Water, Sewage & Effluent January February 2019 | Page 25

WSE: Tell us a bit about yourself, your
upbringing and education.
AM: I was born in Lydenburg in
Mpumalanga province, and brought
up by my grandmother — my parents
had to work, and they sent money each
month. My grandmother looked after
me, my sister, and a bunch of cousins.
When I was older and in high school,
my parents decided that we deserved
a better way of life and moved us to
www.waterafrica.co.za
Andile Mnisi — girl-power inspiration!
Andile Mnisi established Green
Output Solutions in 2015 — an
environmental solutions company that
delivers a full spectrum of integrated
waste management, environmental
rehabilitation, and compliance and
a school in Burgersfort in Limpopo
province. It was a private school, and my
sister and I were both there from Grade
10 to 12. After matriculating, I went on to
university, and received a qualification in
chemical engineering.
WSE: What motivates you?
AM: Despite the challenges that we as
youth face, I feel that we have a lot of
resources at our disposal and should be
doing things for ourselves. It is the belief
in this that motivates me. I am motivated
by the belief that opportunities are
endless, and there for the taking. And
they are available right here — in South
Africa. I am motivated by the thought of
making a difference, of having an impact
— in business and in the community.
And doing it on my own, without help or
aid from anyone. Just my efforts.
Water Sewage & Effluent January/February 2019
25
industrial cleaning services. The
company is based in Midrand, has a
national footprint, and services a number
of neighbouring countries.
The business offers solutions that
include integrated waste management,
such as on-site waste management,
safe treatment and disposal, waste
classification and analysis, environmental
audits (GN R704), WUL, IWWMP,
dam safety inspections, wastewater
treatment plants, rehabilitation, and
mine closure licencing and atmospheric
emission licensing.
Green Output Solutions has a Level
1 B-BBEE status and is 80% women-
owned. Its services are tailor-made,
sustainable,
and
cost-effective
according to each client’s requirements.
Water, Sewage & Effluent (WSE) met
with Andile (AM) in the run-up to the SAB
KickStart Boost Awards, for a behind-
the-scenes glimpse at the inspirational
young woman behind Green Output
Solutions, and to learn more about her
vision for waste in the future.
to a comprehensive needs analysis
conducted on their existing businesses,
supported by personalised industry
mentorship.
Up to five of the top entrepreneur
finalists were awarded additional loan
funding, and the top entrepreneurs were
selected based on a number of criteria:
those that executed their business
strategies most effectively; financial
and market growth; and job creation.
Among the 21 finalists selected from a
group of 50 shortlisted young hopefuls,
and one of only two of the entrepreneurs
operating within the environmental
space, was Andile Mnisi (33) of Green
Output Solutions.
innovations
I
n 2017, youth unemployment in South
Africa reached a 13-year high. In
the second quarter of 2018, youth
unemployment (between ages 15
and 34) was 38.2% — more than one in
every three young people in the labour
force did not have a job (Statistics SA).
Research indicates that encouraging
and
supporting
entrepreneurship
programmes is one of the most effective
means of creating employment among
youth.
Armed with this inspirational
motivation, in September 2018, the South
African Breweries’ (SAB) flagship youth
entrepreneurship programme, SAB
KickStart Boost, selected 21 young South
African entrepreneur finalists to support
and develop over a year to help elevate
their businesses, particularly through
opportunities for access to market.
The 21 finalists were provided with
loan funding to support their individual
tailor-made business strategies. These
strategies and the loan funding allocated
to each were developed according
By Tarren Bolton
Through SAB KickStart’s youth development programme, Water, Sewage & Effluent
was introduced to Andile Mnisi, a remarkable young entrepreneur operating in the
environmental space. Her business’s integrated waste management programme
offers solutions ranging from safe treatment and disposal, to dam inspection
services and sewage plant auditing.
Girl power a key driver in the
environment space