From lecture hall to successful water business

Obakeng Phale, 28, is living a dream he has always nurtured: obtaining a solid education, starting a business, and becoming his own boss. He was always drawn to entrepreneurship.

In Grade 10, he and a childhood friend ran a mobile car wash on weekends, taking calls from the community and making a decent living. The entrepreneurial instinct was there long before the business plan.

When he enrolled to study law at the Pearson Institute (now Eduvos) in Potchefstroom in 2016, the plan was to supplement the qualification with a Master of Business Administration (MBA). 

Back then, a water business was not part of the plan; however, by the time he completed his degree in 2020, it was.

Today, Phale runs Aquafina Springs in Mahikeng, a water purification and bottling company backed by the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA). The business supplies purified bottled water, ice, dispensary equipment, and a mobile freezer rental package to local residents and businesses.

"Water is an essential need," says Phale. 

"The water purification market is growing rapidly, and I wanted to build a filtration system that makes water drinkable and safe for the community."

He knew what he wanted to build, but securing funding was the harder part. He heard about SEDA through conversations with other small business owners stuck in the same gap — too big for a micro-grant but not yet established enough for a bank loan. 

"Its focus on economic transformation and job creation matched perfectly with what I was trying to achieve," he says.

Applying for support

The application required his Companies and Intellectual Property Commission registration, a South African Revenue Service tax clearance certificate, and a 12-month cash flow projection. 

The funding financed an ice machine that expanded his supplier base and brought him closer to owning his full value chain.

"Ice and water go hand in hand," he says. Since then, his distribution network has grown considerably, and the business has begun diversifying its revenue streams.

His legal training has proved useful. “It helps me read the fine print in contracts, navigate negotiations with confidence, and stay calm under pressure,” he says. 

He sees himself as a builder first; the law gave him the tools, but the business gave him purpose.

Leaving a conventional career path has not been easy. Phale occasionally takes on temporary legal work to keep the business funded. Otherwise, he runs Aquafina Springs full-time.

Aquafina Springs now employs two people. Phale still has his eye on an MBA; his tycoon ambitions have not gone anywhere. 

For more information, contact Aquafina Springs on Facebook: Aquafina Springs, Instagram: @aquafina.springs