Mhlanga who holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech and Hearing from Wits University in South Africa believes that Eswatini is full of business opportunities for young people. Gcinile Mhlanga is now the co-owner of the franchise Mugg and Bean in Ezulwini. In a competition with experienced business moguls, her passion and social support from her family made it possible for her to take the courage to venture into this reputable franchise.
Her humble beginnings, selling cakes by the gate of her house at Kentrock in Mbabane, nurtured her passion in business and eventually gave her the courage to abandon her medical degree to take an interest in starting a real business within the food services industry.
She advices young people to look beyond the available challenges of entrepreneurship and focus their energies on how they can act on their ideas. She understands the struggles of access to finance so that one can have enough seed capital to materialise one’s business dreams. Nevertheless, she urges upcoming entrepreneurs to start small and save what they can to have some collateral to access finance from formal finance institutions, like the Youth Enterprise Revolving Fund, FINCORP, and the Regional Development Fund. In her own words, she says, these have worked for her. One of the ways young aspiring entrepreneurs can act on materialising their business dreams is to volunteer in the industry they have an interest in establishing a business. She explains that this will give them opportunities to familiarise themselves, gain experience, and learn the culture of the industry.
Young entrepreneurs need work hard and nurture their passion and make sure they never lose sight of their dreams. She also stresses that entrepreneurs need to be genuinely interested in people because as she explains, those are your future customers and they may have the right information you need for your business.
“Come out of your comfort zone, do things for yourself, network, and sell your business,” she advises the youth.
“No one will know what you have and need unless you market yourself. Do not wait for a ‘knight in shining armour’ to save you, challenges in entrepreneurship will always be there, if some are succeeding nothing can stop you as well. Start with what you have,” she concluded.
