Tooled up for success
FOR everyone having the heart for business, starting is easy but getting it to be competitive requires creative strategies.
With South Africa experiencing a high rate of youth unemployment, the value of starting your own business has never been so essential.
Three young entrepreneurs who believe in skills development among the youth are showing how to start a business and maintain steady growth, until realising its full potential.
One of them is Japhta Mokoko from Fochville, west of Joburg, who is business-minded even though he did not do commercial subjects at school.
This year, he says he tried his luck by entering the 2016 SME Toolkit SA Global Entrepreneurship Week s
’ Business Plan Competition for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs.
He was representing his company, Jayspectrum Trading and Projects.
Mokoko, Bahle Nteleki and Mazizi Njokweni of MB.co Podiatrists were this week announced as the regional winners for Johannesburg at an awards ceremony in Braamfontein.
Nteleki is from Mamelodi in Pretoria and Njokweni from Bekkersdal in the west of Joburg.
The competition, which is open to individuals between the ages of 18 and 35, aims to have a positive impact on promising South African entrepreneurs by bridging the gap between simply having an idea and actually launching a start-up business.
Mokoko, who is an artistic glass designer and manufacturer, said he started his business after identifying a large gap in his local market for decorative sandblasting. I always struggled to get ahead in “life so I grew up knowing there are always hurdles before victory,” said Mokoko.
He has been honing his craft since 2008, and in 2016 he made the leap towards establishing his own business with a course in business management under his belt.
His target market for his glass designs is broad, ranging from home owners to shopping centres and industrial parks.
The other winners, Nteleki and Njokweni, said they had always been interested in business from the time they were at university. In 2009 while we were still at “university we heard about the competition from social media and then went on the SME Toolkit website to learn more about the competition and its requirements,” said the entrepreneurial pair.
Nteleki said they wanted to know more about the commercial aspect of business like compiling a professional business plan, financial projections, marketing and branding.
The two certified podiatrists said they have set their sights on the occupational health industry and plan to focus on individuals who are employed in industries that require the use of safety boots. While protecting the foot from “external dangers, safety footwear can cause severe complications in the lower limbs and foot,” said Nteleki. These problems can
“prevent the sufferer from functioning properly and may result in overall poor work performance.”
Njokweni said this business would not only render podiatric interventions for its customers, but would also provide a variety of customised innersole devices, orthotics and footwear modifications.
The final winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in Joburg during Global Entrepreneurship Week next month.