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Egg-spired entrepreneur wins national business plan competition

Tebogo Mathe from Pretoria is the national winner of the 2019 SME Toolkit BUSINESS/PARTNERS Business Plan Competition for Aspiring Young Entrepreneurs.

He will receive a R20 000 mentorship voucher, R30 000 in seed capital for his business, as well as additional sponsored prizes to aid his business.

The competition saw over 1 000 entries from young South African entrepreneurs across the country.

The competition, now in its 10th year, aims to encourage and assist young people to start their own businesses as a means to reduce SA's high unemployment rate.

The judges considered the quality of the business plan, the level of innovation, viability, as well as overall entrepreneurial ability.

Mathe runs an egg distribution business with very little money or resources.

Despite challenges, he uses opportunities, especially those within his own community. For example, he uses part-time sellers to distribute eggs and pays them a commission.

In doing so, Mathe has created regular income for 23 members of his community.

The 2019 regional winners received a mentorship voucher of R10 000 each, as well as access to an expanded business network.

They are:

Sinethemba Javu (Western Cape), who plans to use a space in his home to provide internet and printing services in his community of Browns Farm in Phillipi. He has his sights on setting up an additional office closer to the city centre once the business grows.

Siphosihle Nzewuza and Lunika Dlamini (East London, Eastern Cape) dream of owning and running a hydroponic strawberry farm together. Within the next six years, the pair intend to grow their business to include agro-tourism as an additional offering.  

Olebogeng Mashune (Free State) plans to start an agro-processing business. She has inherited some agricultural land from her grandfather and has a long-term goal to expand into the continent of Africa.   

Keshia Mecuur (Johannesburg, Gauteng) plans to open a travel agency through which she will arrange national and international trips for clients. She currently teaches tourism as a subject at Randfontein High School.

Xolane Hlongwane and Takalani Hlongwane (Limpopo), using a special formula, plan to produce and sell cement products and bricks.

Tshepo Gaerupe (Northern Cape) has a passion for radio and social affairs and plans to start a radio station for his area called "Voice of Northern Cape".

Londiwe Mthembu (KwaZulu-Natal) has a business plan is to start a poultry farm; an idea that was born when she observed a neighbour in her village in Mhlanga traveling far distances to purchase eggs and chicken.

Shaun Ridgway (Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape) plans to use drone technology to collect aerial visual data for the agriculture sector, specifically citrus farmers in the Eastern Cape.  

Thando Mashego (Mpumalanga) intends to build an aerial data capturing services business using innovative technology for various industries in the Mpumalanga area.

* Compiled by Carin Smith

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