Award-winning Nelson Mandela Bay entrepreneur Yolanda Mbolompo, who uses social media to motivate people, is a finalist in the Most Influential Social Media Content Creator in SA.
Mbolompo, 30, uses social media to motivate people for topics such as agriculture, financial management and motherhood.
She was told she was a finalist on November 12.
“I was excited when I was told I had been nominated because that is something very big in its own right.
“On November 14 the voting lines were opened and when they closed on November 29, I was leading for the last three days in terms of votes. I learnt I do not have followers, I have supporters,” Mbolompo said.
The award ceremony will take place on December 16 in Johannesburg.
The prizes for the winner include a choice of R200,000 or signing a contract with Pocketmobile for R600,000 — receiving R50,000 a month and working with Pocketmobile.
The top 10 will have the opportunity to feature in TV productions run by Luthuli Dlamini.
Mbolompo’s supporters were inspired by her life journey on social media.
Having relocated from Cofimvaba to Johannesburg in 2012, she worked for seven years as an underground miner.
In 2019 she resigned after she saw her company, Afro Bae, showed promise.
Afro Bae manufactures hair products and has 300 distributors throughout SA.
Her products are available in Swaziland and Lesotho, with the warehouse in Gqeberha providing permanent jobs to seven people.
In 2021 she won an award in the Eastern Cape Youth Awards for growing entrepreneurs in the province.
“Apart from rebuilding my parent’s house, I saw there was a lot of land about.
“I was interested in agriculture and I have people who work to make sure the garden is well taken care of and I plan to have an irrigation system in 2023.
“I started with 20 sheep, 10 pigs and I normally sell my chickens. I am a small-scale farmer, but we hope to expand.
The farm is in Mtyamde village.
“In May I started a non-profit organisation called Groom a Village Child. The teachers tell me when there are children in need, and monthly I raise funds to buy sanitary towels and clothes, among other things,” she said.
Mbolompo hopes to encourage her village to dream bigger.
She also has a building she bought in Gqeberha which she uses as student accommodation and intends to buy more property.
“I realised people saw something in me. They would invite me to be a guest speaker.
“I do not have a seven-step plan on how to be an entrepreneur, but people wanted to hear my story,” Mbolompo said.