Dyslexia doesn’t stop business success

At just 29, Nothile Ngema has defied the odds by running a business while living with dyslexia, slow speech and writing, all while studying medicine. 

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability, where someone has difficulty reading, spelling, and writing, despite having normal intelligence and motivation to learn. 

From her days as a medical student at the University of Limpopo (UL) to her current role as an intern doctor in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Ngema has had to balance the pressures of academia, entrepreneurship and disability. 

Yet, instead of holding her back, these challenges became the very forces that shaped her into the resilient founder and director of e-Aggrandizer.

Her story begins at the University of Limpopo, where Ngema was pursuing her medical degree. In her fourth year, disaster struck when she lost her bursary.

 “After I lost that bursary, I struggled to secure another one. I even tried to get a job but I wasn’t successful.” 

Faced with the possibility of leaving her studies unfinished, she made a decision that would alter the course of her life. 

“I then dipped into my savings, the money I had managed to save while studying, to start a business.”

e-Aggrandizer is a company that specialises in producing high-quality, multilingual, non-animated videos with quick turnaround times. The company focuses on highlighting African innovation while helping small South African businesses tell their stories in a way that makes them more visible and competitive in the global marketplace. 

“Small businesses are our main targets,” Ngema explained. 

By creating impactful video content, her company ensures that the voices of entrepreneurs who might otherwise go unheard are amplified to larger audiences.

The company has grown steadily since its founding in 2019, now employing six people including sales agents, animators, a business development manager and a social media manager. 

Ngema, who is also an animator herself, credits her love of computers for her skills. 

“I have a passion for everything that has to do with computers. I also have this gift of figuring out things on my own. I did, however, take a short course to develop my skills.”

What makes Ngema’s journey even more remarkable is that she was born with challenges that could have held her back. She lives with dyslexia, slow speech and writing. 

“My slow speech severely affects me when I have to make presentations, I take too long and run out of time. But with video, I am able to present my thoughts and research,” she said. 

Strength and innovation

Rather than allowing her disability to define her, she transformed it into a source of strength and innovation. 

“Disability does not define us, and it should never limit us. The first thing that limits a person is that person’s mindset. As long as you aim big and go after your dreams, you’ll be able to achieve anything, even if you’re living with a disability. 

Running a business while working in healthcare is no small feat. 

“To be honest, it is quite challenging. It was much easier while I was a student. What I do right now is to delegate responsibilities,” she admitted. 

Despite the pressure of balancing both worlds, she remains focused on her long-term vision. “My hope and dream for the business is to impact as many lives as possible. Our vision is to make the voices of the many stories of businesses out there louder. We want South African animators to be recognised globally. We also want small businesses to compete well globally through our services so that we can solve the unemployment crisis that we are currently facing, not only as a country but in Africa at large.”

Her resilience and determination were recognised in 2023 when she won the prestigious Entrepreneurship Development in Higher Education (EDHE) Business-Tech category. 

“Reaching that milestone was very humbling,” she reflected, adding that she would not have made it without the support of the University of Limpopo’s Digital Hub and Reakgona Disability Centre. She had started in the internal rounds at UL as one of 13 participants. She progressed through the regional stage, and reached the national finals where she triumphed in the Existing Business-Tech category.

For more information about e-Aggrandizer, visit: www.e-aggrandizer.com, email admin@e-aggrandizer.com  or call +27 60 469 6952