Summary: Craig Atkinson trains unemployed youths to protect the environment while earning a living. Atkinson, with a team of friends, formed the Green Riders, a South African company that promotes environmentally sound, sustainable options for health transport. Importing e-bikes has been costly for Atkinson, and crime in some communities poses risks to his team. But Atkinson has a goal: He wants to create 50,000 eco-jobs for vulnerable youths in the next 10 years.

Profile: In all his business ventures, Craig Atkinson always “had the objective of doing something good for the planet and for the people.”

Before the outbreak of Covid 19, Atkinson and his friends were in the events industry. With the outbreak of the virus, “the events industry hit a bit of a wobble,” marking a turning point in Atkinson’s career.

“In all my businesses,” he says, “I have been inspired to make a difference. In my previous business, we raised significant capital to support conservation causes, including protection of endangered species such as rhinos.”

In 2019, Atkinson and his colleagues formed Pathway Cycles, which in 2022 transitioned to Green Riders; it’s an organization that advocates for the decarbonisation of the transport, logistics, and trade sectors, all while stimulating jobs and investment, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and training young people from disadvantaged backgrounds to succeed in e-commerce.

Noting an alarming lack of knowledge of the threat posed by risky environmental practices, Atkinson maintains that changing the mindset is key: “We realized that due to poor quality education and the disadvantaged background of the youth, they hadn't been exposed to or taught the skills needed to excel in the industry. . . . I saw a gap in the market to scale e-bikes while creating jobs for the youth of South Africa. I connected my dream of working with bikes to a purpose. We knew that we could make an impact in people’s lives and we could do something good for the environment by decarbonising the planet.”

Atkinson started the program by importing about 100 e-bikes. When Atkinson’s networks heard that he had bought the bikes, they called with the intention to buy them. However, Atkinson and his colleagues refused to sell the bikes even though they could have made more money, opting to use them for a more sustainable project that would bring more meaning to people’s lives and the environment.

To date, Green Riders has trained over 1,300 youth, with a goal of training an additional 1,550 by mid-2025. By October 2023, Green Riders had completed more than 800,000 deliveries, covering more than 8 million “green kilometers”.

A leading supporter of safe cycling infrastructure, Atkinson works with the City of Cape Town to invest in safe infrastructure and non-motorized transport because it creates green jobs, reduces carbon emissions, and contributes to solving congestion. In 2023, Atkinson was instrumental in the launch of the BikeBus initiative, where primary school learners in Rondebosch were invited to cycle to school on the same route as fellow walkers.

In a world where most companies are concerned about making profits at the expense of the environment, Green Riders is committed to decarbonising the transport sector and at the same time reducing unemployment in South Africa. A typical passenger vehicle is believed to emit about 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. And in 2024, youth unemployment in South Africa stood at over 5.9 million, roughly 45.5%.

Carbon-free interventions in the transport, trade, and logistic industry are not easy. “I lost everything at one point,” says Atkinson. “We were 48 hours away from closing our doors and not being able to pay any salaries. I sold my house and borrowed significant money from friends to get through some of our darkest times. I have no regrets because I knew what I wanted, and those challenges were just hurdles testing how badly I wanted to make it work.”

There are also physical threats. Most companies work outside hostile communities, but Atkinson and his Green Riders team often serve in crime-ridden environments: “There is a lot of crime in South Africa, and we work in some dangerous areas. However, we have built strong relationships with the communities and we always feel welcomed and respected by everyone we meet. Many of our riders have been victims of crime, but we have measures in place to ensure that lives come first and that we can retrieve assets once they are out of danger.”

Committed to his vision, Atkinson is planning in the next 10 years to create 50,000 jobs in eco-business, an improved lifestyle for impoverished communities, and greater environmental sustainability.