LYDENBURG – Winnie Batseba Ncongwane has hit on a fruitful venture by turning her hobby into a business.
The wife of the mayor in Thaba Chweu Municipality, Cllr Bafana Michael Ncongwane, has started a business and intends to increase job opportunities for the youth in Lydenburg and surrounding areas.
“I intend to employ people in my new business area, I want to work with the community and decrease unemployment,” she added.
Her products range from preserved peaches, beetroot, atchaar and tomato jam. She says it is a question of transforming a hobby into business. “I have set up a company and my label is Winmic,” she said.
Winnie recently came third in the provincial Female Entrepreneur of the Year Awards and won R5 000. She also received a certificate of participation in the category of top entrepreneur processing at the event in Mbombela during Woman’s Month.
Winnie says she started making preserves at a young age, “I used to help my mother in the kitchen while I was growing up and it was always fun cooking with her.”
She says she learnt the skills from her mother who always used the abundance of fruit and vegetables in the garden at Badplaas to make jam, atchaar, preserved fruit and beetroot for the family.
“I saw the need to venture into business in April 2012 after I realised that I could enjoy doing what I love, while living my dream of being a businesswoman.”
She sells her products to locals, friends and relatives and as soon as her products are approved by the South African Bureau of Standards, she will be able to spread her wings.
Her main dream is to see it expand as she wants to help curb youth unemployment in Lydenburg and see her products on the shelves of big stores and supermarkets.
“I am also planning to add more products, such as tomato and chilli sauce.”
Winnie plans to start by employing
20 people and in time, she will increase her staff, depending on the demand for her products.
