Not many students can say that they are the founders of a successful start-up, but then, not many students are like Minenhle Njapha. Studying towards a BCom in computer science and information systems, Njapha is the founder and director of Rent a Fridge SA.
Njapha spotted a market among university students at private residences who are forced to share refrigerators. His business addresses the perennial problem of spoiled food, lukewarm drinks and fights over who finished the milk or who ate leftovers. His six-year-old business, which he started with just R950 currently has 101 registered customers and rents out fridges and freezers on short-term lease agreements.
In March 2024, Rent a Fridge SA celebrated a milestone when the startup paid off a capital investor’s loan, with interest, within less than a year.
“There has always been a greater demand than supply, but finding investors can be tough. We are very disciplined by consciously investing back into the business,” said Njapha.
From fridges to business
Currently, the living room of the apartment he shares with his business partner, Nkululeko Sthabiso Mbatha, is mostly taken up with fridges, but it is a small sacrifice to pay since the equal partners in Rent a Fridge SA are committed to the continued success of the business.
“Our next step is to find bigger storage space and improve the internal systems and processes that will allow us to expand into other provinces. The idea came to me in the recess period of 2018 when I got tired of my food spoiling in res. I looked for a company that leased fridges, and could find none,” said Njapha.
He was part of an entrepreneurship incubator for another project and used the skills he acquired to develop the idea of a fridge leasing company. He tested interest in the market, with a simple poster he designed, copied and put up all over campus.
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“I was surprised that by the beginning of the next semester, I had requests from over 40 people who were interested in leasing fridges. I approached Sthabiso, who was already running Umbhako, a business famously known for selling muffins on campus. And we both put up R950 each in capital to buy three second-hand fridges, which were not in the best of conditions, but we managed to get them leased out… we had to start somewhere,” said Njapha.
With their first business transaction taking place on 8 August 2018, the business soon thrived with a total of six fridges being leased out by November 2018. Njapha applied for grant funding from the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) to buy more fridges and got the good news in February 2019 that the grant was approved and would be disbursed in April of the same year.
With continuous reinvestment into the business, Njapha managed to turn an investment of R950 into an enterprise turning over R150 000 per annum.
However, on a personal front, it had not always been a smooth sail. He lost his funding when he wanted to switch his qualification from BEng mechatronics to business management.
“The mechatronics programme was challenging and very interesting, but it wasn’t my passion. My heart and mind have always been with business and entrepreneurship since my school days. I started many initiatives as head boy of my school.
“One notable initiative was organising the school’s first annual class photoshoot. Serving in the school governing body (SGB) as a learner representative exposed me to a real-life boardroom situation where decisions are made for the greater good of others.
“At res, my room was full of Forbes magazines and business books. I was also the presenter and producer of the Afro-preneur a business talk show on Madibaz Radio (a campus radio station at Nelson Mandela University) which gave me access to interview incredible entrepreneurs on campus,” said Njapha.
Sadly, he was deregistered in 2018 because he was unaware of what steps to follow in switching qualifications, and he subsequently lost his funding.
“Because I was defunded, I was technically homeless for a few months in 2019 and did some couch surfing for a while with close friends coming to my aid. I didn’t tell my family initially about being homeless but rather kept on working on the business. I eventually moved in with Sthabiso, who has been like an older brother to me.”
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Finding new revenue streams
Despite the uncertainties of 2020/ 2021, Rent-A-Fridge SA survived the Covid-19 pandemic as there were people who temporarily needed fridges in Nelson Mandela Bay since they could not travel back to their primary places of residence due to the restrictions of the lockdown. Although the business was not leased out, the number of active leases was just enough for the business to survive.
Njapha also took a job at The Eco Laundry, a laundromat based in Newton Park, Gqeberha, towards the end of 2020 where he started as a floor assistant. By the end of 2021, he was promoted to the position of manager.
“I enjoyed learning about the laundry business and building these professional relationships. I proposed to the owner to add sneaker washing services on top of the laundry services as it just made sense. Customers who bring dirty laundry can also bring their dirty sneakers to be cleaned under one roof. The suggestion was adopted and has been a success, the Eco Laundry now has sneaker-washing services as another revenue stream.
“While working, I saw the need for a digital system to analyse the business and make it more efficient. I knew I needed to go back to university to get the correct qualification.”
He found his perfect match in the BCom computer science and information systems programme at Nelson Mandela University and has dreams of pursuing an honours degree as a business intelligence analyst.
“I knew this course combined all my interests and could develop my skills. I am funded by the Hexagon Trust, and I have learnt so much on the commercial/ marketing and business process side of things that I can apply in our business. For instance, in understanding the Microsoft Office packages better I have saved us so much time in automating the completion of lease agreements with clients, which was previously done manually and took much of the delivery time,” said Njapha.
The role of mentors in entrepreneurial success
He is still involved on a part-time basis in the laundromat business, as well as continuing to grow Rent a Fridge SA’s markets. Having evolved from just the local student market, the company recently opened up to business-to-business clients who seasonally need more fridge storage space and fridges for traditional ceremonies, catering events or busy tourist seasons.
The head of the department of computing sciences, Professor Jean Greyling, said he welcomes the fact that Njapha found the right programme to study at Nelson Mandela University.
“I think it’s a great story, and inspiring to those learners and students who are uncertain as to what to study or due to challenges want to give up on their dreams. In addition to that, his entrepreneurial ventures are also encouraging,” said Greyling.
Njapha also made special mention of his mentor, physics head of department Professor Andre Venter, whom he met during his days as a mechatronics student.
In addition, he also thanked his marketing management lecturer, Siyabonga Sirayi, who has shown great support for his business venture: “We have been analysing my posters and he is giving me some guidelines in improving the way I market the business.”
- This article was first published on Khulani! and written by Cindy Preller.
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