Grand West CSI Women’s Day

In celebration of Women’s Day, Grand West CSI hosted an Exhibition at Grand West Casino in Goodwood on Friday 7 August.

A number of TSiBA Entrepreneurs showcased their skills and knowledge with other emerging women in the Small and Medium Enterprise industry. They also benefited from over 3000 visitors to the exhibition and took advantage of the opportunity to advertise and sell their products and services. The exhibition also gave them the opportunity to network with other emerging business people as well as with the Grand West CSI team.

The day was extremely festive with fun events, live entertainment, guest speakers (including TSiBA Education) and spot prizes. Grand West CSI judges visited each stand to determine the winners of three cash prizes: R15 000; R10 000 and R5 000.

And the second prize of R10 000 was awarded to our very own Evelyn Mbenyane, owner of Anelisa Creations. Evelyn’s sewing company has been housed in the garage at the TSiBA Entrepreneurship Centre since March 2007. It is from this site that she manufactures her products and runs her business under the guidance and support of the Entrepreneurship Centre. This year Evelyn completed the Micro-MBA training programme at TSiBA that assisted her in taking her business to another level. She plans to invest the prize money in her business. Contact Evelyn Mbenyane at 0835965208.

Other TSiBA exhibitors included MP Solutions (Design and Printing of Business Cards, Brochures, etc. – Rochelle Swartz 0785343309); Coiffure “M” Hairsalon (Professional Hairstylist – Tersia Kearns 0733592034); Mhani Gingi Social Network (hand-crafted products made by local women using recycled materials – Lilian Masebenza 0824654687) and Sithabe African Crafts (exquisite hand-crafted Nguni beaded items – Mathokoza Nhlapo http://www.sithabecrafts.co.za/)

This Women’s Day exhibition also served as the platform for TSiBA to enter into a meaningful relationship with Grand West CSI due to the visible synergies between the two institutions. We look forward to their continued involvement and support.

BBA-2 Student at TSiBA Enters the World of Entrepreneurship

Nqobile Bhengu, a dedicated BBA – 2 student at TSiBA, has put her management and creativity skills into action by starting her own business in designing personalized cards. She started the company with two other members, and faced a challenge almost immediately after formulating a business plan. The two original members left the group and Nqobile was then faced with her biggest obstacle: Does she join her competitors, who consist of 6 members, and share their passion, or does she continue to follow her own passion and carry on the business alone? With much thought and discussion amongst herself and the competition, she decided to stick with her gut and take on her business by herself, under the name Design4U. Nqobile has been chugging through the process of starting a business by creating cards to sample her work, building financial models to track sales and profits, and by networking with other professionals in the industry. She knew that her product was something that people really appreciated, and this was evident when she made her first sale back in May. Nqobile’s personalized cards are unique in that she works one-on-one with her customers to create a card that caters to their liking. Her customer will then have a chance to write their own personal note or greeting which is then printed on beautiful hand-made paper. “I named the company ‘Design4U’ because it tells the customer what I do. I design personalized cards specifically for my customer.” – Nqobile Bhengu

Today, you may find Nqobile in the Entrepreneurship Centre making calls or writing e-mails to potential customers, or working with her mentor who has experience in this particular field. Nqobile’s passion and dedication to her business is sparking much interest among her network of supporters. She has had three personal and independent investors who also believe in her and the business to the point where they are willing to help fund her venture. Nqobile has found a hobby that she enjoys doing and then turned it into a business by first discovering the market potential for her product and service. This, along with her self-discipline and motivation will be the factors that will contribute to the success of her own business that started here, at TSiBA.