According to Sappi SA, Nonkululeko Zimba from the community of Vimbukhalo — near Sappi's Winterton plantation in KwaZulu-Natal — was part of the 2018 intake of Abashintshi. 

Abashintshi is a Sappi-sponsored programme aimed at enabling youth to bring about positive change in their communities.

Since joining the programme, which delivered over 90 active Abashintshi (meaning 'changers' in isiZulu), Zimba has taken her learnings and has started a successful brickmaking business. The business recently received a boost when she took delivery of brand new brickmaking equipment from Sappi at a small handover ceremony held near her home, says Sappi SA. 

Through her established relationship with Sappi, she was able to apply for funding, which enabled her to receive this equipment to increase the size and scope of her business.

"Helping build thriving communities is at the core of Sappi's Social Impact Strategy," says Mpho Lethoko, Sappi Southern Africa's head of corporate affairs. "We engage and partner with our communities to deliver tangible social benefits as well as create economic empowerment, as we believe this is key to securing sustainable development."

According to Sappi SA, Zimba's business — Sehlukaniso (Pty) Ltd — is an emerging business in the building sector currently producing bricks to build homes. Using her knowledge of the Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) model, which formed the basis of her training in the Abashintshi programme, Zimba did an asset survey of her community and surroundings to identify a business opportunity.

"Looking around me, I could see that the need for bricks in my community was growing very fast. People are moving from mud to bricks for their homes," says Zimba.

With the Department of Human Settlements also starting with building RDP homes for vulnerable families, Zimba saw this as a possible avenue giving her access to another market for future business growth, adds Sappi. 

Sappi SA believes that projects like this, which have the potential to reduce poverty, increase job opportunities in rural communities and make available key items needed by the community to live, are pivotal for addressing social challenges in marginalised communities.

The fact that the owner of the business is a young and passionate woman, who is using her knowledge gleaned from another Sappi-supported initiative, makes it even more rewarding for the company to know that it has played a positive role in this success story, Sappi SA adds. 

"Having grown to know Zimba over the years, we have confidence in her ability to make a success of this venture. Supporting her by providing funding for the brickmaking equipment was based on the character and growth she has shown since joining the Abashintshi programme," says Beryl Traoré, social impact lead for Sappi Southern Africa.

"She used her ABCD training to identify the gaps in her community and to see how she could fill those gaps. We will continue to use the ABCD model to engage with our neighbours, to further improve symbiotic relationships and also to decrease dependence and reveal opportunities that are all around," adds Traoré. 

Sappi SA says that in addition to the equipment, Nonkululeko will also receive support from Sappi's ESD (Enterprise Supplier Development) department, where she will receive further training tailormade to assist SMMEs to succeed. 

"I can still not believe that my dream has come true. The knowledge and skills that Sappi gave us as Abashintshi — I declare that no one can take them away from me. Now my life is changing and I have big hope that in years to come, I will be part of those who are called entrepreneurs, and I know that I will also change my communities. Thanks, Sappi, thanks," says Zimba.

Besides embarking on this project, where she and her husband are making the bricks themselves, sometimes with the help of two temporary workers, Zimba has also earned an NQF 6 teaching diploma, according to Sappi SA. 

"As a young woman in the rural landscape, Zimba's efforts are not only inspiring but serve as a valuable lesson in discipline and choosing a path that goes towards success and development at a personal level," says Lethoko.

"Besides the work our ESD department is doing in our communities, where hundreds of people are being helped to enter the economic mainstream, Sappi will be reviewing more applications from former Abashintshi to see if there are other strong candidates that have the potential to become self -sustaining economic hubs with the opportunity to work and thrive," Lethoko adds.  

"As we support the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this ties in with our priority focus on SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and our ongoing focus on empowering the youth," concludes Lethoko. 

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