Carla gets her Madiba Buggy!

Carla van Nieuwenhuizen from Krugersdorp is yet another proud beneficiary of Shonaquip Social Enterprise (“Shonaquip”) after they assisted her in acquiring a new device.

Shonaquip manufactures a range of positioning and mobility devices, wheelchair cushions and therapy equipment, which are appropriate for both children and adults with mobility impairments, enabling them to participate in daily activities like playing, learning, socialising, or resting. Shonaquip is a 55% black-owned, woman owned social enterprise which supports families of children with disabilities through provision of rural appropriate and locally manufactured modular wheelchairs. Shonaquip now employs 74 people; and embraces diversity by providing employment for people with disabilities – evidence of its roots of being a business-for-good.

In May of this year, Carla’s family contacted Shonaquip looking to acquire a new device for her, as her prior device was quite old and Carla is often travelling between her parents’ homes. Carla’s previous device was also becoming more difficult to transport as it was large. Due to Carla’s unique postural support needs, she required a customised device to handle these needs, while also providing comfort and support. A decision was made and Carla would be switching from her old device to a custom Madiba Buggy. Carla, not being a fan of change kept the colour of her new Madiba Buggy the same as her old device.

Due to the customised nature of her new device, and the fact that Carla’s medical aid is often utilised on her other medical care needs, the needed funds were not readily available. The team at Shonaquip stepped up and through their newly founded Wheelchair Fund, they covered the outstanding amount needed for Carla to acquire her much needed device.

Through discussion and coordination with Carla’s family, the new device was kept as a complete surprise from Carla until Shonaquip delivered it for Carla’s fitting last month.

“It was so wonderful to assist such a deserving person and family, and we know Carla will make the most of her device to continue doing some incredible things in the near future,” said the Shonaquip team in a statement.

For the past seven years, Shonaquip has worked closely with Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness to raise awareness and assist with training to improve the lives of children with disabilities in Botswana. Following a shift in policy and planning, the Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness put out a tender for the supply, delivery and fitting of 250 specialised paediatric wheelchairs.

Enterprise and Supplier Development and Loan funding provider, Inyosi Empowerment will be assisting Shonaquip with loan funding in order to fulfil this tender with the Botswana Ministry of Health and Wellness, which will in turn allow Shonaquip the opportunity to enter the mobility device supply and delivery market within the Botswana region. The Shonaquip’s story is not only heart-warming, but incredibly phenomenal and inspirational inspiring people for change and community upliftment.

Gandhi once said “be the change you want to see in the world”, and this is one of those cases.

Shonaquip was established in 1992 by Shona Mcdonald, Shona and her family encountered challenges not many people could ever consider. Shona’s daughter was born with Cerebral Palsy, a condition which affects her ability to speak, move and maintain her stability and posture. In South Africa, 10 in 1 000 children are diagnosed with cerebral palsy. A mother on a mission, Shona drew on her sculpting background to design a mobility device, which made caring for her daughter safer, easier, and opened new possibilities for fun and learning.

After receiving many questions about the source of the mobility device she had designed and built for her daughter, Shona and just one other employee, launched Shonaquip from her garage. Since then, Shonaquip’s footprint has spread throughout Southern Africa, and has grown into a globally recognised name, supplying products as far as Iraq, Georgia, India, and Uganda.

Shonaquip is a 55% black-owned, woman owned social enterprise which supports families of children with disabilities through provision of rural appropriate and locally manufactured modular wheelchairs. Shonaquip now employs 74 people; and embraces diversity by providing employment for people with disabilities – evidence of its roots of being a business-for-good.

In honour of Shona’s birthday this year, Shona established the Wheelchair Fund as an initiative in order to raise funds, which would be used in order to reduce the waitlists of people and children in need of appropriate devices. Shonaquip hopes to raise further funding for their initiative, in order to expand their impact and in order to provide more people with disabilities with devices custom tailored to suit their needs.

Inyosi Empowerment is pleased to be able to provide loan funding to Shonaquip to strengthen an ecosystem which is inclusive, barrier-free, and welcoming for individuals with mobility impairments not only throughout South Africa, but globally – enabling many more full and prosperous lives.

Inyosi Empowerment has more than a decade’s worth of experience in facilitating Black-owned businesses, with access to capital, markets and skills. With over R800 million in loans to more than 300 black-owned businesses, Inyosi has helped many businesses adapt to the ever-changing economic situation, assisted the development of many business owners skills, all while providing competitively priced funding, agreed matched grant funding and access to our inhouse web-based preferential procurement portal, www.iHive.co.za – providing them with access to our over 500 investor companies.

In commemoration of a decade’s worth of loan funding and pushing the envelope for black-owned SMMEs within South Africa, Inyosi Empowerment has launched an exclusive business loan funding competition, whereby one black-owned business could win an interest free loan of up to R5 million. This competition is aimed at celebrating the positive impact loan funding can have on the growth of SMME’s and how this in turn spurs on job creation and economic growth in South Africa; much like the domino effect, but more specifically the “Inyosi domino effect.”