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A former airport cleaner is on her way to realising her dream of becoming a pilot.

 A former airport cleaner, who is now a student pilot at Focus Air Flight School in Durban, encourages people from previously marginalised groups to join the aviation industry.

Nokuthula Mchunu (37) from Lamontville in KwaZulu-Natal worked at Durban International Airport and, while mopping floors, observed the operations and pilots. At home, she read about aviation, which helped her understand the many available careers in the sector.

Thabang Shinners (22) is a self-taught carpenter who sells foldable laptop tables and other wooden products, after learning his craft by watching YouTube tutorials.

Shinners, from Rocklands in Bloemfontein, owns carpentry business ThaPlanka. He is also a third-year Bachelor of Computer Information Systems student at the University of the Free State.

Frank Molongwana (25) took a leap of faith when he quit his job at a big courier company to launch his own business, Frank Couriers.

He initially used taxis to deliver parcels to clients, as he couldn’t afford to buy a delivery vehicle.

“I started Frank Couriers with no money.

An entrepreneur is tasting sweet success with his Mavusana Premium Rooibos tea brand.

Two innovators have designed a self-service certifying document machine that is set to make standing in long queues to certify documents a thing of the past.

Thabang Mamantsebe and Pule Maake, from Ekurhuleni in Gauteng, are the owners of E-Certify, a machine they invented to certify documents using biometric scans (using fingerprints or facial features to identify someone).

Government Communication and Information System, in collaboration with the National Intellectual Property Management Office (NIPMO) – a specialised service delivery unit within the National Department of Science and Innovation – recently held a webinar about intellectual property (IP) and the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Act.

Vhutshilo Netshiongolwe has created an organic, plant-based cereal that is suitable for diabetics.

Netshiongolwe, from Limpopo, says the idea was sparked after watching his grandmother battle with type 2 diabetes, for over 35 years, and struggle to access proper medication.

Gugulethu Farm in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) is producing potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and spinach, thanks to government initiatives and support.

If you don’t have a valid will, you will have no control over who inherits your assets when you die. This might lead to people inheriting your money or assets, even if you didn’t want them to.

If a person dies without making a will, the assets that they owned will be distributed in terms of the Intestate Succession Act, to the people who must rightfully inherit them.

The Act sets out rules of how the estate must be distributed. It goes to close relatives first, in a specific order: