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Change the world

11/11/2024

“What you did yesterday doesn’t matter, it is what you are doing today.” This is the motto of the head of the Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI) at Nelson Mandela University, Dr Thobekani Lose, a  leading researcher and specialist in student entrepreneurship development and business incubation development.

 

CfERI was established at Mandela University in 2024 to help students and young people in the region to develop entrepreneurial skills and change their mindset from job seeker to job-creator.

“If we want to lower the massive unemployment levels, we need our universities to be the cornerstone of entrepreneurship,” says Lose.

With funding from the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) CfERI provides an 18 to 36-month incubation programme and other services to students, graduate entrepreneurs, unemployed young people, and young township entrepreneurs, led by Lose, who has more than 12 years of work experience in the entrepreneurial and incubation ecosystem.

“We help them to grow their own businesses, and transform their thinking about their own busines from a side hustle to the primary hustle.”

A self-made man who rose from devastation

When Lose says “what you are doing today is what matters, not what happened in the past”, he speaks from harrowing experience and the authority of a self-made man who rose from the devastation of seeing his father murder his mother when he was 11 years old. His father died in prison.

Lose initially lived with his grandmother in Idutywa in the Eastern Cape, and then went to live with his sister in Philippi on the Cape Flats to do his schooling from Grade 6 to matric at Sinethemba High School. “I only spoke Xhosa when I arrived there and struggled with English at first but I needed it so I learnt it,” he says.

He matriculated in 2009 and applied to do the three-year National Diploma in Entrepreneurship at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). “I wanted to learn how to run a business as I saw so many unemployed people and I didn’t want to be one of them,” he says.

“From 2010 I studied part-time as I needed an income to supplement my NSFAS bursary. I managed to get a job as a project administrator with Eskom working with SMMEs in the energy efficiency sector, so I would work from eight to four and then study. I did my diploma and degrees part-time up until my PhD.”

In his fourth year at Eskom Lose’s manager recommended him to a business incubator called Sarebi. “I didn’t know what a business incubator was at the time but I soon learnt and became an enterprise development officer for Sarebi,” he explains.

Today, he has a Master’s in business administration and a PhD in business – for his thesis he developed a framework for the effective creation of business incubators “as there were very few frameworks. He was awarded a bursary from the National Research Foundation to do his PhD at the Vaal University of Technology, graduating in 2019.

Opportunity favours the prepared

“Opportunity favours the prepared and I want to be the best possible entrepreneurship and incubation specialist, so I have always worked really hard at my research and had numerous internationally peer-reviewed papers published. I’m aiming for my 50th paper this year and am currently at 47. Research drives me,” he says.

After his Master’s, Lose was employed by SEDA in Pretoria as a business incubation specialist where he implemented Centres For Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERIs) nationally, specifically at TVET colleges.

Students would do the 18-month incubation programme and learn how to start, run, market and maintain a business, including how to register it, do the bookkeeping, attract and keep customers, how to use social media to advertise their business and how to scale it up. They would then start a business in the field they had studied, be it plumbing, electrical, engineering or marketing, to name a few.

“Incubation is like teaching a kid to walk, and they use the space until they are ready to operate on their own,” Lose explains. “There was huge by-in and universities also wanted CfERIs. Because I had a PhD, people around me were saying ‘Isn’t it time you went to the universities where the doctors and professors are’.

God often speaks through people and I listened and in 2020 I took up a position at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) in Mthatha to establish and manage its CfERI. During my four years there I helped to incubate over 100 businesses, ranging from construction to beauty to transport to agriculture.”

I believe in practising what you teach

At the same time he developed his own property development business and grass-cutting service. “You see what is needed around you, and there was a huge shortage of accommodation in Mthatha. I secured a loan from the bank to buy a piece of land there and I developed and built 18 units,” he explains. “I believe in practising what you teach. You can’t encourage people to take loans and to start businesses if you don’t do it yourself.”

This year Lose took up his post at Nelson Mandela University as the head of CfERI. The space on campus includes a boardroom, mini-amphitheatre, maker space and meeting areas. This year the centre has onboarded over 30 incubatees with wide-ranging businesses, including pig farming, public relations, township internet cafes and construction services.

Students operate businesses on campus

He adds that Mandela University has a policy on entrepreneurial development that allows students to operate businesses on campus. There are currently over 15 student businesses on the Gqeberha and George campuses, such as driving schools, tuckshops, fashion outlets, and tailoring and tutoring services. The criteria to operate a small business on campus includes a lease agreement to run their business and payment of a modest rental fee.

From selling sweets at high school, Munei Budeli, as a University student doing his Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, started his business, Thama Thama (TT) Driving School on campus with one vehicle.

“I realised that a lot of students don’t know how to drive and this was a business opportunity,” says Budeli who was offered office space in a container on campus in 2023, which he branded and hired students to help with the bookings and driving lessons.

“I signed up for the entrepreneurial training programme and today TT Driving School owns six cars and a truck, and not only teaches driving but also offers storage and transport solutions. I want to give a shout out to the students because they supported me from the get-go. I also want to help them. Having a driving licence makes you more employable. I think it’s a minimum requirement for everyone aged 18 and it can help to reduce poverty,” says Budeli who wants to expand his business to all the universities in South Africa.

Balancing their time between studies and business

Balancing their time between their studies, running a business, and having a social life requires maturity, diligence, and time management. The students learn this through the university’s co-curricular and voluntary programmes, one of which is the Student Employability and Entrepreneurship Development (SEED) programme.

“Student entrepreneurship is vital for addressing the unemployment crisis, empowering students to become self-reliant, contributing to a more thriving economy and fostering a culture of innovation and creativity”, says Karen Snyman, Lose’s colleague and fellow entrepreneurship specialist who heads the Madibaz Youth Entrepreneurship Lab at Nelson Mandela University, which is the hub for entrepreneurship within and beyond the university.

In August 2024, Snyman was elected as the national Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Chairperson for the Student Entrepreneurship Coordinators Community of Practice (SEC CoP).

Championing the Mandela Africa Hub

“The university has taken the bold step of becoming an entrepreneurial university and is championing the Mandela Africa Hub to drive entrepreneurship and social innovation on the continent,” says Lose who gives entrepreneurship talks nationally and internationally - in over 20 countries to date.

This year he co-presented a paper at Oxford University on ‘The utility of small business incubators in mitigating intergenerational poverty in the Eastern Cape’ at the 13th International Conference on Restructuring of the Global Economy (ROGE 2024) – Promoting Sustainability. His co-authors of this paper are Luthando Jack: DVC of People and Operations and Dr Bernard Sebake: former acting Dean of Students, both at Nelson Mandela University.

“The study investigated how inherited small family enterprises can address intergenerational poverty and break the poverty cycle if they remain viable and profitable,” he explains. “Inherited family enterprises often stagnate or fail for a number of reasons, such as the next generation is not as hungry or they don’t adapt the business to keep up with the times.”

Globalisation, Entrepreneurship, and Emerging Economies

In December this year he will be presenting at the 9th International Conference on Globalisation, Entrepreneurship, and Emerging Economies at the University of London.

Lose is currently championing a new partnership between Nelson Mandela University, WSU and CPUT called the Business Incubation Web Association (BIWA). “It is the vision of Luthando Jack, and co-funded by the three universities with the idea of bringing together academia, industry, government and corporates to collectively drive entrepreneurship throughout South Africa and beyond,” he explains.

Lose says that one day he would like to be in a position to influence national policy to include entrepreneurial education from the basic education level upwards. “I would like to see far more leadership across all sectors to make sure entrepreneurship development gets enough funding, resources, awareness and a powerful voice.”

Entrepreneurship is the salt of life

Dr Thobekani Lose explains what inspires him to be an entrepreneurship specialist:

“I call entrepreneurship the salt of life – because it is what we add to life to make it spark. This is innovation; this is what transforms our universities from institutions that produce graduates for the workplace to graduates who are job creators.

“From initially wanting to learn how to be an entrepreneur myself 13 years back because I saw how many people around me were unemployed, during the course of my studies, research and career I recognised that I was born to do this.

It is my purpose to invest in people and see them draw on their own ability to get on their feet in their own businesses and to do well. You cannot put a price on this, it is God’s work.

“We have to address the unemployment rate of approximately 60% among our 15 to 24-year-olds and over 40% among our 25 to 34-year-olds. Whether we are incubating people to run their own small business or incubating the next Patrice Motsepe, it is a great feeling to see someone getting somewhere in life.

“I never dreamed I would be where I am today, but through hard work, education, and aiming higher every day, I found my path. I am still on my way, hungry for more and I am happy to live a life that is unbalanced.

It’s a lonely journey to get somewhere; you have to minimise the noise around you to find your own path that others haven’t travelled, sometimes along a dusty road or through bushes. Some may think you are crazy, but those who are open and seeking greatness will see what you are doing.”

Four of the many entrepreneurs that Dr Lose had helped to incubate:

Entrepreneur Dr Nathi Sibhoko – Businessman doctor

Dr Nathi Sibhoko graduated as a medical doctor from Walter Sisulu University when Lose was managing its Centre for Entrepreneurship Rapid Incubator (CfERI) . “I became an incubatee of Dr Lose who mentored me about the benefits of establishing my own practice and of being an entrepreneurial doctor,” Dr Sibhoko explains.

“In March 2022 I established my startup practice in Port St John’s and Dr Lose helped me to plan for growth. This included training in business and cash flow management, and how to reinvest to grow the business.

Today I have the Sibhoko Health Medical Centre, which includes a medical and dental practice, social worker services for counselling and coaching, dieticians and therapy for detox, rehydration and sports recovery. I also now assist CfERI with training other entrepreneurs and my practice does community engagement. We have annual programmes where we do outreach free of charge for the local community and schools.”

Entrepreneur Anita Sodladla – Chef with a mission

Chef Anita Sodladla has a restaurant and catering business called The Patio between Gqeberha’s industrial area of Struandale and the Zwide/Kwazakhele townships. Sodladla lives in Kwazakhele and started the three-year CfERI incubation with Dr Lose at Mandela University this year “because as an entrepreneur I need assistance with regards to running and growing my business, including drafting contracts, doing accurate quotations, managing finances and tax, and upscaling my business,” she explains.

“My vision is to have several outlets of The Patio, and to franchise it one day. The incubation has been really good so far and I’ve also learnt how to apply for funding to grow my business. I have managed to secure funding from SEDA and the National Youth Development Agency.”

Sodladla says: “I started The Patio in June 2021 as a takeaway spot and in 2022 I hired staff and expanded to a sit down for 50 people, with an inside and outside area. We are especially busy on weekends as well as when people get paid, which is mid-month and month-end. We also do special events such as birthday celebrations, and we do fun happenings like ‘Chill ‘n Paint’ where people get a canvas and paints.

“We have a mobile food truck for festivals and markets, and I have launched a catering side. I used to do catering for other businesses but I now do it for myself. I have such a passion for food and my clients, and I make sure I find out what sort of food they like.

The most popular is the ‘Gatsby’ - a bun filled with garnish, fries and either grilled chicken, pork or hake and finished with our special house sauce. I also make sure my pricing is right, such as R60 for a chicken Gatsby.”

Student entrepreneur Winston Letwaba

Managing Director of the Advanced Academy of Excellence

 BCom Accountancy student at Nelson Mandela University, Winston Letwaba, is an incubatee at CfERI, led by Lose. “My business, the Advanced Academy of Excellence, is an online tutoring academy where I employ final year student engineers, accountants, and doctors who offer career-based tutoring and mentorship to high school learners,” says Letwaba, who has since won several entrepreneurship competitions for his business, including a R50 000 investment from Nedbank for being placed first in the Township Entrepreneurs Alliance (TEA) Kasi Business Pitch.

“I live by the motto that your network is your net worth, and the networks I have built through CfERI and the overarching Madibaz Youth Entrepreneurship Lab at Nelson Mandela University have played a huge role in the success of my business,” he explains.

“You basically start your own venture, and they help you to build your business by learning how to develop a business model, market your business, get finance; in other words get the tools you need for business. My next step is to purchase tech so that my team can connect with learners in schools that don’t have access to tutors.”

He also has a second business as a content producer for social media. “Being an incubatee I also have access to the higher education market and I recently produced short interviews, reels and other content for the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Indaba attended by 26 universities across South Africa, sponsored by CfERI. I am also a national finalist in the EDHE Entrepreneurship Intervarsity and will be competing against all 26 universities this November.”

Entrepreneur Pumlani Gqaleni- MD of Ingcali Agricultural Solutions

Ingcali Agricultural Solutions (IAS) is an Mthatha-based agricultural consulting and skills development company founded by Pumlani Gqaleni who was a CfERI incubatee of Lose’s when he was at Walter Sisulu University.

“IAS provides agricultural products such as livestock food and does comprehensive planning and training for a wide range of agribusiness firms and farming companies. We also use technology for optimal production through Ingcali Technology Solutions which has a team of IT industry experts,” says Gqaleni who has an MSc in Agriculture from the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and a BSc in Animal and Poultry Science from UKZN.

He has grown his business over eight years and draws on his agricultural production experience and entrepreneurial knowledge to train other young agri-entrepreneurs in the Eastern Cape through AGRISETA skills development programmes and internships. These include everything from mixed farming to poultry production and plant science for crop management.

“I have the qualifications in agriculture but through CfERI I learnt how to improve on getting assets and products to market, how to get more clients, grow my business, network and increase turnover. My motto is to always look for opportunities, don’t say no, say yes, and if it is not your area of expertise, find the relevant people with whom you can partner.

“What sets my team apart is that our business culture is centred around love; we have a deep love for what we do in agriculture. Agriculture is one of the biggest sectors than can boost the GDP of the Eastern Cape and South Africa.

The government has been giving funds and land to previously disadvantaged farmers for startup farms and agri-businesses but within a few months they are down. Why? Because they don’t have the background training. That is where we come in - to make sure the businesses work, strengthen and sustain. There is a lot of arable land in the Eastern Cape, and with training and commitment so much can be achieved.”

Contact information
Primarashni Gower
Director: Communication & Marketing
Tel: 0415043057
Primarashni.Gower@mandela.ac.za