Making their mark with winning ideas

KHETHUKUTHULA XULU khethukuthula.xulu@inl.co.za

TACKLING everyday problems was the aim of young KwaZulu-Natal entrepreneurs who were recently awarded for their creative business ideas.

Three young innovators received awards at the Inkunzi’isematholeni in Business Awards ceremony held last month. The awards were established by the Ithala Development Finance Corporation (IDFC).

IDFC Group CEO Pearl Bengu said the programme promoted innovative business thinking among KZN youth with regards to identifying gaps in the market and developing new concepts in the green economy.

“This is to ensure that youth come up with sustainable business concepts which promote a holistic view of business by looking after profits, people and natural resources. This initiative provides incubation and start-up support in their journey to becoming seasoned entrepreneurs.”

The winning concept for this year came from Ntando Ndimande, 24, of SkyHigh Innovations. He created a smart tap which will help people save litres of water. The prototype has been tested in four of Durban’s top restaurants in the Florida Road precinct.

Ndimande said the product contributed to environmental sustainability as the tap saved up to 74% of water.

“With the recent Covid-19 pandemic highlighting the importance of hygiene, instead of having to use your hands to open and close taps you can use your foot, which optimises cleanliness.”

The runner-ups were 29-year-old Nomandla Ngcoya from Pietermaritzburg and 28-year-old Sameer Khan from Reservoir Hills.

Second runner-up Ngcoya had the idea to commercialise traditional medicine. Ngcoya, who is doing her PhD in traditional medicine, said she came up with the idea when she saw a diabetes patient who had wanted to also use traditional medicine but had issues with using it in concurrence with western medicine.

“Traditional medicine is normally bitter and directions for dosages are usually measured in cups, and that in most cases leads to patients taking the wrong dosages.”

She therefore came up with the idea to have traditional medicine available in a capsule form so it can be easily administered and managed.

First runner-up, Khan, a biotechnology Masters student, said he hoped his energy-generating device would assist South Africans during electricity outages.

He said the idea came to him when he saw birds finding water from air conditioner drippings. He created a device that could generate energy from harvested waste water.

Sameer Khan

Nomandla Ngcoya

ITHALA Development Finance Corporation (IDFC) board chairperson Sihle Mkhize, IDFC Group CEO Pearl Bengu, winners of the Inkunzi’isematholeni Youth in Business Awards Ayanda Bhengu and Ntando Ndimande, MEC for Economic Development Siboniso Duma and eThekwini councillor Nkosenhle Madlala. | DOCTOR NGCOBO African News Agency (ANA)