Ngwantshabu Bridget Mkhondo

Category
Rural Development Projects

Age
33

Organisation / Company
BW & Daughter farms
Website

Profile

As a startup founder of BW & Daughter farms, Ngwantshabu Bridget Mkhondo’s job entails raising funds for the business, stakeholder engagement and sourcing materials and farming inputs such as seeds, fertiliser and pesticides. The 33-year-old is also responsible for managing the day-to-day operations, activities, employees and contractors. Bridget holds a master’s degree in chemistry after working for the University of Pretoria for five years. She returned to her home village and started the business. The farm produces and sells vegetables in the rural Sekhukhune district, in Limpopo. In 2022, Ngwantshabu was selected by the National Youth Development Agency as one of the four youths to participate in an exchange programme hosted by the University of University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture. She has shown the ability to go after what she wants despite the difficulties she faces in her endeavours. Ngwantshabu believes the development of agriculture as a business can create opportunities for those in rural areas. She would like to see a South Africa where young graduates from townships and rural areas are not afraid to take risks by venturing into entrepreneurship, creating the much-needed employment opportunities for themselves and others.

List your educational background - qualifications and institutions?

MSc in chemistry, University of Limpopo

Any awards or achievements in your field?

• Selected and sponsored by the National Youth Development Agency to be part of a summer school exchange programme between Brazil and South Africa at the University of São Paulo’s Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, 2022
• Best project 2022 category of the Adult Citizen Entrepreneurship competition, by Stiftung Entrepreneurship 
• Selected as one of Africa’s Brightest Young Minds 2022 cohort

One childhood memory that has spurred you to such levels of achievement?

My mother went all out for us growing up. I believe her motto was “the best or nothing” for her children, and I have carried that to my adult life and career. I go all out in anything I do; I do not believe in doing things half-hearted.

Advice to your younger self?

Never be afraid of change, a fresh start is always possible, there is so much beauty in change.

What would you like South Africa to look like in five years?

A South Africa where young graduates from townships and rural areas are not afraid to take risks by venturing into entrepreneurship, creating the much-needed employment opportunities for themselves and others.