Several small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) in Ekurhuleni are benefiting from a one-stop shop that equips entrepreneurs from various sectors with the resources, know-how and connections they require to transform their businesses into fully functional operations with full-time employees.
The Gibela Business Incubator is the brainchild of train manufacturer Gibela and the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), and was formed in 2019 with the purpose of helping entrepreneurs create businesses that will positively impact the future.
The business incubator offers a comprehensive variety of services, from management training to office space as well as access to funding. More than 150 businesses have been assisted by the incubator by accessing its business development services. These businesses had created 32 jobs across various industries by the end of the second quarter of the 2022/23 financial year. Recently there’s been an influx of people walking in and seeking support and advice on how to join the incubator.
KEI Solutions
Kabelo Mbelle is the CEO of KEI Solutions. He joined the Gibela business incubator in 2021 and has already benefited immensely from its staff’s guidance. He started his business during the Covid-19 lockdowns after many attempts at looking for jobs, a reality faced by countless young people in South Africa.
According to Statistics South Africa’s Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), the youth in South Africa continue to be disadvantaged in the labour market. In the second quarter of 2022, the number of unemployed youth (aged 15 to 34) increased by 2% to 4.8-million compared to the first quarter of the year – a tough pill to swallow.
Mbelle, like many other young people, was facing an employment dilemma. Instead of being discouraged, he decided to start a business, now known as KEI Solutions, focused on computing and information technology services.
Initially, he wanted to start a manufacturing company for IT equipment but quickly realised that this would be a capital-intensive exercise. Without the financial backing to research and develop products, this idea became a dead-end street. He decided to pivot to something more familiar – computing and information technology services. Using his IT background, he has gone on to build a lucrative business that employs 20 people.
He now has his sights set on providing IT solutions to national and local government entities, parastatals and government agencies. Besides this, he has future plans to finance a manufacturing plant that produces IT equipment on a large scale.
“It’s not an easy task, incubating your business, attending training courses, aligning the business with certain standards and running it effectively and sustainably, but this is why the business incubator exists – we’re here to help,” says Samkelo Makhaza, the Gibela Business Incubator’s Business Development Officer.
“Not everyone has the business acumen and know-how to take a business from idea phase to fully fledged enterprise without assistance. The business incubator is taking those who are willing to learn and growing them into independent business owners who can run sustainably well into the future,” he adds.
Lwezi Technologies
Thuthuka Andile Kubheka is the CEO of Lwezi Technologies, an IT company.
His journey to where he is now started in 2007 during a short stint as an IT project manager for a local company. In the six months that he was employed there, he managed to secure huge projects for the business. He amassed knowledge, initiated many projects and grew the portfolio of the company, but then left the job to open his own business, which provides IT support services.
He managed to grow Lwezi Technologies over the course of more than a decade – but then lost everything during the global Covid-19 pandemic. His story resonates with many other entrepreneurs who have had to rebuild their businesses due to the pandemic.
“I am at a point in my life where I am rebuilding everything I lost. I’ve pressed the reset button and I’m working on building a stronger business. The best part of rebuilding is that I have access to business amenities that I wouldn’t have had outside of the incubator,” he says.
“The incubator has given me access to many opportunities and I am edging a step closer to my peers. It feels like a second chance to refocus and build back stronger,” he adds.
Currently, Khubeka employs three people directly and has indirectly employed more than 20 others. His plans include dominating Africa in his field and gaining a foothold as an IT specialist.
Realohile Specialised Industrial Chemicals
It’s not all IT and tech businesses at the business incubator, though – another beneficiary made a brave switch from accountant to chemist in the space of a few short years. Her journey is unlike any other.
Pontsho Mapule Mpholofolo, formerly a member of the accounting fraternity, now manufactures industrial chemicals for local businesses. Her company, Realohile Specialised Industrial Chemicals, is “nothing short of a miracle”, she says.
“I started manufacturing chemicals because I could not find a job in the accounting sector. One day, I met a chemist who was willing to teach me everything he knew about manufacturing industrial chemicals for commercial purposes. I followed his every move and hung on to every word he said. I became a student of science, sitting in his factory and taking notes until I understood every chemical, its components and its reactions,” she says.
Having acquainted herself with the world of industrial chemistry, Mpholofolo joined the Gibela Business Incubator in October 2021 to gain business confidence and expertise in complex processes such as tendering and compliance.
She now employs four people and her company competes with chemical companies that have been around for decades – an impressive feat.
These three companies are just a sample of the many businesses that are being incubated at this one-stop shop.
Makhaza said that working with budding entrepreneurs has been a beautiful journey that has taught him a great deal. “It is rewarding to watch businesses grow from idea phase to fully functional operations with full-time employees.
“We’ve been given a rare opportunity by Gibela and other stakeholders that are supporting us to contribute towards economic growth. I hope more young people are encouraged to create businesses and be part of the solution,” he concludes.
