By Lwazi Raul-Shongwe
The Township Entrepreneurs Alliance (TEA) recently hosted the TEA Kasi Business Workshop in Kanyamazane, outside the City of Mbombela.
The workshop, held at CHAF ZAR Lifestyle, aimed to equip township entrepreneurs with practical tools and strategies for sustainable business growth.
Key topics explored during the workshop included:
Kasi Business Exhibition, allowing entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services, Hacking Networking, which was a collaborative session where participants worked together to solve community challenges, and Kasi Pitching Challenge, whereby registered entrepreneurs pitched their ideas for a grand prize of R50,000, including cash and business support.
Additionally, the workshop focused on sustainable business practices, with Masterclasses on integrating sustainability into business operations, responsible decision-making, and long-term value creation.
The theme reportedly aimed to help township entrepreneurs build enterprises that can withstand challenges, create jobs, and grow into generational businesses.
J Mngomezulu, representing TEA, said the organisation is a social enterprise that provides products and services to SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises), particularly to township entrepreneurs. He said TEA is visiting Kanyamazane for the second time, and it has also visited other areas in Mpumalanga including Secunda and Emalahleni. He said the plan is to reach other areas in Mpumalanga including Bushbuckridge.
“ We have been in existence for ten years.Our focus is on eKasi(the township), because for the longest time, we felt that there was little representation for small businesses in the townships. The township economy has always been referred to as the “unseen economy”. We exist so that we can turn around the narrative and ensure that these township businesses which are the backbone of the South African economy can be seen,” said Mngomezulu.
We have a goal to reach other townships, if not all in the country. We also plan to do follow-ups on the communities that we’ve been to. We want to see the growth that has happened. Mngomezulu said TEA is committed to helping small businesses to transition from survival mode, to growth-oriented enterprises.
“ We work closely with Nedbank as a partner, and they’ve been with us for a few years now, sponsoring the Kasi business workshops. We have, over the years, also added Brand South Africa as a partner.
“ We also work with Entrepreneurial Development Centres in different provinces because we are seeking to engage the private and public sectors, because we believe that the two sectors coming together can ensure growth for the businesses that we work with,” said Mngomezulu.
One of the participants in the workshop, Penwell Silinda, founded Smart D App, a mobile app providing food delivery, taxis, and parcel delivery services in the townships.
According to Silinda, the app currently employs over 22 people and operates in the Mbombela CBD, reaching out to customers within a 25 kilometre radius.
Silinda said he initially faced challenges with funding and access to markets, as well as learning by trial and error due to a lack of mentorship, but plans to expand to all provinces, neighbouring countries, and beyond.
He aims to increase staff to 1,000 and transition to electric vehicles for a greener economy. Silinda said the exposure through media channels has helped grow his customer base.
“ As a person coming from eKasi where you don’t find this kind of technology, I found out that there are platforms like Uber Eats, Mr D, and Bolt, in areas like Nelspruit. There are no such platforms in the township where I come from.
“ Such platforms are not taken to the townships because of the belief that there’s a lot of crime, and it becomes difficult to provide this kind of service using google because most townships don’t have street addresses,” said Silinda.
He added that his employees have a 2-year contract and they work on a commission basis, earning a tidy 10% commission for each restaurant that they are managing.
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