The COVID-19 pandemic turned lives upside down and brought a lot of businesses to a halt.

A new World Bank economic analysis for South Africa finds that young entrepreneurs are one of the country’s best hopes of solving the jobs crisis, which has been worsened by the COVID-19 global pandemic in an environment of weakened economic growth.

“I am from a village in the North-West called Makapanstad. I learnt entrepreneurship from my grandmother who ran a kiosk at home,” said Gomolemo Motshwane.

Young business owner Gomolemo ‘Lemo’ Motshwane, saw COVID-19 as a golden opportunity to reshape his businesses to meet the sudden shift in consumer habits. With a surge of online shopping and home deliveries, Motshwane created a solution to provide training and licensing for people interested in becoming drivers for delivery services like Mr Delivery or Uber Eats.

“We have a presence throughout Gauteng. We do a lot of work in the metros due to the boom in online shopping. We also operate in townships where a number of entrepreneurs have started delivery businesses,” said Motshwane to Eyewitness News.

The 2021ENGEN Pitch & Polish runner-up said he has made huge strides since being chosen as a wild card winner for the season. The increase in motorbike drivers has seen all divisions of his business working hand-in-hand to experience rapid growth.

“My business was born out of a necessity for the new environment I was operating in. Restaurants and businesses are doing more deliveries, and it gave me the chance to grow the business,” Motshwane said.

Motshwane described his ENGEN Pitch &Polish competition experience as "eye-opening, life-changing, educational and fun". The entrepreneur said that he realized the need to know his business inside and out.

“You need to be able to paint a clear picture of what your company does. But when it comes to entrepreneurship support and mentorship, Raizcorp is second to none. They have helped countless entrepreneurs. I look forward to working with them to take my company to the next level.”

The owner of the motorbike solutions company, Urban Mobility, said he currently employs11 people and reminds Eyewitness News that what makes this company different to Mr Delivery or Uber Eats is that they are more than just another delivery service.

"We are an enabler in this space. We provide these companies with rider training and fleet solutions. We are a mobility solutions company, not a delivery company per se. Some clients outsource their delivery logistics to us.”

Thank you EWN for the article