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Cape Town - Metropolitan Health, a subsidiary of MMI Holdings, has teamed up with young Khayelitsha social entrepreneur, Sizwe Nzima.
The partnership will see Metropolitan Health providing all-round support to Nzima’s fledgling business, Iyeza Express.
The Khayelitsha business delivers chronic medication to patients in and around the township using bicycles.
It currently employs four people and aims to grow this substantially within the next two years.
Nzima was recently listed in the Forbes magazine Top 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs.
Getting support
“I get personal support from Metropolitan Health. Nosipho (Yedwa) and Siraaj (Adams) don’t just see me as the guy from Iyeza Express, but as a young brother," said Nzima, a graduate of the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurship.
"They give me good advice and are helping me walk the path to business success…they are not just letting me go into the jungle, they are walking through the jungle with me.”
Nzima’s business journey began during the six months he spent as part of the Pick n Pay owner’s academy. It was during one of the lectures that his business idea hit him.
“I spotted an article in a newspaper that said hospitals around the country couldn’t cope with the number of patients on chronic medication and I thought I will come up with an idea,” explained Nzima.
The fact that he was tasked with fetching chronic medication for his two grandparents (who raised him while his mother worked in Johannesburg) also played a role in coming up with his business idea.
It has now become a solution for the people of one of South Africa’s fastest growing townships.
“The mentality I had was that, in order to move out of the township…in order for me to drive a big car and live a good life…I had to get into business,” he said.
A businessman employs a genius
“When all my friends were saying they wanted to be doctors, I told them you guys are geniuses. A businessman employs a genius, that is why I want to be a businessman.”
Iyeza Express currently serves more than 250 patients in the Khayelitsha area, charging them a minimum of R10 per delivery, but Nzima thinks the Metropolitan Health partnership will help elevate the business to new heights.
“Metropolitan Health will help us get electric bicycles. This means we can go on for longer without getting tired,” he said.
“We are also looking at expanding the business to serve new markets that have never been served in Khayelitsha."
For example, pizza delivery in Sea Point is a normal thing, but in Khayelitsha no pizza delivery service exists.
"We will be looking into expanding into this area. However, at the moment we are focused on health access, because that is the niche,” he said.
The young entrepreneur still has a long way to travel.
“We are trying to help Sizwe craft a business case by assisting him to put systems in place for his business," said his mentor at Metropolitan, Siraaj Adams.
"We are nurturing him and we are transferring knowledge by sharing our experience with him to enable him to run a sustainable business.”
The partnership will see Metropolitan Health providing all-round support to Nzima’s fledgling business, Iyeza Express.
The Khayelitsha business delivers chronic medication to patients in and around the township using bicycles.
It currently employs four people and aims to grow this substantially within the next two years.
Nzima was recently listed in the Forbes magazine Top 30 Under 30 entrepreneurs.
Getting support
“I get personal support from Metropolitan Health. Nosipho (Yedwa) and Siraaj (Adams) don’t just see me as the guy from Iyeza Express, but as a young brother," said Nzima, a graduate of the Raymond Ackerman Academy of Entrepreneurship.
"They give me good advice and are helping me walk the path to business success…they are not just letting me go into the jungle, they are walking through the jungle with me.”
Nzima’s business journey began during the six months he spent as part of the Pick n Pay owner’s academy. It was during one of the lectures that his business idea hit him.
“I spotted an article in a newspaper that said hospitals around the country couldn’t cope with the number of patients on chronic medication and I thought I will come up with an idea,” explained Nzima.
The fact that he was tasked with fetching chronic medication for his two grandparents (who raised him while his mother worked in Johannesburg) also played a role in coming up with his business idea.
It has now become a solution for the people of one of South Africa’s fastest growing townships.
“The mentality I had was that, in order to move out of the township…in order for me to drive a big car and live a good life…I had to get into business,” he said.
A businessman employs a genius
“When all my friends were saying they wanted to be doctors, I told them you guys are geniuses. A businessman employs a genius, that is why I want to be a businessman.”
Iyeza Express currently serves more than 250 patients in the Khayelitsha area, charging them a minimum of R10 per delivery, but Nzima thinks the Metropolitan Health partnership will help elevate the business to new heights.
“Metropolitan Health will help us get electric bicycles. This means we can go on for longer without getting tired,” he said.
“We are also looking at expanding the business to serve new markets that have never been served in Khayelitsha."
For example, pizza delivery in Sea Point is a normal thing, but in Khayelitsha no pizza delivery service exists.
"We will be looking into expanding into this area. However, at the moment we are focused on health access, because that is the niche,” he said.
The young entrepreneur still has a long way to travel.
“We are trying to help Sizwe craft a business case by assisting him to put systems in place for his business," said his mentor at Metropolitan, Siraaj Adams.
"We are nurturing him and we are transferring knowledge by sharing our experience with him to enable him to run a sustainable business.”
