Lebohang Mkhwanazi Wins Big

That three of the four top spots at the Annual Alumni Business Summit 2020 were snapped up by women, aligns perfectly with Afrika Tikkun Services’ month-long celebration of women’s achievements in business. Lebohang Portia Mkhwanazi, 26, took first prize in the Business Idea Category for her company, Lebo’s Salon. The Evaton resident completed her Primary Schooling in 2007 at Letshego Primary School and finished her secondary schooling at Tsolo Secondary School in 2012. The following year, she studied at Flavius Mareka FET College in Sasolburg where she completed N3 in Mechanical Engineering over a period of 3 months. She subsequently completed a basic computer literacy course at Bophelong Community Centre.

Lebohang recently graduated from the Career Development & Placement (CDP) Programme at Afrika Tikkun’s Arekopaneng Centre in Orange Farm. There she learned about Ubuntu and treating others in a respectful manner. She also learned about resilience, time management and punctuality, especially at the workplace. One aspect of the programme referred to a “future leaders”, something Lebohang found very useful. “The principles really helped me a lot especially when it comes to my real life,” Lebohang said. “They helped me to be always motivated and boosted my self-esteem when I am around people. My future leader also helped me to know how to apply those principles in my life and in a workplace.”

After her successful completion of the CDP programme, Lebohang participated in the Annual Alumni Business Summit 2020. She realised she could combine her passion, innovation and desire to solve problems in her community by starting a business. Her business idea centres around a hair salon and beauty shop selling cosmetics. “I also noticed that a lot of young people in my community are unemployed. I would like to use this business to transfer skills to them by teaching hair and beauty services to unemployed young girls and create jobs in my community,” she stated. “I have five years’ experience in selling sim cards as well as Botle Buhle products; as a result, I’m able to interact with different clientele.”  

The Business Summit was, according to Lebohang, a challenging experience. Still, it was one that motivated her to open her business within a short space of time and which led to her victory at the competition. “I’m very grateful to Afrika Tikkun and would like to thank everyone who supported me during the competition,” Lebohang said. “The prizes are great; they include a Startup School Flagship entrepreneurship course worth R18 900 and one-to-one mentorship sessions, among others. I am very blessed to have Afrika Tikkun; thank you for everything you have done for me, from helping me with food parcels to learning new skills. I will forever be grateful.”