The panel of judges selected the top three pitches after calling on female-owned businesses all over South Africa to share a two-minute pitch to win a total of R175,000 cash injection for their businesses. The winners will use the capital to invest in their businesses and in turn, help drive the South African economy forward.
The winners were announced at a virtual VW Lioness Lean-In event as part of the Women’s Month celebration at the end of August.
Winners
First prize of R100, 000 was awarded to Ntokozo Mbuli of Sugar Bean Pictures. The television production company is determined to change the world by creating purposeful content that builds, grows, teaches, and heals. Mbuli aims to use the medium to contribute towards changing the world’s perspective of Africa.
Sarah Morrow was awarded the second prize of R50,000 for Little Leaders Pre-School. The owner-managed school creates a home-like environment for all children to grow and learn with confidence. Morrow is passionate about building an inclusive holistic environment that caters for all children from all walks of life by partnering with various NGO’s and communities.
A third prize of R25,000 was awarded to Bathabile Mpofu of Nkazimulo Applied Sciences which brings science to life by producing portable science kits for use by learners at home and school so that learners can perform science experiments themselves wherever they are. The inspiration to start Nkazimulo is based on Mpofu’s own overwhelming experience as a young learner at a disadvantaged school with no access to science kits.
Future plans
“I’d like to invest the money towards acquiring resources needed to develop ideas to take advantage of funding and commissioning opportunities,” said grand prize winner Ntokozo Mbuli of Sugar Bean Pictures.
Sarah Morrow of Little Leaders Pre-School stated that she would like to expand her outreach programme by incorporating accessible autistic classes since there are not many affordable and inclusive preschools that cater for autistic children.
Owner of Nkazimulo Applied Sciences, Bathabile Mpofu plans to develop more kits in other subjects by hiring teachers to offer online courses and acquiring basic equipment for online teaching.
In addition to this, the winners will also have access to entrepreneur development programmes, mentoring programmes, business tools and networking resources to continue their business journey.
“We wanted to grant an opportunity to female entrepreneurs to access capital amid the current challenges on the South African economy and small businesses, in particular, to assist them to stay afloat,” said Meredith Kelly, Head of Marketing at Volkswagen South Africa.
“We are delighted with the entries we received which reflected the talent in this country and the impact that female entrepreneurs have in their respective communities. This initiative has also made available to us critical insights that will help us assist female entrepreneurs in their business journeys as the next level of this initiative,” says Melanie Hawken, Founder and CEO of Lionesses of Africa.
The Lionesses Den forms part of Volkswagen’s ‘Drivel Local’ campaign, which was launched in June 2020, with the purpose to support local manufactured goods and local businesses.
For more information about the Lionesses Den and other Drive Local initiatives, go to www.vw.co.za/en/drive-local.
