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Written on 15 April 2015
The entrepreneur behind the schoolbag that transforms into a light
at night
When South African childhood friends and later entrepreneurs Thato Kgatlhanye and Rea
Ngwane finished high school, they knew they wanted to start something that impacted young
people and underprivileged communities. At age 18, they founded Rethaka, a social enterprise
they hoped would do just that, although it would be two years before they figured out how.
“Yes, it is a bit funny that you would register a business without a business idea,” notes
Kgatlhanye. “But at the heart of it we actually wanted to do great things. And when the idea of
the Repurpose Schoolbags came to us, we worked on it tirelessly.”
Repurpose Schoolbags is an environmentally-friendly innovation made from ‘upcycled’ plastic
shopping bags with built-in solar technology that charges up during the day and transforms into
a light at night. The initiative targets school children in underprivileged communities and looks at
addressing a number of problems.
Firstly, the bags allow them to study after dark in homes without electricity. Secondly, the bags
are designed with reflective material, so that children are visible to traffic during their walk to
and from school.
The production of Repurpose Schoolbags also involves the collection and recycling of plastic bags
that typically litter the South African landscape.
Introducing a sustainable solution
The first eight months of last year were spent piloting the schoolbags, followed by producing
1,000 bags from August to December.
The company currently has eight full-time employees in their factory in Rustenburg, but
Kgatlhanye says they will employ an additional 12 people this year in order to meet their
production target of 10,000 bags for 2015.
One of the ways the initiative gets its schoolbags to these children is through targeting corporate
social investment budgets where companies can sponsor the production of bags. Each bag costs
R250 (US$20), and covers the cost of employee wages and production, so the initiative can
remain sustainable and continue to grow.
Another model is to produce bags for delegate packs at corporate events where delegates can
then choose to give the bag to underprivileged children after events. The company has already
gained some major clients, including the likes of Standard Bank and PwC.
According to Kgatlhanye, there is room to develop additional products along the same idea, such
as raincoats. However, she added this is something the team will think about at a later stage, as
they are still trying to ramp-up production of the schoolbags and expand to other communities.
More ‘social’ than ‘entrepreneur’
While the co-founders (now both 22) have to think like entrepreneurs to ensure the business
remains sustainable, Kgatlhanye says becoming an entrepreneur was almost a by-product of
Repurpose Schoolbags. She admits that as a kid she never dreamed of owning her own
business. “That is not my story.”
However, from a young age she did realise she wanted to have a positive impact on the society
that surrounded her, a trait she owes to her upbringing and particularly her mother.
“My mom cares about people like you wouldn’t imagine… so I grew up in an environment where
I was always conscious of actually caring for other people and having a sense of empathy,” she
says.
“And thank God I had that upbringing – where I could understand there are people out there
that don’t have as much as I do. And that if I find creative ideas on how to give them what it is
they need, then we could both be fine… and brave the world [together].”
Alternative sources of funding
Kgatlhanye describes her business journey as “instinctive” and has learnt some great tips that
can help young entrepreneurs grow their business without capital.
For starters, she believes there are alternatives for funding that don’t require involving
investors, with the trade off of giving away equity in the business. For example, Kgatlhanye has
benefited from a number of mentorship and entrepreneurship programmes.
She was selected for an internship in New York with marketing guru and American best-selling
author Seth Godin, and was picked as one of 18 South African social entrepreneurs to attend the
10-day Red Bull Amaphiko Academy last year. Furthermore, she was also selected as the 2014
first runner-up of the Anzisha Prize, where she won $15,000.
“My advice is simple: bootstrap and find competitions to enter your business idea into,” she
highlighted during an online Q&A session on the Anzisha Prize’s Facebook page earlier this year.
“Firstly, it is a great way to get free business support and advice. Secondly it’s a great
networking opportunity to meet high-profile business people – who usually judge these
competitions – and potentially get mentorship from them. Finally, if you end up a winner, you
will not only get a cash prize but also get some PR out of it.”
However, most importantly, Kgatlhanye advises young entrepreneurs to trust their gut and
admits that she has decided to lose mentors in the past simply because they shared different
visions.
Separating business and friendship
As friends, Kgatlhanye and Ngwane have managed to work well as business partners. But for
many, going into business with a friend has led to the death of a friendship.
“One thing that’s key is when you form a business partnership with your friend, act as though
you met that person that day,” noted Kgatlhanye.
“So you can’t say because you’ve known your friend since grade 4, you’ll work well together in
business. No – you have known them since you decided to start a company together. So get to
know your business partner as a business partner, not as a friend, because business and
friendship is a different ball game.”
Another trick that proved beneficial for the co-founders was to get a business coach to help
them get comfortable in their business relationship.
“And I think that’s the best advice. Get a business coach, be honest, leave the ego at the door
and hustle.”
Applications close on April 24th. Visit The Anzisha Prize to apply or nominate now. Follow
#HelpUsFindThem and #AnzishaEffect on our social media platforms Twitter and Facebook.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. Contact us and our country-partners for country-level data & insights!
Anzisha Prize has a growing country partners programme with national level
organisations that are aligned to our mission across Africa. Please contact us for details
and contact information. Further, we will soon be in a position to release country-level
insights based on our applications pool to help media analyse and comment on
entrepreneur dynamics in your own countries. Email prize@anzishaprize.org with
queries.
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entrepreneurs day-by-day.
Press Contact: Josh Adler; Email: jadler@africanleadershipacademy.org; 011 699 3000