What does a biofuel manufacturer from the Northern Cape, a crime scene cleaner and a small company that provides free WiFi to townships have in common? They’ve all just received small development grants worth a total of R2.35m along with 12 months of coaching and mentoring from SABMiller – the world’s second largest brewing corporation.
SAB’s KickStart program, which seeks out young entrepreneurs and invests in those it thinks are likely to succeed, has been running for the last 19 years, making it as old as democracy itself in South African terms. SAB’s Benedict Miller says that the program began as an out-and-out CSI program, but has become a company institution and a matter of pride that it helps to keep the ‘wolf from the door’ for small business – which employ some 68% of all South Africans.
The 18 companies chosen for this year’s KickStart cohort also include a manufacturer of granite worktops, an artisan wallet maker, a firm that builds mobile spaza shops and an environmental consultancy which help businesses to ‘go green’. Later this year, a further round of awards will be made to the three businesses deemed most likely to succeed.
If we were to pick three now, though, it would be this lot.
Millcent Nyembe’s Nyembe Waste Management is possibly the first “medical waste” firm run by a black woman. And if entering a completely male-dominated industry wasn’t intimidating enough a challenge, the job itself isn’t exactly unchallenging. Nyembe employs three people in Preroria who specialise in crime and accident scene cleaning and the disposal of post-operation hospital waste. Nyembe says that she worked in the industry as a sub-contractor for another firm before deciding to branch out by herself. With an extra R200 000 to work with, courtesy SAB judges, she’s planning on investing in another vehicle and tools.
Nyembe received the largest cheque of the day, but her business was by no means the most innovative. Earl Strauss Muller, from Concordia in the Northern Cape, runs a plant which converts used cooking oil into biodiesel. He manufacturers one 100% biofuel product and one ‘B50’ range which is a mix with regular diesel. Both are suitable for any unmodified diesel engine.
While Muller’s firm, NAM Petroleum, is still small – he only has one full-time employee – it produces around 120 000 litres of fuel a year and has a mix of corporate and private customers on its books. While Muller is sensitive to the fact that ‘virgin’ biofuels – those made from raw plants rather than recycled oils – can push food prices up, he wants to invest in growing his own resources from plants such as jatropha, which can grow on non-arable land. Strauss received R170 000 for investment.
Our final pick is Siphamandla Javu’s Mzansi Telecoms and Projects, which received R150 000 in funding. Javu’s speciality is VOIP communications and business networking in the Port Elizabeth area, but what intrigues us is his company’s involvement in township WiFi and IT training too – something we’ll be chatting to him about at a later date.
Also, he posts pictures of Raspberry Pis to Facebook. What’s not to love?
Last year’s overall KickStart winner, Anda Maqanda of AM Group, was also at the presentation and had sage advice for his peers. Whatever you do, he said, make sure it’s good.
“As smaller companies, we often do shoddy work and damage our reputation,” Maganda said, “The quality will define your business. If you are supplying a supermarket, and a customer complains about your food, that’s it. You’ll never supply there again.”
Despite almost going bust three years ago, Maganda now employs 25 people in Port Elizabeth. He also took a direct shot at that most infamous of South African business person: the ‘tenderpreneur’.
“You can do tenders,” he said, “But tenders cannot sustain your business. Don’t create a business just to win tenders.”
Interested in pitching next year? Check out the KickStart website for more.
[Image – Shutterstock]
