When Bheki Kunene, 27, struggled to find an internship while he was studying graphic design at Concept Interactive, he started his own business instead.
With R600 in his bank account, the fine arts graduate had one client, who he met at a printing shop. By word of mouth, the jobs started coming in and Mind Trix Media was born, a creative design agency based in Gugulethu, where Kunene grew up.
Mind Trix has come a long way since its humble beginnings in 2009 when Kunene was not paid for a year. With four full-time employees, the company does web design, graphic design and branding for local and international clients.
Kunene also started a tertiary education program. He noticed while he was studying that his lectures were not full, so he asked Concept Interactive if he could recommend one student who could not afford the fees to fill one of the empty seats in their lectures. Since 2011, 42 students have completed their studies, free of charge.
He won the Youth Recognition Award from Stellenbosch University’s Africa Centre in 2013 and he was one of Forbes Africa’s Most Promising Entrepreneurs under 30 in 2014. His philosophy of teaching a man to fish, or in this case, design, is clearly working.
Find Kunene on Twitter: @BexKunene
