Young entrepreneurs give students wings
TWO young men from Johannesburg have pushed their way into the travel industry, opening a business that would ensure students get home on time for special occasions.
Ndabenhle Ntshangase and Lwanda Shabalala have started a company called AirStudent Travel. The company organises travel arrangements for students, ensuring they get affordable flights when they travel back home for holidays and on special occasions.
The company also provides careers for many students who live in rural areas but go to universities outside their provinces. The two 25-year-olds have already had R2 million invested in their company by the Allan Gray Foundation, which saw their potential.
In an interview with The Star, Ntshangase, originally from Vryheid, said the idea of starting the business stemmed from his experience of studying at UCT and not being able to go home as frequently as he wanted to.
“Sometimes we could not go home because the flights were just too expensive, but we then started group bookings, which ensured we got discounts on the tickets. In no time, more than 100 students were booking through us,” Ntshangase said.
He said the company temporarily operates from a small office in Rosebank, but much of the work is done in the small apartment which he shares with his business partner.
“We started operating in the Johannesburg CBD near Park Station; it was not the best of areas, but we had to start somewhere.”
Ntshangase and Shabalala were at the tail-end of their studies at UCT when they started their company.
Shabalala, who is the chief operating officer (COO) of the business, said he and his partner were brave enough to contact a number of already established flight companies seeking partnerships and guidance. The pair flew to Cape Town to meet with the CEO of ComAir, a company associated with Kulula.
“That meeting went well, and he saw potential in us, and we now have a relationship with him and that company. I am humbled that he did not push us aside because of our age, but he respected us as young entrepreneurs,” he said.
The pair said they were interested in ensuring that the company is at least able to hire 50 people as it expands as part of job creation.
“We understand that the economic climate in South Africa is not great, with the high unemployment rate, and we wanted to give back to society by employing other young people,” Shabalala said.