When 27-year-old Bokang Lehloenya faced post-graduation unemployment in 2021 after completing her National Diploma in Language Practice and Media Studies, she turned to entrepreneurship to survive.
Using her National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) savings, she began brewing 20 bottles of Wa Rona Motoho—a traditional fermented sorghum beverage—daily from her home kitchen.
Today, her company, Wa Rona Food Enterprise (Pty) Ltd, is a thriving youth- and woman-owned agro-processing business operating out of Thandanani in Welkom, Free State.
Lehloenya’s drive to grow her venture led her to seek support from several enterprise development agencies. She completed training through the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), which boosted her production capacity to 500 bottles per day.
The NYDA also provided her with a two-door fridge, a Wendy house for operational space, and R50,000 in grant funding.
Seeking further growth, Lehloenya approached the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency (SEDFA) and the Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA).
DESTEA provided R300,000 in support for stock and a delivery vehicle. With assistance from the Free State Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, she secured SABS testing and nutritional approval in 2023, confirming a three-month shelf life.
By 2024, Wa Rona Motoho had broken into major retail distribution across the Free State, gaining shelf space in Spar supermarkets, Roots Butchery, Waltloo Meat & Chicken, service station forecourts, and local markets. Her innovation earned national recognition when she won R100,000 at the National Presidential SMME Awards for township-based enterprises. Lehloenya reinvested all grant funding into raw materials, packaging, and backup power solutions.
Wa Rona Food Enterprise currently employs more than five local women and youth while sourcing sorghum directly from small-scale regional farmers, supporting the local agricultural value chain as it eyes national and international expansion.
Entrepreneurs seeking business support can access opportunities here:
https://www.nyda.gov.za
Free State Department of Agriculture]
https://www.ard.fs.gov.za)
SEDFA
https://www.sedfa.org.za).
