Menu
Since the beginning of 2023 the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) has received more than 13.5 million applications for the Social Distress Relief Grant (SRD) and more than 716 000 of these were tertiary graduates.
This was a glaring sign that more than ever entrepreneurship was the answer to creating jobs instead of the country producing more job seekers.
Sibongile V. Mthimunye who has a BA in Social Science, an Honours in Human Resources Management, and a Masters in Business Administration believes that there are many opportunities in the entrepreneurial space for young South Africans.
She owns BWGL Group Pty Ltd, a business specializing in providing a cleaning service and distributing eco-friendly cleaning products.
The business uses products that are eco-friendly, something Mthimunye expressed as what made the business unique.
She said while education was important it was crucial that the youth embarked on studies that would empower and enable them to venture into owning and running businesses.
“When I was younger, I knew nothing about entrepreneurship, the youth must understand what they want to study. Not all of us can be doctors or lawyers, but we do need to have some qualification that will assist us if we want to start a business and not only focus on being employed by corporate. We have seen a lot of retrenchments that have left people wanting as they had not planned for this. We need to play a part and assist our economy and create more job opportunities”
She intentionally started the cleaning business after having been employed in the corporate sector for 23 years. One of her reasons was to pay homage to her mother who as a cleaner managed to put Mthimunye and her sister through university. This proves the importance of this sector within our economy and it needs to be recognized and supported.
Having been in the sector for nearly three years now she is currently busy with research into having her business manufacture its own eco-friendly cleaning products in the next two years.
BWGL Group’s bread and butter is the cleaning service provided to corporates and residentials and the stream of income from the eco-friendly products sold by agents is secondary. The company also provides empowerment sessions to women and the youth.
“Starting out in the cleaning industry as a young brand was not easy. I had to ensure that I engage with a lot of people and attend the right forums to understand the frustrations faced by the bigger players and then came up with value proposition that will differentiate me. They might have financial muscle, but I’m not deterred, within the next five years I will give them a run for their money.”
The business operates from Heidelberg in Gauteng, currently has 17 clients and employs 15 people as well as two agents that are students.
“Even though I don’t have a lot of youth employed I am using them as agents where they gain experience and income, one is studying chemical engineering at a college.
The intention with the 15 employees is not to keep them as cleaners in the company for their whole lives, but to also allow them room to grow within the company through empowerment. This may be in the form of being provided with skills where one day they can go on and own cleaning as well as other companies for themselves.”
This article is was first published in Sedibeng Ster
Share this article:
Sibongile Mthimunyne is a participant on Fetola’s Circular Economy Accelerator (CEA), a sustainability growth solution which empowers South African entrepreneurs to build successful, environmentally-sound businesses, in partnership with J.P. Morgan, the Embassy of Finland in Pretoria and Nedbank.
