regional just transition goals. Building on this foundation, JUST SA empowers women, youth and other marginalised groups by promoting gender-responsive, community-based co-creation projects that amplify diverse voices and creates inclusive platforms for meaningful participation in decision-making, enhancing social equity and economic empowerment throughout Mpumalanga.

Key Activities

TIPS is hosting nation-wide training and capacity building workshops with local government officials. Officials are capacitated on the Just Transition Framework, the Green Economy and apply that knowledge to their everyday work. As a part of their capacity building workshops and activities, TIPS is developing an e-learning platform which will house all recorded material on the just transition and green economy topics, which will allow mor municipal officials to access it.

Find out more on the e-learning platform here: Community of Practice Platform

TIPS is further establishing a municipal community of practice for municipal officials who participated in the training or are involved with the just transition and green economy in their day-to-day work. The COP aims to create an exchange platform among municipalities to share lessons learnt and discuss aspects of the just transition from their unique perspectives.

See link to the platform above.

TIPS will also host an international study tour for selected municipal officials that form part of the Community of Practise and capacity building activities, with the aim of gathering international perspective on how other municipalities around the globe tackle the just transition.

The project aims to strengthen the capacities of the Mpumalanga Green Cluster Agency (MGCA) through comprehensive technical, organisational, and strategic support. This includes providing technical assistance to enhance MGCA’s functionality and ability to deliver on its mandate effectively. Additionally, the project will assist MGCA in its role as the Secretariat to the provincial Just Transition and Climate Change Coordinating Committee, facilitating coordination with key national and provincial stakeholders including national departments, the JET PMU, and the PCC.

The Komati Just Energy Transition Community Engagements and Innovations Co-Creation (K-JET CEICC) Project is a community-focused initiative in the Komati area of Mpumalanga, funded by the Innovation Regions for a Just Energy Transition (IKI JET) project. It aims to increase understanding among local communities about climate change and the just energy transition, facilitating co-creation of locally tailored, low-carbon, climate-resilient and socially inclusive interventions through social ownership models.

In response to concerns about exclusion and lack of ownership the K-JET CEICC Project, implemented by Indalo Inclusive through the JUST SA programme, fostered local innovation through inclusive design, business incubation and support for community-led solutions. A pitching event provided a platform for community teams, which were established as part of the community engagement and business incubation processes, to showcase their green, socially inclusive innovations to funders, government and ecosystem stakeholders. Serving as the culmination of the co-creation and incubation process, the event offered a tangible example of procedural justice in action – linking local innovation with financing opportunities to help turn ideas into scalable solutions. The project yielded two community-led innovations receiving R100 000 in grant funding, with a further two receiving R50 000 grant funding.

The Technical Assistance, Mentorship and Development (TAMDEV) programme, implemented by NBI, aims to strengthen the capacity of municipalities to improve municipal functions and create job opportunities. TAMDEV addresses capacity challenges in vulnerable public institutions by deploying retired experts and technical professionals from both the public and private sectors to provide technical assistance, mentorship and coaching. TAMDEV operates through formal agreements with public institutions, to unblock catalytic projects, foster collaboration between government and business, in order to deliver measurable results and it creates enabling environments for economic growth Through the JUST SA project, NBI’s TAMDEV programme will be capacitating selected municipalities in Mpumalanga and enhancing their role as promoters of local economic development for just transition initiatives. The work aims to assist key municipalities in preparing bankable just transition projects and enable access to climate finance to support sustainable economic growth. Read more about TAMDEV: TAMDEV - National Business Initiative

Gender and Marginalised Groups

Name: Just SA
Price range: $

JUST SA actively supports women, youth, and other marginalised groups in Mpumalanga’s just transition through multiple focused initiatives. The project empowers women- and youth-led enterprises through various activities, providing critical training, mentorship and grant funding to help them grow sustainable green businesses. It also champions gender-responsive, community-based co-creation projects across the province, ensuring that interventions reflect the voices and needs of diverse gender groups and marginalised communities.
JUST SA makes particular efforts to facilitate meaningful participation, creating inclusive platforms where women, youth and other underserved groups can contribute to decision-making and project implementation. These inclusive approaches strengthen social equity and economic empowerment, enabling women and young people to be key drivers of local green economic development and the broader just transition in Mpumalanga. This comprehensive support helps build skills, access opportunities and increase representation within the green economy, thereby fostering more sustainable and equitable regional growth.
K-JET CEICC Project at the Indalo Symposium
During the Indalo Symposium 2025, the K-JET CEICC project held an award ceremony showcasing five co-created community innovations after pitching their enterprise ideas. Four winners were celebrated, receiving cash prizes for their community innovations. Two enterprises received grants of R100,000 each, funded by GIZ through the IKI JET project, while the other two were funded by ACF. Meanwhile, all five of the community innovations continue developing their businesses with ongoing training and guidance to advance their ideas further.