Business Talk – Entrepreneurs Gene Likhanya and Trudy Mkansi discuss how the SAB Foundation helped their businesses
In this Business Talk with Michael Avery interview, entrepreneurs Gene Likhanya and Trudy Mkansi unpack how the SAB Foundation helped them on their entrepreneurial journeys.
Likhanya has worked in the agricultural sector for two decades and now promotes sustainable macadamia nut farming practices in the old Venda region of Limpopo.
Key to this is the support of the SAB Foundation, which has invested in the region and its growing macadamia industry.
Likhanya now mentors 12 other small macadamia farmers and has become a key leader in the area.
He completed an Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations programme at the University of Johannesburg.
Mkansi is the founder of Ambesha Africa, a specialist patio furniture manufacturer that uses synthetic cane to produce unique products for South Africans.
The success of this business is thanks to the SAB Foundation’s support and highlights Mkansi’s business sense for spotting and capitalising on a gap in the market for locally made, high-quality furniture that can withstand South African weather.
Before founding Ambesha Africa, she spent time as a Marketing and Communications Officer at Landbank South Africa and as a Sales and Marketing Consultant at First National Bank.
She holds an MBA from the Management College of Southern Africa (MANCOSA).
Both entrepreneurs and their successful business ventures were supported by the SAB Foundation and its Tholoana Enterprise Programme.
The Tholoana Enterprise Programme is one of the SAB Foundation’s flagship initiatives and supports entrepreneurs through extensive skills development, mentorship, and access to markets, finance, and practical business tools and templates.
The interview
In this Business Talk interview, Likhanya and Mkansi outline what their respective businesses do, and unpack the role the SAB Foundation has played in supporting them.
Likhanya then discusses the non-negotiable qualities he believes an entrepreneur needs to succeed in South Africa, as well as the toughest challenges he has faced – noting how the SAB Foundation helped him overcome them.
He also explains how he implements sustainability practices into his business while still offering a competitive product.
Mkansi discusses how support from the SAB Foundation helped her overcome challenges in her personal life and highlights the biggest roadblocks her business has faced.
She then shares what she would say to South Africans who want to become entrepreneurs but feel disillusioned.
Likhanya and Mkansi conclude the interview by sharing their advice for entrepreneurs interested in securing support from the SAB Foundation.
Watch the interview with Gene Likhanya and Trudy Mkansi below.
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