Young entrepreneurs celebrated for their unbreakable spirit
SANDTON – The top six contestants were celebrated for their business savvy.
Six entrepreneurs were celebrated for their business savvy during the third annual Can Do Unbreakable Entrepreneur award ceremony in Sandton.
Can Do, the consumer-facing brand for Nampak Bevcan, which is Africa’s largest can manufacturer of aluminium beverage cans hosted the competition to allow young entrepreneurs the opportunity to show off their businesses.
Entries for the competition opened on 15 April and voting closed at the end of August. The top six contestants received the most votes for their businesses. The winner of the Unbreakable Entrepreneur competition is awarded R100 000 in resources while the first and second runners up are awarded R50 000 and R25 000 respectively to help grow their business.
This year’s top six businesses included a recycling business that uses the recycled materials to make toys, a radio show for children to allow them to share their views and a jewellery company.
Musa Maluleka, the creator of Disktjie, a brand of soccer shoes created for playing on gravel, was the winner of this year’s competition. Maluleka, who is just 19 years old, has been saving his pocket money since he was in Grade 1. Along with some money he had saved from a bursary, Maluleka has worked to bring his idea to life.
The name Disktjie, combines the slang work for soccer (diski) and the Afrikaans ‘tjie’. Maluleka hopes that one day, every African soccer player will be wearing a pair of his soccer boots.
“I started playing soccer from a young age but there were no soccer pitches and in Grade 11 we had to come up with a business idea for school. I came up with this plan and I got full marks. I couldn’t execute it at that time because I was only 17 and then this year I started working on it.”
Ntsako Mhlanga came in second place for her Caps Radio station and Tebatso Molapo, the founder of Re Basadi, a platform to showcase women-owned businesses, came in third place.
Mhlanga said, “We really felt like there was a gap in the media because we don’t really talk to kids, so we really wanted to bridge that gap and create a media platform that pertains to education, which is a really important part of their lives.”
Sine Mkhize, the marketing manager for Nampak Bevcan said that the campaign is all about celebrating unbreakable entrepreneurs who, even in tough economic conditions, are forging their way as entrepreneurs. She said, “It’s a huge achievement just being able to start and I want to congratulate everyone who believes in themselves in the very difficult journey of entrepreneurship.”
Share your thoughts on the winners of the Unbreakable Entrepreneurship competition on the Sandton Chronicle Facebook page
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