Urban farmers
GrowBox founder wins FairLady Santam
Social Entrepreneur Award
R
enshia Manuel of GrowBox was recently named
the 2019 FAIRLADY Santam Social Entrepreneur
GrowBox promotes urban food gardens by supplying
vegetable garden boxes to impoverished and malnourished
communities in densely populated urban residential areas.
This Award is presented annually to a female entrepreneur
who is making a real difference to her community.
“I am planning to use the prize
money to take GrowBox`s flat-
pack product range to market
and to increase production at the
nursery in order to impact more
households,” says Renshia.
SABI magazine featured Renshia
Manuel’s success story last year,
and we are delighted to see her
winning this Award. Notably, SABI
Company Member Netafim SA are
associated with backing Renshia’s
business, via financial support
and their supply of irrigation
equipment and technical inputs
– well done to Netafim too for
backing the efforts of young rising
entrepreneurs. Notably, Manuel
promotes water conservation and
sustainability within her enter-
prise to the urban gardeners she
supplies to.
Manuel started her business
when she was unemployed, with
no savings but an enormous will
to succeed and play a role in
community nutrition.
Enthuses
Manuel:
“Our
Growboxes are customised to
meet our clients’ needs and come
with the growth medium, as well
as seedlings. We also offer corpo-
rate-sponsored food-gardening
workshops in disadvantaged
communities and teach house-
holds how to grow food in limited
spaces.
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Growing veggies
sustainably
“What sets us apart as a company
is that we offer the complete
package. It’s a hassle-free
vegetable box. Our customers
tell us what vegetable or herb
plants they want and what size
the box must be, then we deliver
the fully-stocked box. Our holistic
programme starts households
on the path to food growing and
teaches people how to grow
vegetables sustainably and how to
use food waste.
FAIRLADY editor Suzy Brokensha
said: “Although they are judged
on the success and potential
success of their initiatives, all three
of these women are creating busi-
nesses that are contributing not
only to the South African economy
but also to improving our country
by creating job opportunities for
others, enabling people to feed
themselves and turning waste
collection into profit. That’s what
we love about women in business,
and that’s why FAIRLADY believes
so strongly in this annual award
and partnership.”
Other
winners
included
RecruitMyMom founder Phillipa
Geard, who was named the 2019
FAIRLADY Santam Woman of
the Future (awarded to a female
entrepreneur who has survived
SABI | OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019
Women of the Future Awards Renshia
with the judges Renshia Manuel, Nondumiso Sibaya
and Phillipa Geard
the first 1 000 days of busi-
ness). RecruitMyMom is a South
African-born online recruitment
agency meeting the needs of
skilled women looking to integrate
their careers with their family
lives. ‘Winning the Woman of
the Future Award is the acknowl-
edgement that my team and I are
making a difference in the lives of
thousands of women by creating
employment opportunities,’ says
Phillipa. adjudicators – FAIRLADY editor
Suzy Brokensha, Trust Chair for
Social Justice at Stellenbosch
University and founder of the
Social Justice M-Plan and the
ThuMa Foundation, Professor
Thuli Madonsela; executive head
of Human Resources at Santam,
Enid Lizamore; social entrepreneur
Dawn Nathan-Jones; entrepre-
neur and philanthropist Johanna
Mukoki and media entrepreneur
& international speaker, Jo-Ann
Strauss.
Entrepreneurial journeys
Moreover, Nondumiso Sibiya
of Boombadotmodi was named
the 2019 FAIRLADY Santam
Rising Star (awarded to a female
entrepreneur who is still within
her first 1000 days of business).
Boombadotmobi is a waste
management business that tries
to reduce illegal dumping by
collecting waste from its source,
connecting waste generators with
waste collectors and ensuring
that the waste is disposed of
responsibly.
The three winners were selected
from a shortlist of nine final-
ists by a panel of South African
“Over the past five years we
have had the honour of encoun-
tering phenomenal women who
are making a big impact in their
communities. It has been a privi-
lege to be part of their entrepre-
neurial journeys by giving them
the platform to be acknowledged
for the great work they are doing.
We are committed to supporting
initiatives such as this in order to
ensure that the generations to
follow continue with the legacy
of these women.” said Mokaedi
Dilotsotlhe, chief marketing officer
at Santam.