By Fiona Wakelin and Koketso Mamabolo
“Hao o eletsa batho dilo tse ntle le bona ba tla ho eletsa botle (When you wish good for others, they will in turn wish you great things),” said Kabelo Ncholo’s late great-grandmother, Mosela Magdaline Ncholo, describing the communal, collaborative essence of empowerment. Not satisfied with merely riding the wave of the success of his award-winning marketing agency, and his impressive list of accolades, Kabelo is scaling up while conscious of the broader socio-economic impact the business could have.
He’s seen significant progress in the marketing, advertising and communication (MAC) sector in the last five years, including policy changes crafted with empowerment and inclusivity in mind, such as a target to increase Black ownership with 10 -15%, which is consistent with the B-BBEE policy.
“The success of black entrepreneurs in South Africa is, and will continue to be, one of the major means of moving this country and the continent forward in terms of creating employment, economic participation, and redressing the uneven and unjust system of the past,” says Kabelo. “The sustainability of black-owned businesses is crucial to the health and
stability of the African economy.” Kabelo is leading by example, coming from humble beginnings to build a 100% black-owned “one-stop shop” marketing agency which offers below-the-line, above-the-line and digital marketing solutions, running an average of 50 campaigns a year across its six offices.
The child of a single mother who was working as a domestic worker, Kabelo describes himself as an entrepreneur by default, like many young people from townships and villages – “flying the plane while building it.”
Fresh out of matric with great results, Kabelo had been awarded a bursary to study medicine at the University of the Witwatersrand but had no means of getting to Johannesburg from the village of Bapong in the North West province. His aunt, Rebecca Seilane, gave him a lifeline of R2 000 but, unfortunately, by the time he arrived the academic year had already commenced and his only option was to shadow doctors until he could register the following year.
Little did he know at the time that he had hemophobia (an extreme aversion to blood) and after collapsing a few times, in Lenasia Hospital’s casualty ward, Kabelo realised a career in medicine was not for him. While working as a waiter at the Mac Ribs restaurant at the Garden Court Hotel, in Milpark, Kabelo noticed room for improvement in how matric farewells were hosted. He voiced his concerns to a colleague whose response marked the genesis of Y-Brand: “Kabelo, as black people, we like to complain without taking action.” Inspired, Kabelo made a promise he would soon regret: He would either host the best matric farewell people had seen or, if he still worked at the restaurant, he would pay his colleague R10 000. He was reminded of it at every turn, and in the end it became a provocation, with him choosing to resign instead of forking out the money.
In 2002, using the R350 he had gathered in tips from a table he’d served at the restaurant, Kabelo printed out a business profile and began contacting the schools who rented out the restaurant, offering them the services of his newly-founded company, Yourself Function Organisers. He quickly secured his first four clients, making his first R100 000 at the tender age of 19. In 2004 the company was properly established after a contract from the Wits University School of Mining and Law, and began trading as Yourself Events Management, before evolving into a marketing agency after Kabelo met his mentor, Michelle Combrink, a few years later.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR COMPANY’S IMPORTANT DIVERSITY, INCLUSION AND EQUITY MILESTONES?
The most significant one is Y-Brand reaching the 20-year milestone as a business. This achievement supports our vision statement to exist for over 100 years. The second milestone is transforming people’s lives. The company has over 300 full-time employees and, at the busiest times of the year, our activation and field sales department employs over 1 000 seasonal employees. The third milestone is the business winning award, including the Top Empowered Employer of Choice: Small-Medium Organisations and I was the 2024 Top Empowered: Richard Fletcher Entrepreneur of the Year.
The agency is committed to improve the lives of the disadvantaged by addressing South Africa’s serious economic problems, especially the severe skills gap that contributes to economic challenges such as high unemployment. My mission is to create job opportunities through the agency and prioritise skills development for students and professionals seeking career advancement in the marketing or communications industries. Over 100 students have been given full-time employment to date by the business and more are working as seasonal staff while still studying.
The corporate social investment (CSI) body of the business is called Y-Brand Cares and the business contributes 1% of its revenue and provides tertiary bursaries for students. Through this programme we plan to develop our own talent from schools, especially village schools (my background) and afford them the opportunity to study marketing or communications at esteemed institutions, and give them experience through our seasonal jobs such as activations and office support while studying. Currently we are sponsoring six students and looking forward to seeing them working with us in two years when they complete their degrees.
In addition, Y-Brand Cares, together with partners (consisting of Y-Brand clients), have reached out to communities to deliver corporate social investment worth millions of rands through a range of initiatives, including the donation of food parcels to various schools and children’s homes.
WHAT SETS Y-BRAND APART FROM THE COMPETITION?
Our clients are everything to us, they are not only clients, but also investors. They gave us the opportunity to grow and become who we are today. Our clients are the actual “bosses” of the business. Without them Y-Brand does not exist. Through our processes and systems, we have established an operating rhythm to maintain performance to satisfy them. We discover relevant cultures and trends to assist our clients in building their brand value within the African market. We invest in understanding what influences African people.
We are now putting even greater emphasis on expanding our services in Africa, which is the main reason behind opening our Namibian and Zambian regional offices with one opening in Nigeria and Kenya soon. We have associates in other Southern African countries as well as in East and West Africa. Our expertise ensures that we run successful projects within all these countries with a broader understanding of their socio-cultural and economic factors. Our expertise ensures that we run successful projects in all African countries.
Our partnership with the South African Department of Higher Education and Training provides us with a ground-breaking advantage with regard to research and innovation. It is through this partnership that we are able to recruit motivated staff who are studying marketing or communications-related courses at different higher learning institutions. We go through a rigorous recruitment and training programme to ensure our staff perform at their optimum level.
WHAT HAVE BEEN YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGES AND MOST MEMORABLE SUCCESSES?
I have learned that business, challenges and failures are siblings. I have lost count of my failures and challenges I faced and still face to date. From the struggle of raising capital to meeting the operational expenses (which I think cashflow is one of the biggest struggles for entrepreneurs), to building a competent team, to managing growth. The difficulty of finding a balance between business life and personal life. The truth is I have more failures than successes in the 21 years of my entrepreneurial journey. The rewards are more fulfilling, being able to be a source of hope to the people. That gives one’s life a meaning and purpose. An entrepreneur is defined by their ability to maintain focus and develop resilience.I faced and still face to date. From the struggle of raising capital to meeting the operational expenses (which I think cashflow is one of the biggest struggles for entrepreneurs), to building a competent team, to managing growth. The difficulty of finding a balance between business life and personal life. The truth is I have more failures than successes in the 21 years of my entrepreneurial journey. The rewards are more fulfilling, being able to be a source of hope to the people. That gives one’s life a meaning and purpose. An entrepreneur is defined by their ability to maintain focus and develop resilience.
Some of my memorable successes include my Executive Business Administration Master’s degree from the University of Cape Town, my Business degree from the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, my project management qualification from the University of South Africa and my Events Management qualification from Damelin College.
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT YOUR ROLE?
Interestingly, I enjoy how my role keeps me on my feet – the ability to turn my vision into a reality. My entrepreneurial journey has influenced my leadership style in so many ways. Back when I worked as a waiter, I discovered that maintaining a successful business depends on keeping customers. The business will always remain open if its customers are satisfied. This statement has been with me since then and has enabled me to transform with clients’ needs as they change all the time. Understanding who keeps the door open and what it takes for them to do so was the key to my success. Client satisfaction is my top priority since they are the ones who bring my business to life. That entails a lot of things, including my own personal development, which prompted me to enrol in different business schools and study and acquire business acumen. I purposefully place myself in uncomfortable situations until this day because I understand that’s what growth is. I never see my business as 21 years old. Instead, I see it as an infant that requires constant, unwavering attention, which is why I hire skilled employees to help me look after it. I am always trying to figure out how to retain clients.
DO YOU HAVE EXCITING PLANS FOR 2025?
I am excited by the intentional penetration into the wider African market. Our launches in Kenya and Nigeria are at an advanced stage. The thought of Y-Brand Africa, with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Kenya and Nigeria is so exciting. The Y-Brand Production department is working on an entrepreneurial TV show in which I will share my knowledge with other entrepreneurs on how to build sustainable businesses. All this to impact generations of business leaders in Africa as I believe the success of black entrepreneurs in South Africa is, and will continue to be, one of the major means of moving this country and the continent forward in terms of creating employment, economic participation, and redressing the uneven and unjust system of the past. The sustainability of black-owned businesses is crucial to the health and stability of the African economy. I am also looking forward to the gifts of new challenges.
KABELO’S ACCOLADES
- Africa’s 10 Most Empowering leaders to follow in 2025 by CIO
- 2024 Entrepreneur of the Year – Oliver Top Empowerment Awards
- 2024 CEO of the Year Finalist – The Future of HR Awards
- 2023 Top Empowered Entrepreneur Award Finalist – Oliver Top Empowerment Awards
- 2019 Top Empowered Entrepreneur Award Finalist – Oliver Top Empowerment Awards
- 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year Award Winner – Gauteng Social Development: The South African Men of the Year Awards
- 2017 Businessman of the Year Award Finalist – Cape Media; Black Business Quarterly (BBQ) Awards
- 2017 Top Empowered Entrepreneur of the Year Award Finalist – Oliver Top Empowerment Awards
- 2016 Top 100 Young Independent Leaders in Africa – Independent Media
