Young community activist and entrepreneur use his skills to empower small businesses
Young community activist joined politics with an aim of making a positive contribution in society
My name is Sipho Mahlangu from Riverside area and I’m a 26-year-old self-motivated community activist and entrepreneur.
I was raised by a single parent in an informal settlement known as Lucky 7 in Lanseria. In 2007, we relocated to Diepsloot which was a life-changing experience as I witnessed a lot of crime, violence, and alcohol abuse.
Growing up in a disadvantaged family encouraged me to focus on school so I could better my life by being educated and positive.
In 2014, I passed my matric and then studied for a Bachelor in Business Administration at Rosebank College.
Afterwards, I decided to start my own achaar business, Komafifing Achaar, as I strongly believe that having different streams of income can change my family’s financial situation.
In 2020, I was fortunate enough to get a job at a local non-profit organisation that makes a massive difference in the lives of the most vulnerable people in Region A communities.
Due to the nature of the work I do, I developed a passion for business branding, social media and marketing, so I decided to start my own marketing business, Boom Marketing, which aims to grow small businesses.
I realised that as an individual I’m too limited in terms of what I can do to make a change in people’s lives. I joined Action SA because I strongly believe in their values, and I wanted to associate myself with a party that fights corruption, racism, crime, and unemployment.
In the last local government elections, I stood as a councillor candidate in Ward 96, solely to show young people in underprivileged communities that you can achieve anything in life as long as you have the right mindset and discipline.
The journey was draining, as working with people is challenging and politics is such a dirty game, but I continued because of the motivation to make a difference.
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