​The following young business owners were announced as the winners of the #YouthStartCT 2017 entrepreneurial challenge at an awards ceremony at the Civic Centre this evening, 15 June 2017.

1. First place: Yandisa Langa from Fish Hoek, owner of Langa’s Fresh Produce (age 34):

Started in 2015 as an agricultural company that grows fresh vegetables organically in the far south area, they now supply fresh produce to various businesses such as Pick ’n Pay, Ocean Basket and Food Lover’s Market. The company currently employs six people from the local community and provides agricultural skills transfer to the students of the Chrysalis Academy

Yandisa wins R31 000, a laptop, a printer and further business training support

2. Second place: Darren Campher from Parow, owner of Random Design (age 26):

Random Design is a company which was built to bridge the gap between resources and market access in small to medium enterprises in the design field. They seek out talent in the furniture, clothing and tech designer space and help them get through any financial and networking barriers. They provide an online store that lists products from local designers but also provides a product development and production programme for less established designers. Random Design is a unified platform that promotes local innovation and supports local designers

Darren wins R20 000, a laptop, a printer and further business training support

3. Third place: Wendy Somlavi, owner of Wheely in a Wheelie recycling (age 23):

Wheely in a wheelie is a distinctive recycling company which supplies a wheely bag to households to help them separate their wet waste from their dry waste. The bags are made from recycled billboards. They produce compost with the wet waste and the dry waste is separated and sold to centres. They are based in Khayelitsha and their plan is to cover all townships in South Africa. They want to grow this successful business to lead people to living environmentally sustainable lives

Wendy wins R15 000, a laptop, a printer and further business training support

The top three have made it through various play-off rounds over the past three months. The YouthStartCT 2017 entrepreneurial challenge started in April this year where almost 200 entries were received and these were filtered down to the top 100.

Young people between the ages of 18 and 35 were encouraged to submit the particulars of their existing businesses which currently create employment opportunities for youth, or alternatively a business idea which includes employment opportunities for young people.

The judging panel comprised representatives from the Raymond Ackerman Academy at the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape’s Centre for Entrepreneurship, ABSA, the Small Enterprise Development Agency, and the City.

This challenge, now in its second year, was the brainchild of the City’s Social Services Directorate. #YouthStartCT is an accelerator programme for start-up entrepreneurs where the overarching aim is to contribute to skills development, innovation, and development of entrepreneurship in Cape Town.

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