By: Ntombi Mandla
Johustleburg, a free entrepreneurial hub aimed at supporting local businesses, has been launched in Maboneng, Johannesburg. The initiative by the Honest Group Foundation aims to accommodate 10 businesses, fostering their growth and potentially leading each to employ one person. This ripple effect could result in 10 more people being employed in the community.
The CEO of the local travel experience company, Frank Leya, who hails from Congo, told Vutivi News that he firmly believed in giving youth a chance, especially considering the high unemployment rate. He emphasised that entrepreneurship was crucial for the country’s development. “We hope to see this small business grow to employ more youth like us. We currently have 28 young people, who could be unemployed, working for us across the country and we believe we have the key resources to help them get there,” said Leya.
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The Johustleburg centre offers free Wi-Fi, free landline for calls, free boardrooms and free coffee. The centre can house 10 businesses, including an open floor for 15 more people who can walk in and use the resources daily, bringing the total number of people to 25. The centre uses the same shuttle to collect clients from tours to transport entrepreneurs to the meeting and verifies the businesses through a CK document.
One of the entrepreneurs making use of the centre is Bright Ndlovu, who owns a travel tour experience company, The Catalyst Projects. “We use the space to collaborate with different designers, to showcase their work within the space which helps our businesses when we give tours in the inner city, however, the businesses are not limited to Johannesburg and extend to other countries that are in Africa,” Ndlovu said.
When asked whether the foundation received financial support from the government, Leya said: “Not at all. Technically, we don’t qualify for any governmental grants because I, as the owner, am a foreigner. According to governmental policies, we don’t qualify for anything, but that’s not the focus here. Growing up in South Africa, I understand the challenges we face, and I’m able to help. Why not? For me, it’s about seeing South Africa progress to a better place.”
Leya plans to see the business grow to the point where he can open more of these spaces countrywide. “We are self-funded. The funds come from our tour company Honest Travel Experience which hosts a number of tours in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. Our goal as a company is to uplift the communities we operate in,” Leya said.
