By: Sizakele Nduli
Gontse Selaocoe established his business, All Day Jam, in 2019 just after completing his matric. He grew up watching his grandmother, Mabel, run her own small tuckshop and his entrepreneurial journey was inspired by her from an early age. Selaocoe, who is from Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg, manufactures different types of jams, using organically grown fruit and vegetables cultivated on his own farm. Like any other business, Selaocoe has had to overcome a number of obstacles. These included a lack of marketing and producing quality jams.
He decided that the best option to upskill himself was to enroll at Green Business College, which is dedicated to building “green” entrepreneurs. “Sometimes I would produce the jam in good quality and sometimes in bad until I had to learn more, go to the Green Business College, enhance my skills, learn with SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency) because I was using the basic skills from home,” Selaocoe added.
Selaocoe, 24, said that his dream of getting his jams into retail stores was slowly becoming a reality. “We are in partnership with Wakanda Food Accelerator which assisted us a lot with barcodes from GS1. We are members of Proudly SA. Our products have also been tested by SAB so in terms of health, it is safe to eat our products,” Selaocoe said. His business has benefited and grown from funding, including from the Innovation Hub and Gauteng Enterprise Propeller (GEP). “In my facility, we are currently renovating, and expanding the factory after I won the SEDA competition. So, with the funding we got to buy the container and the machineries that we need,” Selaocoe said.
All Day Jam produces a range of jams including pear, yellow melon, tomato, and peach. It supplies daycare centres, school feeding schemes, restaurants and homes for people with disabilities. Currently, Selaocoe’s business has five employees and also makes use of distributors, their website as well as social media platforms to sell their products. He also supplies his products to tuckshops in the Western Cape and hopes to expand his reach.
