The Chamber has named Tanya Kisten, the founder of the multi-award winning locally based Khanyisela College, its 2023 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Founded 16 years ago, Khanyisela College has over the years amassed various accreditations and is also registered with the Department of Education as a private FET college that provides skills development solutions to companies and individuals within Nelson Mandela Bay and nationally.
With numerous accolades under its name, one of whom is the pmr.africa award, which it has won six years in a row for Leaders and Achievers, the institution has been built on a strong foundation of dynamic leadership and excellence.
Before establishing Khanyisela College, Kisten worked as an educator for eight years in the Northern Areas, including 6 years as a marketing practitioner for Volkswagen South Africa. However, her passion for youth and young adults has always been at the centre of what she does. This propelled her to establish an institution that focuses on creating training interventions that are fun, practical and effective.
Today, the college offers accredited full qualifications as well as skills programmes.
“It was not easy as I was the new kid on the block. One of the key challenges was the fact that I did not have the resources to start my own business, but what I had was a dream. That motivated me to push even harder to realise my dream,” says Kisten.
“Today, Khanyisela College is a respected education and training providers amongst companies and individuals nationally. It has grown and adapted to many challenges, including COVID-19, and through resilience and hardwork, it has continued to thrive, and now online training has been added to the College’s offerings.”
The college currently employs 17 permanent employees, eight of whom have been retained over the years through internships and learnerships, as well as three interns who are currently serving a one-year internship.
Kisten says: “The unemployment rate is at its highest in the Eastern Cape at a staggering 38.8%, and over 50% for the youth. We believe in providing opportunities especially for these youth, Khanyisela College can contribute positively to providing hope, meaningful work, and dignity to the disenfranchised youth especially for whom there are not many opportunities.
She says the college has established itself as a market leader in their field of accredited training, especially for supervisory development, education and training. With their throughput rate (pass rate) of 94%, the learners not only enjoy the practical nature of the training and the engaged facilitators but take comfort in the strong possibility of receiving a Certificate of Competence at the end.
“With our strong relationships with the SETA’s and QCTO (the quality assurance body), the college continually seeks to improve its systems, people and materials, resulting in unqualified audits for external verifications every time.”
Outside of her college work, Kisten also serves as a Trustee on the Northern Areas People Development Initiative (NAPDI) board where she contributes her experience and skills in education and strategic planning.
She has also established the Kisten Bursary fund to support learners of the Tomorrow’s Leaders project who are academically capable of successfully completing the programme but do not necessarily have the funds for tuition fees.
The Chamber also handed another award to EcoUnity, which participated in the Chamber’s Young Professionals Think Tank with focus on water and electricity, for their innovative solutions to address the city’s water and electricity challenges.
EcoUnity is a social enterprise founded in 2023 by a group of dedicated young professionals in Nelson Mandela Bay. The Enterprise was established in response to the urgent local issues of water and electricity supply in the Metro. The group intends to implement a sustainable solution that will alleviate the socio-economic implications of resource scarcity and contribute to a greener future in South Africa, focusing
They are aiming to develop a low-cost, low-tech, and environmentally sustainable model equipped with hybrid renewable energy systems, water recycling systems, and an AI-driven management system.
The renewable energy systems will generate power for each home, which will be stored in a centralised battery bank. This resource pooling approach will ensure a continuous power supply and also reduce individual dependency on the unstable municipal power grid. Recycled waste-water coupled with harvested rainwater will be used for non-consumptive amenities such as irrigation and bathrooms.