Bongumusa Dlamini, owner of Inkanyezi Dry Cleaners and Laundry, was awarded the 2014 Medium Business of the Year Award. Dlamini has come a long way from starting out as a gardener, to owning a thriving dry cleaning and laundry business.
"The business has done extremely well over the last two years," said Dlamini. "Our employment levels have increased by 223% and we've had to employ 89 more staff. I believe word of mouth has been the biggest driver of the business' growth. Thirteen thousand items are packed and made ready for delivery daily, and we have a very efficient logistics system that utilises six commercial vehicles. We are very proud to have secured the likes of BHP Billiton Hillside Smelter, Foskor, and Richards Bay Coal Terminal as our clients.
Abednego Ngwenya, co-owner of InfoAvenue, was awarded the 2014 Emerging Business of the Year Award. A year after his retrenchment at the age of 27, Ngwenya has made great strides with his IT training business, which offers IT training in technical, networking, and many other commonly used computer programs.
"Nothing fulfils me more than empowering a willing mind with skills and knowledge, because knowledge is power, wisdom, and, most importantly, the bridge between you and your success," said Ngwenya. "The crisis we have in our community brought about the love I have for the work that I do. That is, teaching and equipping the IT industry, and empowering the nation. Since opening our doors, we have trained over 100 people. We work with big corporates such as Transnet, and my former employer is also one of our clients.
These small businesses are just two of the 21 businesses currently on BHP Billiton's SA Enterprise and Supplier Development Programme in Richard's Bay. This business growth programme is administered by Raizcorp and has been running since 2009. The two winners have firmly established themselves as emerging businesses in South Africa, and serve as great inspiration to other smaller businesses.
