ETP3701 Assignment 4 Due 22 May 2024

ETP3701 ASS 4
QUESTION 1

CASE STUDY

Agripreneur: Ngwamba turns agricultural trash into burning treasure
With a passion for sustainability and innovation, Given Ngwamba transformed
adversity into opportunity, creating Nzilo Charcoal and paving the way for ecofriendly
grilling
solutions.
Years
ago,

Given
Ngwamba’s
garage
in
Ka-maqhekeza,
Mpumalanga
was
transformed
into

an
impromptu
innovation
hub,
filled
with
homemade
machines
that
would

ultimately
bring
his
ground-breaking
idea
to
fruition.
He
wanted
to
create
coal

using
agricultural
waste
such
as
groundnuts,
sugarcane,
macadamia
shells,

coconut,
and
waste
from
mango
leaves
and
banana
trees.
The
idea
came
after

Ngwamba
found
himself
at
a
crossroads
in
2019
after
a
failed
business
venture

left
him
seeking
a
new
beginning.
“We
built
our
own
machines
and

experimented
with
different
materials.
It
wasn’t
easy,
but
we
were
driven
by
the

potential
impact.
“We’ve
gone
from
a
handful
of
friends
tinkering
in
a
garage
to
a

growing
team;
employment
opportunities
in
our
community
are
incredibly

rewarding,”
he
says.

Turning
waste
into
wealth

The
name
of
Ngwamba’s
business is
Nzilo
Charcoal,
which
means
“hope”
in
the

local
dialect.
He
sells
his
environmentally-friendly
briquettes
to
local
retailers
like

Vleis
Paleis
Nelspruit
and
Naas
SuperSpar
for
R37
per
bag
who
add
their

markup.
Those
who
buy
directly
from
Ngwamba
pay
R50
per
bag.
At
the
core
of