Soweto-born Sibongile Mngadi, founder and owner of Uku’hamba Prosthetics and Orthotics, said winning R1.3m in business funding is a testament that some corporates are starting to believe in upcoming young entrepreneurs.
Mongadi, 32, manufactures high-quality, affordable prosthetics and orthotics for amputees and persons with disabilities.
On Tuesday, the SAB Foundation, in partnership with the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of the department of science and innovation, hosted its 12th annual Social Innovation and 7th annual Disability Empowerment Awards where R18m in funding was awarded to 29 deserving entrepreneurs.
“As Uku’hamba Prosthetics and Orthotics, we are super excited about this achievement. It came at a right time and gives us hope that there are organisations out there that believe in social innovations and young entrepreneurs,” said Mongadi.
Mongadi said the grant will help the business acquire more industrial equipment to increase production and generate more revenue that will lead to further job creation and enhance access to mobility by 70%.
TIA acting head for strategic partnerships and business development Tshembani Khupane said: “Through this partnership we are committed to expanding innovation-related activities in underserved regions as well as promote social entrepreneurship development in South Africa.”
SAB Foundation executive director Bridgit Evans said the company wished for entrepreneurs like Mongadi to expand their businesses to other areas.
“Today we celebrate these amazing social innovators for their endurance and we want to see them flourish into bigger and better enterprises that will stimulate local socioeconomic activities beyond their current areas of operation.”
SAB corporate affairs vice president Zoleka Lisa said they were inspired by the innovations they had seen.
Mongadi, from Dobsonville, Soweto, established Uku’hamba in January 2020, and has five employees.
The company operates from a workshop in the backyard of Mongadi’s parents’ home in Dobsonville. The artificial limbs are made from plastic and metal.
Speaking to Sowetan last month, Mongadi said the start of her business was given a major boost through a R100,000 grant she got from getting first place in a pitching competition in 2018. With this amount, she bought material to build her workshop and a 3D printer machine which is used to produce prosthetics.
In the same year, Mongadi got her training in manufacturing prosthetics from the University of Johannesburg, where she studied a diploma in additive manufacturing engineering. She completed it in 2020.
Her standard artificial hand costs between R3,000 and R5,000 while a standard below-knee prosthetic is R15,000.
It takes her a day to manufacture an artificial limb, and the longest period could be three weeks, depending on the type of design.
kokam@sowetan.co.za
Creator of affordable prosthetics wins R1.3m in funding
'Corporates are believing in young entrepreneurs'
Soweto-born Sibongile Mngadi, founder and owner of Uku’hamba Prosthetics and Orthotics, said winning R1.3m in business funding is a testament that some corporates are starting to believe in upcoming young entrepreneurs.
Mongadi, 32, manufactures high-quality, affordable prosthetics and orthotics for amputees and persons with disabilities.
On Tuesday, the SAB Foundation, in partnership with the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of the department of science and innovation, hosted its 12th annual Social Innovation and 7th annual Disability Empowerment Awards where R18m in funding was awarded to 29 deserving entrepreneurs.
“As Uku’hamba Prosthetics and Orthotics, we are super excited about this achievement. It came at a right time and gives us hope that there are organisations out there that believe in social innovations and young entrepreneurs,” said Mongadi.
Mongadi said the grant will help the business acquire more industrial equipment to increase production and generate more revenue that will lead to further job creation and enhance access to mobility by 70%.
TIA acting head for strategic partnerships and business development Tshembani Khupane said: “Through this partnership we are committed to expanding innovation-related activities in underserved regions as well as promote social entrepreneurship development in South Africa.”
SAB Foundation executive director Bridgit Evans said the company wished for entrepreneurs like Mongadi to expand their businesses to other areas.
“Today we celebrate these amazing social innovators for their endurance and we want to see them flourish into bigger and better enterprises that will stimulate local socioeconomic activities beyond their current areas of operation.”
SAB corporate affairs vice president Zoleka Lisa said they were inspired by the innovations they had seen.
Mongadi, from Dobsonville, Soweto, established Uku’hamba in January 2020, and has five employees.
The company operates from a workshop in the backyard of Mongadi’s parents’ home in Dobsonville. The artificial limbs are made from plastic and metal.
Speaking to Sowetan last month, Mongadi said the start of her business was given a major boost through a R100,000 grant she got from getting first place in a pitching competition in 2018. With this amount, she bought material to build her workshop and a 3D printer machine which is used to produce prosthetics.
In the same year, Mongadi got her training in manufacturing prosthetics from the University of Johannesburg, where she studied a diploma in additive manufacturing engineering. She completed it in 2020.
Her standard artificial hand costs between R3,000 and R5,000 while a standard below-knee prosthetic is R15,000.
It takes her a day to manufacture an artificial limb, and the longest period could be three weeks, depending on the type of design.
kokam@sowetan.co.za