Johannesburg. 24 November 2011. The South African Breweries Limited (SAB) Foundation and Endeavor South Africa, an affiliate of the premier emerging market entrepreneurship support network, has boosted the growth aspirations of 5black owned businesses through grant capital.
The SAB Foundation’s Grant Capital Investment was created to provide support and financial assistance to high-impact, black-owned businesses in partnership with Endeavor. It is one of a number of programmes the SAB Foundation has established to address the challenge of economic growth, job creation and innovation through entrepreneurship.
This cycle’s winners are Cynthia Mkhombo of Masana Hygiene services; LemaoMotaung, owner of Medupe Electrical Supplies; Sakhumzi Maqubela, owner of Sakhumzi Restaurant, Musa Maphongwane and Amos Mtsolongo, co-owners of Katsy Gaming Zone, as well as Nkhensani Nkosi of Stoned Cherrie.
Grant funding
This is the second group of entrepreneurs who have been awarded grant funding through the SAB Foundation and Endeavor partnership. Earlier in the year, 6 businesses were granted capital at the launch of the partnership in June.
The winners were announced during an awards ceremony in Johannesburg last night, each walking away with SAB Foundation Grant Capital Investment of up to R250 000 to assist with the expansion of their business.
The long-term vision underpinning the SAB Foundation’s programmes is therefore to ignite a culture of entrepreneurship in South Africa and focuses specifically on benefiting South Africa’s most vulnerable i.e. youth, women, people living in rural areas and people living with disabilities.
The local landscape
Research conducted by the SAB Foundation into entrepreneurship highlighted three critical points:
- SA lacks a critical mass of SMEs,
- SA has only a few high-profile entrepreneurial role models; and
- The country’s culture of innovation is largely untapped and un-commercialised.
“To address these challenges, the SAB Foundation aims to contribute to the development of entrepreneurship by supporting the growth of a critical mass of SMEs; developing entrepreneurial role models; and stimulating and rewarding innovation,” says Dr Vincent Maphai, SAB executive director, Corporate Affairs and Transformation.
Winner profiles
Name: Cynthia Mkhombo
Business: Masana
In 2004, Cynthia registered a contract cleaning company, set-up an office in Centurion and began submitting well-formulated proposals to corporations and government departments. A six-month contract with the Department of Land Affairs allowed her to employ the company’s first seven cleaners, four of which are still employed by Masana and have been promoted to supervisors. South African magazine, CEO, named Cynthia one of the most influential women in business and professional services and the Businesswomen’s Association selected her as a winner in its Entrepreneur category. She currently employs over 1 200 cleaners and has major clients including, the Gautrain, Woolworths stores and Growthpoint.
Name: Lemao Motaung
Business: Medupe Electrical Supplies (MES)
In 1999, Lemao launched MES, an electrical cable accessories distribution company, which also provides training for end users in the utilities industry. Beyond offering her clients competitive prices, Lemao has demonstrated superior value in two critical areas – her intricate knowledge of the electrical and cable supply industry and her strong focus on training. The utilities market in South Africa is undergoing significant expansion and change, which offers MES the opportunity to grow substantially in the coming years.
Name: Sakhumzi Maqubela
Business: Sakhumzi’s
Sakhumzi’s, founded in 2001, is a restaurant located on the historical Vilakazi street, Soweto. It provides tourists and locals with an authentic, local township experience that includes food, history and a warm environment.. He has maintained an ‘on-the-ground’ presence in the business to ensure the daily operations of the restaurant run efficiently and has been able to garner the loyalty of both local Sowetans and outsiders alike. Sakhumzi’s vision is to be the choice destination of all visitors to Soweto.
Name: Musa Maphongwane and Amos Mtsolongo
Business: Katsy Gaming Zone
Katsy Gaming Zone aims to make the video gaming industry more accessible and affordable to children living in South Africa’s townships. The business is a container-based digital gaming franchise outlet that provides safe, educational entertainment through the latest gaming technology (PlayStation and Xbox) to children for as little as R1. The business also provides services such as internet access, game rentals, CD scratch removal and computer/console repairs. Musa has more than 10 years of experience in the computer industry and Amos is a qualified electrical engineer and project manager.
Name: Nkhensani Nkosi
Business: Stoned Cherrie
Stoned Cherrie is a brand of freedom, embodying the afro-urban culture of the “new South Africa.” Stoned Cherrie is recognized as a sophisticated, sexy, street-wise label that, while reminiscent of tribal Africa, is utterly relevant in style to fashion-lovers around the globe. Founded in 2000 by Nkhensani Nkosi, the brand promotes a lifestyle of freedom, originality, and authenticity and will manifest this vision in lifestyle products from apparel to shoes to home décor to bath & body and beyond. It’s Major Milestones for the company include creating ranges for Foschini and Woolworths, as well as showing at New York Fashion Week.