Bernice Skhotha – National Alumni Coordinator

The month of August saw the Numeric alumni being immersed in Impact Sessions themed around entrepreneurship. These were face to face sessions that took place in person in Johannesburg and Cape Town and online for the Durban alumni. Athenkosi Mtonjeni was the facilitator in Johannesburg and Thandeka Silangwe was the facilitator in Cape Town. Athenkosi is an electrical engineer by profession, a UCT graduate who grew up in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. He is passionate about education and his main side hustle is tutoring. Thandeka grew up in KZN. She is an attorney who works in the legal department of a bank catering to small businesses. She has experience in starting small businesses and she is a business owner herself.  The Durban Online Peer Connect (OPC) on entrepreneurship saw two of our senior alumni, Sazi Nxumalo and Nqobani Mhlongo being the keynote speakers and taking us through their journey of entrepreneurship. They spoke about how they started their tutoring services and other ways in which they get income outside their full-time jobs. This was encouraging and resonated with the teachers as they could relate to their fellow alumni. 

The alumni in Johannesburg and Cape Town were particularly inspired by the guest speakers, who shared in detail how they explored various streams of income, starting from small beginnings and gradually building up. Their use of real-life scenarios made the lessons relatable and motivating, showing that success is possible even when starting alone. Alumni valued the guest speakers’ reminder to always reflect on the purpose behind their actions and to respect and protect their main source of income while exploring side hustles.

The Impact sessions also presented opportunities for alumni to reconnect with colleagues they had not seen in a while and rekindle their sense of community. 

The idea of setting up a tutoring business was explored deeply during the sessions and it was encouraging for the alumni to learn that entrepreneurship does not require starting big—small and consistent effort can be equally rewarding. The teamwork and collaboration in sharing different ideas also left a strong impression.

Other key takeaways included the importance of:

• Managing multiple streams of income wisely.
• Using one’s career as a springboard for business opportunities.
• Resilience—if one idea doesn’t work out, try another and keep going.

Overall, the sessions were described as impactful, practical, and highly encouraging, equipping alumni with not only new ideas but also the confidence to pursue entrepreneurial ventures alongside their careers.