Moving the Last Mile with MellowVans

Neil du Preez is Founder at MellowVans. He is passionate about urban transport and the development of last mile delivery solutions. We discuss last mile delivery, safer cities, entrepreneurship, autonomous driving technologies, the practicality of drones, local manufacturing and the need for a better education system.

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Key Takeaways

• Neil shares details of his background and the funny story of how the name MellowCabs was born.
• MellowCabs changed their business model and moved away from transporting passengers to transporting cargo, they are now the maker of MellowVans.
• DHL Africa, Takealot, and Mr. Delivery are among their clients.
• Started a pilot project with Hungry Lion.
• Neil expands on how MellowVans work.
• The global shift toward home delivery, MellowVans is perfectly suited for the ‘last mile’ delivery.
• Neil thinks we are moving back to a system where your daily good like milk and bread will be delivered.
• Contactless delivery systems and how that will evolve.
• Autonomous vehicles and how they are going to integrate into our cities.
• Looking at self-driving technology within MellowCabs.
• The impracticality of drones.
• Empowering females and getting them into engineering and entrepreneurship.
• Donate Africa to the Far East or build it ourselves and take ownership.
• Local manufacturing, we have the skills.
• Education, engineering, science, business basics, and entrepreneurship. We can’t raise a generation of music stars.

About Neil du Preez
I lead the award-winning Mellow Mobility, which is a South African developer of light electric utility vehicles. I am passionate about urban transport, and the development of last-mile delivery solutions.

Global Gifted Citizen Award, in Puebla, Mexico. Mail & Guardian's top young South Africans for 2016 Siemens Foundation’s Empowering People Award. I was a speaker at the Climate Innovation Centre and at the World Bank's South African Sustainability Conference, Microsoft's BizSpark program, and the Durban Innovation Summit.

Winner the Challenge Cup, supported by the US Chamber of Commerce (Washington DC) Winner of the African Entrepreneurship Award Winner of the World Bank Climate Solver Award. Top 3 finalists in the Global Innovation Challenge African Innovation Prize finalist Forbes Magazine: 7 most Innovative companies in Africa.

About MellowCabs
Mellowcabs develops and manufactures light electric cargo vehicles, called MellowVans that provide low-cost, efficient, and emission-free delivery services in cities. We are based in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
See: www.mellowcabs.com

About MellowVans
Mellowvans are South African developed and manufactured electric delivery vehicles that provide low-cost and emission-free last-mile transport.

Our vehicles also offer premium branding space in high-value environments.
See: www.mellowvans.com