As the 2010 world cup opens with South Africa drawing with Mexico, most people will be glued to their TV sets until the final whistle one month later. The excitement in South Africa is unprecedented as this spectacular event unfolds. But what after the World Cup? The economy may well deflate with an after party hangover, as South Africa has to pay for the event. Jobs may be more difficult to get, and sound business opportunities may become scarce. During the time the world cup in on,  could be a good time to investigate and evaluate business opportunities, particularly green business opportunities, so when the party is over you are ahead of the pack in securing an opportunity and career.

Numerous upgrades and construction projects, training centres and community driven initiatives are being implemented in the city of Durban in prerparation for the FIFA 2010 World Cup. Women have played an active roll in these preparations working in the building industry.
The Moses Mabhida Stadium has been completed and the King’s Park Precinct that surrounds it aims to ensure that the venue is in use regularly and not only during big events. The Moses Mabhida Stadium Training Centre has trained local labourers in construction-related issues over the past two years, many of these are women.

Durban’s beachfront is due for an upgrade offering residents and visitors more restaurants, more things to do and more venues for events.With improved lighting, CCTV coverage and other measures, the aim is to create places and spaces where women feel safe visiting alone or with children.

The Buffelsdraai Community Reforestation Project, which is part of the greening programme, aims to help protect the environment and make for a healthier city. Led by Nondumiso Shangse, the project employs a team of nine to run the plant nursery and build the new forest by planting and tending the trees.

The reforestation project also makes use of more than 200 ‘treepreneurs’ from the Buffelsdraai and Osindisweni communities. Many of these treepreneurs are women – grandmothers and moms at home with young children – and they play a vital role in supplying the trees needed to build the forest at Buffelsdraai Landfill that is helping to offset the 2010 World Cup carbon footprint. At the same time, their involvement in the project is helping these women feed their families and educate their children.

The Moses Mabhida Artworks Project aims to highlight the Kwazulu-Natal art industry through commissioning local groups and individuals to provide art for the stadium and surrounding precinct, employing beadwork, woodcarving, ceramics, painting embroidery and wirework. Women are involved heavily in this sector. One of the largest beadwork projects ever made in Africa, for example, is being produced by more than 200 women associated with the Hillcrest AIDS Centre. It’s a 4,5m-long fantasy map of Africa and will be hung in the President’s Atrium at the stadium. Complementing this will be a 4m-long beaded South African flag produced by women from the African Art Centre.

Women also feature prominently in the group of 20 or so people – some of whom are disabled – creating a mosaic mural for the stadium’s Ocean Atrium. Depicting a breaking wave, the mural will use only tiles hand-made for the project.

With the soccer 2010 World Cup just around the corner, South African ecopreneurs are ready to show the world how South Africa can host the 2010 World Cup with ecopreneurial flair. The World cup has provided huge stimulation to galvanise ecopreneurs into providing products and services to meet the coming demand beginning in early June. We take this opportunity to attach the schedule of the matches to be held in cities around the country.