Local business showcase and engage residents

Umbubano Cultural Group (UCG) gave local businesses and NGOs an opportunity to market their services during the Youth Alive Career Expo and business exhibition held at Sam Ntuli Mall on September 29.

Event organisers and many residents were left disappointed when universities and college representatives failed to honour the invitation.

Despite the dispiriting turnout from tertiary institutions, the event was a fresh breath of air for many stakeholders and it presented a good opportunity for small businesses.

Kgaogelo Lefoka is the founder of a brand called Moghurt from Katlehong. They manufacture dairy products, ranging from dairy blends and yoghurts.

He said they are proud township manufacturers who have been in business since 2020.

“We offer a blended juice, which is an alternative to your fizzy drinks because it has less sugar and less preservatives. We also have the sports drinks, which have less caffeine, less sugar and more vitamins,” said Lefoka.

He said such events are good opportunities for marketing purposes and exposing brands to show the community that local entrepreneurs are able to produce for their own people, and obviously for sales.

“For us to be part of such an opportunity is amazing. Hats off to the Sam Ntuli Mall. It shows that they are serious about taking small businesses seriously. And just this partnership will help us be more visible as the place has more traffic of people in it,” he said.

He shared that they aiming to push 10 000 units a month and to be the biggest dairy product within South Africa. This will then result in more employment and obviously the brand will grow, he added.

Another entrepreneur who appreciated the opportunity is Zamakhuba Radebe from African Indigenous Enterprise.

She told Kathorus MAIL that they produce African indigenous snacks, which are healthy.

“We are currently producing dried fruits, tomato chips and dry biscuits made from chia seeds,” he said Radebe.

She said the event assisted them with exposure and an opportunity to interact with the community.

“This allowed us to show that entrepreneurship is an option as a career path because it is one the key contributors to the economic growth of the country.”

The founder and director of PMT Garden, Pakiso Tsotetsi, said they manufacture cosmetic products like perfumes, diffusers and lotions.

He started the business during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 because he wanted to provide a solution to the public after observing many people complain of dry hands after using sanitisers.

“The products are safe to use. We received funding from SETA and they took the product for testing and it is SAB approved,” noted Tsotetsi.

Gogo Indlovukazi Malwande of Gida Mngoma Organization (GMO) said they attended to offer community members traditional healer’s services whereby they interpret and explain dreams.

She said people dream often but they often have challenges understanding their dreams.

“We are traditional healers. We heal people suffering from strokes and other health challenges. We also offer consulting services and cleansing,” said Gogo Malwande.

She said they initiated the organisation to give back to the nation as Sangomas. “We donate school uniforms, shoes and bags to disadvantaged children.

“Sangomas sadly are portrayed as bad people. We are associated with witchcraft and other bad things. As GMO, we want to change that mindset. People should not only focus on the bad side of sangomas, they should see us as thoughtful people who care about the nation.”

Event organiser Jabu Nkabinde of UCG said they are not discouraged by some institutions that failed to pitch.

Instead, they will continue to host the event and invite them again for the community to access information.

Ward 63 ANC Clr Kiyane Nomonde Cynthia said the event was supposed to be held at Sontonga Mall but they had to use an alternative venue because of the construction underway.