Ino Biodiesel - a business success story

I have come across this remarkable story of Ino Biodiesel and thought it represents the kind of a business success story we would like to share. Ino Biodiesel was started around 2020 to produce biodiesel from used cooking oil. The biodiesel is a renewable substitute for petroleum and is marketed to a range of businesses that run vehicle fleets and generators. Customers are typically in mining, farming, construction, logistics and also include the airline industry. The business success story of Ino Biodiesel is centred around a woman-led breakthrough into a regulated petroleum and renewable energy to address a specific environmental and social issue.

Why is INO Biodiesel a success story?

Ino Biodiesel is a young company and has been in operation in under 5 years. From the information we have gathered, here are the factors that I believe has influenced the business success story of Ino Biodiesel so far.

1. Product and service

Biodiesel production offers a solution to the growing issue of waste cooking oil disposal.
Biodiesel has a range of favourable physical characteristics, including lower Sulphur levels, higher Cetane rating as well as non-hazardous and non-toxic qualities. Engines using conventional diesel do not require a conversion to start using biodiesel and both types of diesels can be mixed.
Ino Biodiesel’s business resonates with environmentally conscious consumers and businesses and this creates a positive brand image and a potential to attract environmentally conscious investors. With increasing environmental concerns, the demand for clean energy alternatives like biodiesel is rising steadily.
The Ino Biodiesel has a strong community focus and has partnered with women and young people in rural communities to collect waste from cooking oil. This primarily prevents contamination of waste in the rivers and ensures access to clean water for the rural communities.

2. Security of Supply

Ino Biodiesel’s main input, used cooking oil comes from urban households and restaurants; as well as from rural communities. These sources of input are not in short supply and will not require anything more than supply chain costs. As her production increases, she might need to build a whole strategy around securing supply and this may come at a cost.

3. Founder’s skill and knowledge

Ino Biodiesel was founded by Innocentia Mamaila from Limpopo, South Africa. She has completed a B Comm degree in Accounting, completed further studies in alternative fuels and is a certified energy professional. Her formal training in business and in accounting is a significant factor and coupling it with additional technical certification puts her business in good hands.

When looking for growth funding the skills and knowledge of the founder and her team is a significant factor. As the only founder, Ino Biodiesel may need to bring in additional management capacity primarily from a succession point of view. Single founder businesses require this to scale and funders tend to specifically look for this.

Awards and Recognition

The great story behind Innocential Mamaila’ s dedication has not gone unnoticed. The business success story of Ino Diesel’s has been recognised by various organisations, including:

Finalist in the 2023 Santam Women of the Future Awards, in association with Fairlady and Truelove magazines.
Top 10 innovation in 2023 recognised by the GreenCape, in partnership with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF).
First runner-up in the Standard Bank Top Women EmpowHER, Cape Town.
Finalist of the Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award, 2023.
The 10th Gender Mainstream award at the 2022 Mail and Guardian awards held in partnership with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange in 2022.

In addition, as a business that is successfully managed in terms of governance, Ino Biodiesel was able to attract additional funding, mainly grants, from various funders, amongst others:

Mamaila’s business received grant funding worth R85 000 from the Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2021.
The business won the brand award from the Nomzamo Mbatha Lighthouse and Hollywood Foundation and received R100 000 in 2022.
Mamaila presented her business to the panel members of the Esther’s Preparation Room (EPR) Global and won R45 000 in 2022.
The business received funding worth R25 000 from Women’s Empowerment Network of South Africa in 2022.