T3 LIVING LAB

01. The Challenge

T3 Incubation Hub approached us to design and implement a Living Lab-based innovation programme in three of Gqeberha’s most under-resourced areas: Helenvale, New Brighton, and Kwanobuhle. These communities face persistent challenges — including high youth unemployment, limited access to technology and little to no infrastructure supporting local innovation.

The challenge was to build a functioning, community-anchored innovation ecosystem, one that could identify local talent, support the development of practical solutions and provide a clear path from skills to enterprise.

A Living Lab is an open, collaborative environment where people from different backgrounds — including community members, youth, local government, and technical experts work together to co-create, test, and refine real-world solutions to social, economic, or environmental challenges.

02. The Solution

We delivered a full Innovation Support Programme designed to activate township-based innovation from the ground up.

The programme was structured into six key stages:

Outreach & Awareness – Local mobilisation to surface grassroots innovators

Shortlisting & Onboarding – Selecting high-potential participants with community-rooted ideas

Training & Capacity Building – Delivering accessible, hands-on training in cleantech, circular economy, and design thinking

Prototype Development – Supporting participants to build working models using AWS that address local challenges

Business Development Support – Incubation, mentorship, and brand support for early-stage green enterprises

Exit & Commercialisation – Preparing selected innovations for piloting, funding, or market readiness

Additionally, we developed a custom Learning Management System to digitise training content and ensure long-term accessibility. We also procured and set up all required equipment for satellite hubs in the three target communities — enabling ongoing prototyping, learning, and community-led innovation.

Innovation isn’t just about invention — it’s about inclusion. The future belongs to those who build it, together.

03. The Result

• 773 individuals trained across Gqeberha’s most challenged communities

• 50 beneficiaries onboarded into the full innovation pipeline

• 13 working prototypes developed, tackling local issues from waste to water

• 1 Learning Management System (LMS) developed and deployed

• All satellite innovation hubs fully equipped and operationalised in Helenvale, New Brighton, and Kwanobuhle

• Phase 2 of the programme is currently underway, building on this foundation to support deeper enterprise development and scale

This work, delivered in partnership with T3 Hub, DSTI, and TIA, is part of a growing movement to build inclusive, community-driven innovation ecosystems that are practical, replicable, and impactful.