2020-04-01 Forbes Africa

28 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020 FORBESAFRICA.COM

WhenI wasdonewiththe

marathon,I gotto workturning

thisnewly-discoveredniche

intoa fully-fledgedbusiness.

Africanfruitandveg

is amongstthemost

wholesome,healthy

andflavorsome on

the planet.

TONYMAUTSU,27,BOTSWANA

FOUNDERANDMANAGINGDIRECTOR, SOCIAL LIGHT

INDUSTRY:DIGITAL SOLUTIONS

TonyMautsuwasborn 30 kilometersawayfromthecapital

cityofBotswana,Gaborone.Hegrewupina smallvillage

calledMochudiandcouldnotspeakEnglishverywell.

Butfromtheageof10,helearnedveryquicklyhowto

standout.

Growingupinschool,hesoldsweets,chips,compact

discsandairtime,unknowinglyhoninghisentrepreneurial

spirit.

Whilevolunteeringata marathonin2014,heused

socialmediatogenerateinspirationalquotesandrespond

toinquiries.Thisearnedhimthedescriptionof“thatsocial

mediaguy”.

“WhenI wasdonewiththemarathon,I gottowork

turningthisnewly-discoverednicheintoa fully-fledged

business.TheSocialLight,thelightthatleadscorporations

intothistrickyunknownplatformofsocialmedia,”hesays.

SocialLightisgearedtowardsintroducingcuttingedge-

techservicestoassistcompaniespositiontheirbrandsand

acquirein-depthinformationonclientsentimentsthrough

bigdataminingandmonitoringtoolsinBotswana.

Theyofferservicessuchasvideoanimation,graphic

designing,contentcreation,HD-livestreaming,application

managementandsocialmediamanagement.

Oneoftheirbiggesthighlightswaswhentheywere

commissionedtoworkwiththe 2017 GlobalExpo

Botswana,whichhostedfounderofVirginGroup,business

magnateandbillionaireRichardBranson.

Lastyear,theyworkedwiththeYouthTownHall

MeetingorganizedbytheBotswanaGovernmentwhich

featuredtelecomgiant,StriveMasiyiwa.

The business has grown 750% in the last year, he attests.

UZAIRESSACK,27,

SOUTHAFRICA

FOUNDERANDMANAGINGDIRECTOR,CAPECROPS

INDUSTRY:AGRICULTURE, LOGISTICS

UzairEssackhashisrootsdeepinthefruitand

vegetablebusiness.

Heisthefounderandmanagingdirectorof

CapeCrops,anexportbusinessthatsellsfruits

andvegetablessourcedfromSouthAfricatothe

restofAfricaandinternationalmarketssuchas

Europe,theMiddleEastandAsia.

Withnobackgroundinagriculture,Essack

investedhissavingstostartthebusinessandhas

managedtobuilda companywhichwentfrom

earningR500,000($30,515)revenuein2015 to

R34million($2million)in2019.

Someofhisclientsincludemajor

supermarketchainssuchasMarks&Spencer,

Aldi,TescoandCarrefourandherecently

openedanofficeinDubai.

Essackemploysa staffof 13 andindirectly

employsthousandswhocontributetofarming,

coldchainandlogistics.

Heisalsothefounderandpresidentof

GetGiving,a non-profitcompanythataimsto

benefitthecommunitythroughprojectswhich

includefood-hamperdrives,sanitarydrives,

stationarydrivesandcareersdays.

EssackwontheMinaraYoungEntrepreneur

Awardin2019.

“We firmly believe that Africanfruitand

vegisamongst

themost

wholesome,

healthyand

flavorsomeon

theplanetand

we’repassionate

abouthelping

ourclientsall

overtheworld

toshowcaseit

ontheglobal

stage,”hesays.

Photos supplied