The Mandela University Africa Hub was established in 2024 to drive youth entrepreneurship and social innovation, starting with our Entrepreneurship and Incubation in Action students and young township entrepreneurs in Gqeberha and expanding this to the Eastern Cape, South Africa and ultimately to other countries in Africa. In the past year, the Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI) at Nelson Mandela University has incubated 42 small businesses over the past year, creating 96 jobs.
The master’s student in Applied Language Studies started Dairy Delights in 2023 and says that one of her biggest learning curves as an incubatee was how to grow her business while tackling a demanding postgraduate degree.
“I never imagined how far my soft-serve ice-cream business would come, and I am super-grateful for the incubation programme as I have learnt so much,” says Tsakani Shilowe, who launched her business on South Campus with her friend, Mbuyelo Ngobeni, a political science student.
After Ngobeni left university, Shilowe ran the business solo, and now manages three ice-cream stations on South Campus (Sarah Baartman Residence Tuckshop, the Kraal and Sanlam Student Village food court).
Her ice-cream machines whip up vanilla, chocolate and strawberry flavours for delighted customers.
“To make the ice cream, I either use readymade that I keep in my fridge and then defrost or I buy the powder and mix it with filtered water – the latter is more practical, as I have had wastage of the readymade during power outages.”
Generous grant
Shilowe joined the CfERI incubation in 2024 and says she was very grateful to receive the R100 000 grant for entrepreneurial development from Mandela University’s finance division.
“I used it to pay off the debt on my first ice-cream machine and equipment, and to buy the second and third machine, as well as a freezer, which has enabled me to grow to three stations.”
During business hours, she stores her stock in cooler bags and after hours it is kept in her fridge in one of the Sanlam Student Village stations.
Her ice cream sells for R13 (small cup), R20 (big cup) and R15 for cones. She also often runs specials – multiple cups attract a discount, or ‘bring a friend’: you pay R12 instead of R13 for a small cup, which is “the most popular, as students have to think about every rand that they spend”.
Helping hands
To help her balance studies with business growth, Shilowe employs three highly reliable students part-time as her main managers, and an additional three stand-in students when required.
“Through the incubation, I’ve also learnt about employment contracts, inputs and outputs. I’m now making a decent profit in the summer months when ice cream is popular, but the business does take a dip in winter,” she explains.
“What has also been invaluable is being in the company of other incubatees and hearing about their experiences. I’ve learnt how they manage their income, and how their sales vary from month to month. Knowing you are not alone helps to build resilience. You learn about stress management and how to deal with the successes and disappointments of running your own business.”
After graduation, Shilowe would like to pursue her PhD and expand her business to include ice cream vans “that drive around the streets and beaches, playing that tune that is so familiar to many of us,” she explains. “I’m dreaming big and one day I would like to be as big as Milky Lane.”
Read more in the latest BizYouth magazine, showcasing the pioneering work being done in advancing Nelson Mandela University as an entrepreneurial institution.