Amidst the energy crisis that South Africa has been battling with for the past few years, 28-year-old Tina Zungu 
of Khula village in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal, has come up with a business idea that greatly benefits locals.
Zungu is the founder of the Ngilozi Project, a retail business selling liquefied petroleum (LP) gas in and around her village. She established the business in 2023 while the country battled ongoing loadshedding.
“The business idea dawned on me when I realised that many residents relied on alternative sources of energy such as gas to run their household chores, such as cooking, when they experienced loadshedding,” she explained.
Zungu started researching the need for gas in her community and discovered that most households and fast-food outlets were using gas as a source of energy, but they had to travel a distance to buy it.
“I thought of bringing the service to the doorstep of my fellow residents so that they no longer have to travel long distances and pay more money to get LP gas, especially since there are not enough job opportunities in my village,” Zungu said.
She added that her business is the only one that currently offers the service in her area, and this helps the business run more smoothly.
To make sure that her business grows, she also took part in a Business Management Training Programme from the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which was introduced to her community by a ward councillor.
“The training focused on key aspects of business management. Subsequently, I qualified for R50,000 grant funding that enabled the business to branch out to nearby rural areas. This also helped to create employment for two locals who were previously unemployed,” she explained.
Zungu encouraged unemployed youth to consider entrepreneurship because it can be a powerful tool for job creation and poverty alleviation in their communities.
She made these comments against the backdrop of Youth Month, which is celebrated in the month of June to honour the contribution that young people made to the struggle for freedom in the country.
On 16 June 1976, students led a protest against the apartheid government, refusing to have Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools. This resulted in many youth losing their lives.
“I encourage South African youth to pay homage to them [youth of 1976] by participating in the economy and prioritising education so that they can empower themselves,” Zungu concluded.
For more information, email: ingiloziproject@gmail.com
WhatsApp: 073 550 8235
For more information about the NYDA visit: www.nyda.gov.za
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