Editor

When Silubonile Ngqandu and her husband, Njabulo Mchunu, launched Landa Homeware in 2020, they had no formal background in furniture design or manufacturing—just a shared passion for beautiful spaces.

What began as a self-taught experiment in a garage has grown into a budding agro-processing business — and Mpho Mathabi, founder of Peanata Peanut Butter, is only getting started.

Born out of resilience and resourcefulness, Peanata was officially founded in September 2024. Just five months later, in February 2025, it expanded into a fully-fledged factory facility in Venda, Limpopo. The entrepreneur behind the brand, Mpho Mathabi, said her journey into peanut butter production was an unexpected turn in her entrepreneurial path.

While many young people opt to pursue higher education after completing Grade 12, Buhle Gotsha chose a different path — launching his own business.

Nompumelelo Ngcobeni, from the rural area of Bulwer in KwaZulu-Natal, is thriving in the forestry business after struggling for years to secure a permanent job as a paramedic.

Ngcobeni began her career as a general worker in a male-dominated industry but has since become the proud owner of Phumi’s Forestry Services, a small, medium and micro enterprise.

The GCIS is an equal opportunity employer. In the filling of vacant posts, the objectives of Section 195 (1) (i) of the Constitution of South Africa of 1996, the Employment Equity (EE) imperatives as defined by the EE Act, 1998 (Act 55 of 1998) and relevant Human Resources policies of the department will be taken into consideration. People with disabilities will be accommodated within reasonable limits. Therefore, preference will be given to candidates whose appointment will assist the department in achieving its EE targets in terms of the department’s EE Plan.

Letter

Hello Vuk’uzenzele,

I run my own building construction company, Siya and Sons Construction, and I would like to know if I am headed in the right direction. I’m currently looking to expand the business and would appreciate any support available, particularly with construction materials, to help us grow.

Thank you for your time and assistance.

If you walk through the workshops of the Limpopo Jewellery Business Incubator (LJBI), you will hear the delicate ring of hammers against metal, the low whirr of polishing machines, and the quiet hum of ambition. Here, talent lives in its rawest form, ideas made tangible, beauty crafted bead by bead, design by design. These aren’t just businesses. They are blueprints of resilience.

Yesterday we observed

The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) has a new online platform that provides an additional avenue for people to connect with caring cancer communities.

In May, CANSA launched a virtual support group that is held monthly on Zoom to extend the reach it has already achieved through its face-to-face support groups, Facebook and WhatsApp groups, which operate across South Africa.