At  a very tender age Soweto born social entrepreneur was already making more money than most working people just from selling firecrackers. It was only after receiving this considerably large amounts of profits for a person his age that made Kheti Ngwenya realise that entrepreneurship was the right avenue for him.

And now in his 20s, Kheti ’s unwavering entrepreneurial drive has gained him recognition from some of the world’s leading business and financial institutions, because of his innovative ideas and groundbreaking concepts that are making a significant impact in the lives of many young South Africans and within various communities across the country and beyond borders.

As a child, Kheti used to help run his aunt shop in Dobsonville when she was not around and attended to the needs of customers. But before then, at just six years old, he would help sell hairpiece in his uncle’s shop.  These past experiences will eventually foster an entrepreneurial spirit and shape him to be a thriving entrepreneur he is today.

Ngwenya, who is the curator of the Johannesburg hub of the World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Shapers and 2017’s youngest top 30 entrepreneurs by Forbes Africa borrowed money from her aunt and opened a stall selling firecrackers - earning him over R10 000 in profits.

In 2006 he was formally introduced to the world of business when he joined  Y.E.S. (Young Entrepreneurs of Soweto) an initiative piloted by the Soweto Business Chambers organisation. He was 15 at the time. A year later, he was elected to serve as CEO of the initiative.

Khethi’s passion is to develop communities by creating opportunities within these communities by exposing them to what the world has to offer.   His latest business venture,  a platform by the youth for the youth, with a social impact in the community, is exactly what Kheti had in mind when he started SchoolMedia, a platform that has opened up schools as an avenue for advertising for brands seeking to engage with the learner target audience. Founded in 2010, the aim of SchoolMedia is to positively contribute to the economic development of the continent.

In 2011, he started the Going Green Project which managed to educate 100 schools on environmental awareness and planted 4 500 trees in schools across South Africa.  SchoolMedia secured advertising rights in 9 000 schools across South Africa in 2012 and was nominated for the 702 talk radio small business awards in 2013.  In 2014, Khethi attended a Media UK small business incubation program.  He was nominated as a Global Shaper in 2015.

Khethi is a polyglot; he speaks several languages including English, Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Swati, Afrikaans and some Italian and Portuguese. He is a Christian and a member of the Catholic church. He is of Swati and Pedi ethnicity.

Other accolades include:

In 2013 he was one of the finalists in the Talk Radio 702 Small business awards.

In 2017 he was listed the 41st most influential young South African.

An initiative with his company SchoolMedia has led to over 4 500 trees being planted in and around Gauteng. In 2012 he started another initiative with the support of Adidas and Orlando Pirates, which has placed 40 new football Goalposts in 20 schools and provided school children with opportunities to meet Orlando Pirates stars like Benni McCarthy and Daine Klate, or play a 5-a-side game with these professional athletes.

Ngwenya started SchoolMedia because he saw a gap in the educational market and wanted to provide young people with relevant information.   SchoolMedia – 100% black-owned media company has grown into a successful and effective platform through which to communicate with South Africa’s youth and learners in the school environment. The company’s goal is to build and inform communities by connecting them with relevant products and services from both the private and public sectors and by re-investing a portion of the company’s turnover into CSI and Green projects in the schools within which it operates.