Success followed struggle
[caption id="attachment_95869" align="alignright" width="400"] AGAINST ALL ODDS: Lunga Tshikila, 24, whose hard work has seen him reap rich rewards. Picture: BRIAN WITBOOI[/caption]
Man, who grew up an orphan in KwaNobuhle, now a top businessman
A YOUNG Nelson Mandela Bay man, whose humble beginnings were the driving force behind his success, has defied the odds of crime and poverty to become one of South Africa’s youngest chief executives.
He has also snagged a spot at the prestigious One Young World Summit, to be held in Thailand later this year.
After losing his mother in a horror car crash in 1994 when he was just three years old, Lunga Tshikila grew up an orphan, relying on social grants as he lived with one relative after another.
Now 24 he has, however, risen above his circumstances, becoming one of the youngest ever chief executives, running Tshikila Holdings, a private equity and venture capital firm in the posh suburb of Sandton, Johannesburg.
Now, the One Young World Summit will afford him the opportunity to tell the rest of the world his story as a South African ambassador at the sixth edition of the summit.
The summit will be held in Bangkok between November 18 and 21.
Tshikila is the founder and chief executive of Tshikila Holdings, which makes funding available for start-up businesses. His company does not just own a stake but also contributes to mentoring, growth and development of the enterprises it invests in.
His company has invested in nine projects around South Africa in the construction, property, mining and fashion industries.
The company has investments worth R5-million in various projects around the country and has identified two further projects to invest in – in the Eastern Cape’s ICT and transport industries.
Tshikila’s story is one of defying the odds. He grew up in the township of KwaNobuhle in Uitenhage where crime, unemployment and poverty were the order of the day.
“I was raised on social grants for as long as I can remember and I went through hell to get to where I am today.
“I spent years living from one relative to the next who never had the means to take care of me, and things went from bad to worse when I lost my grandmother, who died in 2008,” he said.
-Ayanda Mdluli
