Smart-View Technology, based in South Africa, was named overall winner of the Cleantech Days 2024 event held in Vienna, Austria, this week.

The event serves as a platform for clean-tech innovators from United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) supported programmes to showcase their work and share ideas.

The Cleantech Days 2024 awards event concludes the week by commemorating the inspiring ideas backed by UNIDO.

The session will also introduce UNIDO-invited start-ups to impact investors and provide a better understanding of the latter's focus areas and interests, as well as answer questions about how to make ventures more appealing to investors, what investors look for, and how to overcome challenges.

Smart-View's Vienna award comes after the Cape Town-based company was named overall winner of the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme - SA Awards 2023/24 in South Africa.

The company was recognised for its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) utility management solution, which provides real-time, actionable data to support Environmental, social, and governance goals and resource sustainability.

Charntè Marthinus, Smart-View operations and customer success manager, remarked, "Competing against top innovators from seven countries, this win is a testament to our team's dedication and hard work, alongside the incredible efforts of all participating teams."

She went on to say, "As a woman in technology and utilities, I'm happy to have pitched our solutions on such a global scale. This success emphasises the importance of diversity and inclusion in creating new solutions, which complements UNIDO's focus on empowering women and youth.”

She acknowledged those backing Smart-Views, including UNIDO GCIP, the Technology Innovation Agency, and the EPF Tech Fund.

According to Joanna Govender, CEO of EPF Tech Fund, winning the competition against outstanding inventors from seven nations is an impressive achievement.

She said: “Your accomplishment demonstrates the importance of diversity and inclusion in developing innovative solutions, which aligns with UNIDO's objective to empower women and youth. Remember, as Henry Ford famously stated, coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success."