Interview With Founder Of Mafikeng Innovation Hub Joseph Ndaba
Joseph Ndaba is a serial entrepreneur in the innovative, technology and motivational talk industries. He is the Founder & Director Creativ’ Minds and founder of Mafikeng Innovation Hub, and is leading his initiatives through his passion and love for youth development. We had the opportunity to interview the very inspiring Joseph Ndaba and in the following interview, we talked about the background and history of the Mafikeng Innovation Hub and where it is headed. Check it out below…….
YV: Tell us about yourself, and what do you do?
Joseph (Joepac) Ndaba born in Magogoe Koi-Koi in Mahikeng North West Province, a man with passion to see the youth changing the lives in a positive.
Mr. Joepac Ndaba is Founder & Director Creativ’ Minds Entrepreneur, a Founder & CEO Mafikeng Innovation Hub, Motivational Speaker, Banking Systems Training Specialist at FNB, a Freelance Facilitator as well as Business Coach & Mentor, a Rising Star Award Finalist 2015 and Who’s Who in SA Notable and Founder of Joepac Ndaba Foundation.
He used to sit in a Board of Directors of Lifeline Mahikeng, Pretoria Diocese Pastoral Council and currently an Enactus Business Advisory Board Member North West University – Mahikeng Campus. A student at Da Vinci Institute of Technological Management, pursuing BCom in Business Management.
YV: What motivates you the most in your work and how did you develop your passion?
Waking up and knowing that I am going to change someone’s life motivates me so much as I believe in youth development. My vision which is my purpose in life keeps me going; this sounds rear for most people though it’s a question we should be persistently asking ourselves.
My inspiration came from not being able to attend university like many other young school-leavers, and ending up at a college pursuing the course that I wasn’t particularly interested in, but one which my parents could afford. I promised myself that I will make the best out of what my parents could afford.
The passion I have in servant leadership as well as in training and development also played a major role in inspiring me to start an Innovation Hub. I believe Mafikeng has potential to be the best capital city of the North West, it just needs young people to stand together and make a change, and that change always starts with one person and in this cause that’s me.
YV: How did the idea of starting an innovation hub come to you?
My vision of seeing reduction of poverty and unemployment has encouraged me to launch a ground breaking innovation in North West Province called Mafikeng Innovation hub because I believe that true impact requires collective action. As an entrepreneur, following my vision always brings a smile to my heart every day. Because of that, we called a few entrepreneurs to join together and formulate MiHub, which has been running to date.
I am currently managing the hub and we are changing lives in Mafikeng and NW Province as a whole. I am although not limiting myself to the borders of the province and South Africa, hence I will be launching SADC Think tank, which will act a platform to connect Africa and its innovators, share their ideas to build an innovative communities. My aim is to build collaborative innovative communities that continually engage in sharing resources and transfer knowledge while creating sustainable jobs.
YV: What were some of the challenges you faced starting off with the project, and how did you overcome them?
The challenges that I faced were and still government entities support.
Lacking a place that we can work from as working from a garage was not suitable for the kind of services we needed to provide. If they want to consult, we meet by KFC and McDonalds to assist entrepreneurs with their ideas and strategic planning
Building a team that understands the mission and vision, as some individuals complained that they don’t get paid and they use their own money to come for the meetings. Most people criticized us by saying, ‘nothing is ever successful in Mafikeng so who are we thinking we can pull this project out? ”
So, I believe that as an entrepreneur, the government doesn’t owe me anything rather I owe it to ourselves to change the state we find ourselves in.
YV: What do you want to achieve with the hub and how far do you think you want to go with your current engagement?
The Innovation hub is going to serve as an open community work-space and a platform where innovators, technologists, entrepreneurs, researchers, learners, graduate, small business, cooperates and investor’s to network. The hub existence will be to facilitate, create, development, grow and implement innovative ideas that will ultimately bear social and economic benefits to Mafikeng and South Africa.
We will strive to add value to existing companies, foster entrepreneurship and knowledge and technological transfer, generate knowledge-based jobs, and attract innovative companies and institutions. We strive to promote and ensure sustainable provision of services, promote social and economic development, promote safe and healthy environment, give priority to the basic needs of communities and encourage involvement of communities
The impact the Hub hopes to have is to create a diversification of the Mafikeng economy, and creation of sustainable jobs, eradicate dependency syndrome and support entrepreneurs, new and existing and attract companies, universities, research institutions and advanced training institutes, set Mahikeng as an innovative driven and knowledge based city that can compete globally.
I am planning to grow MiHub to an entity that will be able to provide state-of-the art facilities to attract domestic, regional and global companies to locate business and research and development activities within the hub, and promote technology based innovation and entrepreneurship.
Promote education and the culture of learning and development which includes Entrepreneurship Development business coaching, support, mentoring and focus on unmet needs in existing businesses, adjacency opportunities, and creation of new growth platforms.
YV: From your experience, what are some of the biggest issues students face in life?
Many students begin their tertiary journey with hopes and dreams of earning a degree and improving their state of affairs at home, at work or life in general. Often, after students begin their tertiary lives they are faced with obstacles and challenges that can seem insurmountable. For some students it just slows them down, for others it can stop them from achieving those hopes and dreams. Regardless of the type of institution: public or private, big or small, two-year or four-year, my experience has shown me that mostly students face three common challenges which is:
- Financial
Most students can’t dip into a savings account to pay for tuition, books, residence and other educational expenses. Many students worry about how they are going to support themselves and their families after getting the qualification. Since the majority of tertiary students utilize student loans to pay educational expenses and help make ends meet, students are also faced with the reality of student loans and debt after graduation (NEFSAS).
As a result, almost all students struggle with determining how they are going to pay for university/colleges. It is truly a big investment and a troubling dilemma that most students ask themselves: How do I pay for gigantic school fees and maintain my other obligations so that my family and I can have a better life tomorrow?
- Managing Commitments
For those who come from families that can’t afford end up looking for site jobs and that becomes difficult for them to balance work, school, relationships, survival and family and this becomes another major challenge students face. These responsibilities can be devastating for anyone, especially someone who has not attended a tertiary institution before.
- Academic Preparedness
Many tertiary institution students face the realization that their previous academic preparation was not at the level it needed to be in order to perform academically at the tertiary level. Perhaps the under-prepared student may not be in the right frame of mind to pursue a course they took; hence they end up dropping out or changing courses. Many students get to tertiary and forget themselves and the aim of being in that space and start top engage in social matters that at times delays them
YV: Most people feel that South African youth is not taking full advantage of the opportunities made available to them. What do you think constitutes to this?
Most of young people have the mentality that government must provide everything for them, so the dependency syndrome affects most of our youth.
YV: In 2013, you received an award for being the Most Progressive Individual by FNB, how did you feel about the recognition?
The recognition is a good way to show appreciation, and that made me feel proud as I only had few months in FNB. That has made me do more with what I have hence, I manage to get another award Standard Bank Rising Star award 2015
YV: What motivates you every day?
My passion motivates me everyday
YV: What do you want to achieve in the next 5 years?
To see MiHub as one of the private companies that changes contribute to the economic growth of the country, by employing and creating innovative sustainable jobs and also be listed in Forbes
YV: Your advice to the youth in South Africa?
The youth of South Africa should not feed fear, they should challeng themselves to be the best they were born to be. I that each and every one of us are born with a purpose and we should rise against all and do it for ourselves and for the rest of the humanity. I manage to learn that I am the one who created fear and am the only one who can defeat it, hence I manage to step out of my comfort zone and challenge myself and overcome my fears, if I can do it we all can do it. As much we have been blessed, we also should be a blessing to others
