South Africa - Business creation project

Describe your project or startup in a few words

My project is based on Beekeeping for anyone. It is mainly from making beehives from pallets to achieve profit just like anyone who has commercial beehives. My projects strives to create awareness to women and the youth, through social media.

01.01 Describe your project in more detail

My project is Beekeeping to create income for myself and society through the knowledge of my process. Beekeeping is an undervalued skill which not only generates income but supports life on earth, making it green again. Without bees there would not be food and bees are fast running out. My Beekeeping project is based in Venda, Limpopo province, South Africa. A place that is rich in plant biodiversity, creating honey that is of great medicinal value. This is important especially in these times where diseases are prevailing. Honey has many health benefits like curing cold flu, helps to keep wounds from infection and many more. Bee venom is also said to have the properties of curing arthritis. With this in mind, Africa is capable of producing a world changing force if we can focus on bees. The monetary returns of bees is very great making a 10x profit from most startup capitals if we take into consideration honey, bee venom, propolis, bees wax and many more bee products.

01.02 What is the main problem you are trying to solve?

I am trying to solve hunger and replacing sugar for honey. In these times where world politics like disease, war and climate change are unpredictable and prevalent, the economy of any country can fall, leading the poorer class to potentially die from starvation if preventive measures were not taken. Giving people information that Beekeeping can be done by anyone with just a low cost capital can enable people to be self employed or have a side business that can help them in times of inflation. Sugar is killing our people, it kills the bones through arthritis, it kills the mind through dementia, it kills the teeth by rotting them, it makes us feel tired an unmotivated and, it stores fat in our body making us obese and has many more health depreciating problems. Replacing the wonderful taste of honey to our diet is a good way to divert the unhealthy consumption of sugar.

01.03 Tell us the major benefits and/or advantages of using the product/service that your project intends to provide (at least 3).

Bees can have bee venom that helps against arthritis and skin diseases. Bee venom is also used as an ingredient in curing athsma and malaria. Bees bring in pollen which when collected into pill capsules, can be useful in curing prostate cancer, bee pollen reduces the hardening of arteries, increases hormonal levels and improves stamina, sexual strength, reduce depression and eases bleeding problems. Honey has properties and vitamins that can energize the body, cure flu, relieves cough. Honey is said to make you lose weight. It has antibacterial propeties, helps with gum diseases, gives you a clearer skin, it also clears cholesterol, just to name a few. Bee propolis helps against burns on the skin, cures acne diseases and eczema. It assists the body resist infections, just name a few about propolis. Royal jelly is useful for protective effects on reproductive health, neurodegenerative disorder and aging. All these benefits are the tip of the ice burg.

01.04 Please describe who exactly your project is aimed at serving. Who are the targeted beneficiaries?

My project is aimed at serving community members through the knowledge of beekeeping from low cost capital to sustain themselves financially. It is also aimed at serving the health industry by supplying medicinal products through out the world.

01.05 When did you start working on your project?

2024-05-05

01.06 How many other partners are associated with your business venture?

2

01.07 Among the other partners, how many are female?

2

01.08 Please describe the profile of each of the other partners (skills, experience, etc.)

Firstly, Professor Natasha Portgieter, University of Venda. Prof Potgieter has a Doctoral degree in Medical Virology from the University of Pretoria, and she is a C2 NRF rated researcher. Prof Potgieter has supervised a total of 14 Doctoral candidates and 41 Masters students. She has over 104 journal publications, 6 book chapters and 19 Technical reports. She is actively involved in several national and international research consortia. Secondly, Dimakatso Maboea, Dimakatso has over 10 years working experience where she worked in various sectors such as the Healthcare, Travel and Tourism and Education industries. She holds a National diploma in Public Relations Management from the University of Johannesburg and a Mancosa Advanced Diploma in Business Magament, with the pursuit to advance her educational qualifications in the frontier of marketing and communications. Dimakatso has expertise in the developement and implementation of marketing and communication strategies.

01.09 If you have a website, a social media page (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin…), or app, please provide the link here:

https://youtube.com/@owam777?si=VUUlcIcVq0iS6a2K

01.10 Which industry best describes your project?

l) Agriculture

02.01.01 My project contributes to the No poverty goal

6

02.01.02 No poverty - Justification

This start-up is a business where the bees provide food and a steady income. The honey produced will be used for food and as a product to sell to local community members. The bees can be sold at a premium price to other community members who are interested in beekeeping, Candles can be made out of beeswax to sell to community members in times of power blackouts

02.02.01 My project contributes to the Zero hunger goal

5

02.02.02 Zero hunger - Justification

Bees contribuþe to Agriculture in a substantial way. Without bees Agriculture would come to a complete fail. Bees pollinate crops and thereby fertilizing them to make them bigger and healthier. If there are bees in your garden, the tomatoes will grows bigger than if there were no bees. Honey has diverse have diverse nutritional value, it contains 27% carbohydrate which is good for energy.

02.03.01 My project contributes to the Good health and well-being goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.03.02 Good health and well-being - Justification

Bee venom can protect against skin conditions and arthritis. Additionally, bee venom is a component in the treatment of malaria and athsma. Bee pollen enhances hormone levels, lessens artery hardening, boosts stamina and sexual vigor, lessens sadness, and eases bleeding issues. When collected into pill capsule form, bee pollen can help treat prostate cancer. The vitamins and qualities in honey can help with cough relief, flu treatment, and bodily energization. It's said that honey helps with weight loss. To mention a few benefits, it has antibacterial qualities, aids in the treatment of gum disease, clears your skin, and lowers cholesterol. Bee propolis treats eczema and acne conditions in addition to protecting the skin from burns.

02.04.01 My project contributes to the Quality education goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.04.02 Quality education - Justification

Beekeeping is very diverse. The University of Bingol in Turkey, have student who have masters and even Phd's in Beekeeping who study the biological, chemical, microbial activities in beeking. The knowledge of beekeeping can not only be shared to University students but can also be taught to community members who did not go to school through conversation and practical demonstrations.

02.05.01 My project contributes to the Gender equality goal

5

02.05.02 Gender equality - Justification

My project encourages all ages, all races, all classes and most importantly women and girls to take control in their lives by having a sustainable beekeeping aviary so that they can not only gain a skill but monetary value for themselves and their families. I do this by teaching them about my beekeeping process.

02.06.01 My project contributes to the Clean water and sanitation goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.06.02 Clean water and sanitation - Justification

02.07.01 My project contributes to the Affordable and clean energy goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.07.02 Affordable and clean energy - Justification

02.08.01 My project contributes to the Decent work and economic growth

4

02.08.02 Decent work and economic growth - Justification

As my project grows I want to diversify all across Africa to find the best places which have great plant biodiversity and build commercial apiaries there, and do export and import transaction selling bee products all across the world. This will increase the economy of that particular country and also provide jobs for the local community members who will be working in these large commercial bee apiaries. The countries I have in mind are South Africa, Cameroon and the republic of Congo and hopefully in the future many more.

02.09.01 My project contributes to the Industry innovation and infrastructure

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.09.02 Industry innovation and infrastructure - Justification

02.10.01 My project contributes to the Reduced inequalities goal

7 - Strongly Agree

02.10.02 Reduced inequalities - Justification

I for one am both a South African from my mothers side and a Cameroonian from my father's side. Having companies in all these countries will under on name or person will make local people of the respective companies have something they share in common, Beekeeping. As the leader of this project, I have already started learning French, so that when I go to countries like Cameroon or Congo, I will fit right in. Eliminating the aspect of xenophobia since I come from South Africa. Learning this new language will enable me to learn others easier as I move to other countries, thereby creating unity.

02.11.01 My project contributes to the Sustainable cities and communities goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.11.02 Sustainable cities and communities - Justification

02.12.01 My project contributes to the Responsible consumption and production goal

6

02.12.02 Responsible consumption and production - Justification

The Beekeeping project will enable Agriculture florist as the bees will pollinate the crops, this will lead to a mpre than successful harvest most of the time, leading people to have more than enough food in their respective countries. The bees also help I.increasing the production of the crops, be it tree crops like avocado, mangoes or shrub crops like spinach and tomatoes.

02.13.01 My project contributes to the Climate action goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.13.02 Climate action - Justification

02.14.01 My project contributes to the Life below water goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.14.02 Life below water - Justification

02.15.01 My project contributes to the Life on land goal

5

02.15.02 Life on land - Justification

Bees do not only help in pollinating crops for food but also pollinate many wild plants. Without bees, wild plants would cease to exist. With the help help of human effort to increase the fast dying population of bees, the earth will be more greener and plant biodiversity will flourish.

02.16.01 My project contributes to the Peace justice and strong institutions goal

1 - Strongly Disagree

02.16.02 Peace justice and strong institutions - Justification

02.17.01 My project contributes to the Partnerships for the goal

6

02.17.02 Partnerships for the goal - Justification

This project will be a great source to partner up with leaders of different countries in the world, we need to come together to help against climate change by introducing ideas, education, plans.about the future of bees in the world.

05.01 There are a large number of customers who already use a product/service very similar to the product/service we envision creating.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.02 The product/service we envision creating represents an entirely new type of product/service.

1 - Strongly Disagree

05.03 The product/service we envision creating could be described as a new technology.

1 - Strongly Disagree

05.04 The product/service we envision creating is an improvement on an existing product or service.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.05 The product/service we envision creating could be described as an extension of a range of products or services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.06 The product/service we envision creating responds to a demand or need that has not been satisfied by other products/services.

7 - Strongly Agree

05.07 The product/service we envision creating is a new version of an old product/service.

5

05.08 Justification

The honey we will be selling will be strictly organic honey with no additional impurities to increase the quantity. For the medical befits that are going to help the people

05.09 Who are your main potential competitors and what makes you stand out from them?

My main competitors are other honey producers. The main difference from me and them is that, my honey will be strictly organic and most differing aspects will be that my operation will be in multiple countries across Africa.

10.06 Are you initiating actions within your community to promote the role of female entrepreneurs?

Yes, I recently advised our University (of Venda) to venture in commercial Beekeeping which they accepted. Allowing me to happily recruit many female students to take part in the training we were given.