This content was supplied to CNBC Africa by Chivas
Social Entrepreneur, Khethi Ngwenya from Soweto knew from a young age of 12 that he wanted to go into business and make a positive contribution in his community. Subsequently this led to Ngwenya’s business idea when he created SchoolMedia, a platform that has opened up schools as an avenue for advertising for brands seeking to engage with the learner target audience.
His business was born out of an idea to keep learners in schools informed and engaged about brands that spoke to them, about them. Ngwenya soon realised that there were no organisations that directly marketed to the youth in a manner that resonated with them, this helped him carve his value proposition as a business.
Chivas, Win the Right Way, season 2 presenter – Gugulethu Cele sat to discuss some of Ngwenya’s entrepreneurial achievements over a glass of Chivas Regal 12-Year-Old Whiskey.
It wasn’t always smooth sailing for the young entrepreneur as he had to learn that impact is more important than profit and admits that an in-depth understanding of the market one operates in, is never a bad idea to invest time and resources in. Part of his journey to be a social entrepreneur involved being honest with himself and devoting his time to align with key individuals that would assist him in driving business growth.
Ngwenya takes note of the importance of building successful businesses and still managing to improve communities through his business solutions, this innate attainment of success to lift others captures the epitome of Chivas Regal Win the Right Way. “SchoolMedia has given us access to 9000 schools across the country that we’ve built strong relationships with and through various campaigns we have managed to help raise funds and invest back into the schools we operate in” shares Ngwenya.
Ngwenya further mentions the business has taken a strong interest in ploughing back especially through sustainability projects such as planting trees, purchasing much needed sports infrastructure and maintenance equipment, which is dire need for many schools across the country.
“Though it’s still a long journey to travel to achieve our business goals, this year, we are excited about officially launching our latest innovation – the Digital Communicator. This solution will enable us to maximise on the six million audiences we reach with even more advertising opportunities for youth brands.”
Having achieved so much at a young age, the 27-year-old entrepreneur cannot ignore the role that has been played by his family. They motivated him to grab every opportunity with both hands, run with his humility and keep grounded by his faith.
Ngwenya echoes the Chivas Regal’s principle of shared success and believes that through sharing experiences and expertise, entrepreneurs can learn from one another and avoid making the same mistakes in future.
Chivas, WinTheRightWay season 2 is a TV series that features Africa’s most inspiring social entrepreneurs who run their businesses based on profit with purpose. These entrepreneurs use their shared success to inspire other African entrepreneurs to be part of this ever-growing movement.
Chivas, Win the Right Way airs on CNBC Africa and on Dstv, channel 410. The next episode will be at 21h15 CAT, 22h00 WAT and 00h00 EAT.
