NGQELENI– What began as a lockdown survival plan has grown into a promising health‑food venture for a young woman from Ngqeleni. When the COVID‑19 pandemic forced people to stay home without income, Lona Mbelekane from Ngqeleni outside Mthatha decided to take matters into her own hands.
In 2021 she founded HealthStart, a business making fresh fruit‑and‑vegetable juices aimed at promoting healthy living. Mbelekane says the idea came after seeing how many people were stuck at home and focusing more on healthy eating during the pandemic.
“People were not working and everyone was at home because of coronavirus. I saw an opportunity to make squashed fruits and vegetables to create healthy juice. People from church and my community became interested and that’s how I started selling,” she explained during an exclusive interview with Eastern Cape Daily News.
Since launching HealthStart, the business has grown from selling only juices to expanding into a wider range of health products. “The business is more focused on health products. We are still in the healthy food sector and we want to create products that are rooted in Africa,” Mbelekane said.
“We saw opportunities in the market and we’re trying to differentiate ourselves,” she emphasised. Starting out was far from easy. With no funding, Mbelekane had to rely on what she had. She applied for financial support from the local municipality, but received no response.
“If I waited for the municipality, my business would never operate,” she said. She believes municipalities need to step up and fund small enterprises, as many aspiring entrepreneurs lose hope due to lack of financial support contributing to rising unemployment.
Despite these challenges, Mbelekane persisted, finding creative ways to keep her business afloat. Mbelekane hopes to grow HealthStart into a retail supplier and distribute products across the province. “I want to sell my products to pharmacies so that it will be easy for people to get them,” she said.
She also encourages other aspiring entrepreneurs to start small and use whatever resources they already have. “People think they need funding to start a business, but you can start with what you have,” she advised.
Her journey shows that small beginnings, paired with resilience can grow into something bigger over time.
Photographs: Supplied
