Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

‘Winning is a bonus’ says student entrepreneurship winner Thembinkosi Mkhwanazi

07 November 2023 | Story NONSINDISO QWABE | Photo SUPPLIED

What started as a side hustle to bring in extra income has turned into a thriving venture for UFS Qwaqwa Campus student Thembinkosi Mkhwanazi, who has begun reaping the rewards of his hard work.

In October, Mkhwanazi came out victorious at the central regional rounds of the Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) competition in the Existing Businesses category for studentpreneurs for his egg business, Egg Palace. He is in his third year of a BA degree specialising in Psychology.

The EDHE entrepreneurship intervarsity competitions are intended to develop the entrepreneurial capacity of students with the intention of equipping them with the necessary skills needed to become economically active during and after their tertiary education. The 26 South African universities are grouped into six regions, and studentpreneurs get to pitch their innovative ideas or existing businesses for a chance to win the national rounds.

Mkhwanazi’s pitch came out on top, sealing his place at the nationals and a fighting chance at the R100 000 cash prize.

He started his egg-producing business in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, buying organic eggs from a supplier and selling them to students and Qwaqwa community members.

Since then, his business has grown astoundingly, and Mkhwanazi now owns 165 chickens housed in a chicken house in Qwaqwa. This expansion has allowed Mkhwanazi to increase his egg production and cater to a wider customer base on the Qwaqwa Campus and within the local community.

“I won the internal rounds and the regional round, but I’ve realised that winning was a bonus. Since being on this journey, I’ve had the opportunity to meet a lot of people who’ve inspired me to grow my business and how to be unique. I also got to board a plane for the first time. The win has just been the cherry on top, but there’s so much that I’ve gained from this experience.”

Entrepreneurship helps students improve their (self-) employability and livelihoods

He said he was inspired by the likes of UFS Qwaqwa Campus alum Jabulani Mabuza, who also won the 2022 EDHE regional rounds and made it to the nationals. Making it through the regionals was a wake-up call, he says, which motivated him to invest more time and effort into his business.

“I was in my comfort zone and wasn’t marketing my business properly, but I’ve since taken that seriously, and I’m already seeing a huge boost in sales and public awareness,” he said.

Mkhwanazi said he would like to see the university supporting student entrepreneurs to establish themselves. “There are a lot of us who are entrepreneurs who need more exposure and support to grow. The courses offered at our institution encourage us to be entrepreneurial. If we can be given more opportunities, we’d be able to grow and become self-reliant.”

The national leg of the EDHE competition will take place from 30 November to 1 December 2023.

News Archive

Leah Tutu - from a humble heritage to a matriarch of devotion

2013-10-18

Leah Tutu
18 October 2013

Photo Gallery
Leah Tutu Symposium: YouTube video

There are treasures in life, but owners are few
Of money and power to buy things brand new
Yet you can be wealthy and feel regal too,
If you will just look for the treasures in you …

The joy and the laughter, the smile that you bring;
The heart unafraid to love and to sing;
The hand always willing to help those in need;
Ones quick to reach out, to labour and feed.

So thank you for sharing these great gifts inside;
The caring, the cheering, the hug when one cried.
Thanks for the energy, encouragement too,
And thank you for sharing the treasures in you. (Author unknown)

With these words, Thandeka Tutu-Gxashe embodied the celebration in honour of her mother, Leah Tutu.

On Thursday 17 October 2013, the Annual Intercontinental Leah Tutu Symposium was launched at the UFS’ Bloemfontein Campus. Dignitaries and students alike flocked to the Centenary Hall where friends and family shared their immense love and respect for Ms Tutu.

Approaching the podium, Eunice Dhadhla (co-founder with Ms Tutu of the Domestic Workers Union) started humming and in an instant the audience had risen to their feet and the words “My mother was a kitchen girl. My father was a garden boy. That’s why I’m a unionist”, reverberated through the hall.

“I am what I am today because of her,” Dhadhla said of Ms Tutu. They have walked a long hard road together to ultimately unite domestic workers across the globe. Stretching her small body to its full length, Dhadhla imparted one of the most valuable lessons she has learned from Ms Tutu, “Stop crawling, stand up and walk for yourself.”

As soon as Dr Sindiwe Magona – acclaimed writer and poet – ascended the stage, her energy rushed across the room with electrifying intensity. Her high regard for Ms Tutu as public icon as well as a mother, wife and friend, was palpable. Belting out line after line of a poem she wrote especially for Ms Tutu, the audience echoed their agreement in a mutual exchange.
No sooner were they seated, than Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Prof Jonathan Jansen had the crowd roaring with laughter. Archbishop Tutu’s familiar chuckle peppered his story of how he came to propose to his wife. It was clear, though, how much he reveres Ms Tutu’s presence in his life. With enormous awe, he revealed her innate power, specifically during difficult times in our country’s past – from weathering death threats against her husband to public humiliation.

But despite adversity and heartache, in front of the Centenary Hall, this matriarch stood up and beamed joy into everyone present.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept