Portia Ngwenya is the founder of Ngwananku Poultry Projects, a proudly South African, 100% Black woman-owned poultry enterprise specialising in the production and supply of broiler chickens.
The business supplies both live and slaughtered, cleaned chickens to households, resellers, catering businesses, restaurants and bulk buyers.
The 27-year-old started the business in 2022 with approximately 100 broiler chickens in her backyard in Phashaskraal, Limpopo.
She said her motivation came from her passion for agriculture and the farming journey she witnessed from her parents while growing up.
“I saw an opportunity to turn that passion into a sustainable business while also providing food to my community and creating employment opportunities. I believed that poultry farming could grow into something bigger and become a source of income not only for myself but also for other people in my community,” she said.
With limited access to external funding, Ngwenya started the business using savings accumulated through previous work opportunities.
She said she gradually expanded the operation by reinvesting income into the business.
Ngwenya’s journey has not been without challenges.
Limited infrastructure, a small poultry house, unreliable water supply, high feed and medication costs, electricity expenses and transport difficulties have constrained the business’s growth.
Limited access to funding has also made it difficult to increase production and meet rising demand.
To strengthen her technical expertise, Ngwenya completed professional poultry slaughtering and processing training at the KwaZulu-Natal Poultry Institute in 2024.
The training equipped her with knowledge of poultry handling, hygienic processing and food safety.
Today, Ngwananku Poultry Projects produces approximately 200 broiler chickens per three-week production cycle, depending on available resources and capacity.
Revenue comes from selling both live and processed chickens.
The business currently employs two women from the local community, who assist with processing slaughtered chickens.
Ngwenya is also involved in the daily management and operations of the enterprise.
Beyond employment, the business supports other local agricultural activities.
Poultry manure is bagged and made available to local gardeners and crop farmers for use as organic fertiliser.
She mentioned that increasing production capacity is now a priority as the business cannot yet meet the full level of customer demand.
Ngwenya’s long-term vision is to transform Ngwananku Poultry Projects into a larger poultry enterprise with improved poultry houses, reliable water infrastructure, cold storage, processing and packaging facilities.
Central to that vision is establishing a poultry abattoir that can enable professional poultry processing while meeting required hygiene and food safety standards.
As the business expands, Ngwenya aims to create approximately 20 employment opportunities and supply larger markets.
For the young entrepreneur, the goal extends beyond building a profitable poultry operation.
She wants the business to contribute to food security, rural development, job creation and stronger local livelihoods.
“I want to build a business that contributes meaningfully to food security, rural development, job creation and the growth of agriculture in South Africa,” she said.
