Success Story
Resilience wins single mother R1m in business contest
Resilience wins single mother R1m in business contest
When 35-year-old Prudence Mabaso lost her engineering job in 2021 after working for the company for six years, the world suddenly felt smaller.
A single mother from Tsakane in Ekurhuleni with a young son who depended on her, unemployment wasn’t just a setback; it was a crisis. But instead of collapsing under pressure, Mabaso made a decision that would change her life and see her beat more than 2,000 competitors in an entrepreneurial competition to win R1m.
“There was no romantic story about venturing into entrepreneurship,” Mabaso said.
“I was unemployed. I had a son to take care of. I had a family depending on me. I had to make a plan, and I had to move fast.”
Today, Mabaso is the founder of The Kitchen Wrap Company in Benoni, a fast-growing business that remodels kitchen furniture using architectural vinyl wrapping — a niche concept that she helped introduce and popularise in SA.
Mabaso’s introduction to the business came through social media. Intrigued by the idea, she began researching it only to discover how rare it was locally.
Determined to learn, she used her savings to travel to Cape Town for a two-day course offered by a specialist.
“It was really just the basics,” she said.
“Everything else I learnt on the job, literally in the kitchens I was working in.”
Mabaso launched her business later that year, initially working alone and doing the wrapping herself. Her first hire was another woman, and together they slowly built what is now one of the country’s leading kitchen remodelling companies.
[This win] is proof that resilience and faith can turn obstacles into stepping stones. — Prudence Mabaso
To date, the company has completed more than 500 projects, employs seven full-time staff, and is training two apprentices.
While residential clients have embraced her services, breaking into corporate and commercial markets has been challenging.
“It’s still a very male-dominated industry,” said Mabaso.
“You have to work twice as hard as a woman. And small companies often get overlooked. People doubt whether we can handle big projects.”
Despite the hurdles, she believes the company is ready for large-scale commercial work and is actively pursuing it.
Mabaso’s academic background includes metallurgy and industrial engineering studies, and while her career pivot seems drastic, she said her engineering skills have been invaluable.
“I think in systems and processes. That structure helps me run the business smoothly. Problem-solving is a big part of what we do,” she said.
Becoming an entrepreneur out of necessity was daunting. At first, Mabaso enjoyed the excitement of creating beautiful spaces for her clients. But the pressures of salaries, rent, and constant demands quickly became overwhelming.
“What starts as passion becomes stressful when people depend on you,” she says.
“But I’ve learned to handle the pressure. The business is doing much better now.”
Her entrepreneurial journey reached a new milestone when she recently beat more than 2,000 competitors to win the 2025 Nedbank Pitch & Polish competition, walking away with R1m in cash and business support.
The competition, with the support of business incubator Raizcorp, is a blend of one-on-one mentoring and entrepreneurial learning. The contestants engage in a gripping battle of business pitches while competing for R1m, and the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge they learn during the process increase their chances of obtaining investment or funding and establishing sustainable businesses.
Mabaso said she could not believe it when she was announced as the winner.
“This win is the validation of years of persistence. Starting this business when I was unemployed and a single mom, pushing forward when resources were scarce and finding a way to turn an idea into something real. It’s proof that resilience and faith can turn obstacles into stepping stones,” she said.
Mabaso plans to use the prize money to buy bulk inventory, boost profit margins and enable faster scaling, while also launching a proprietary range of interior vinyl films and a new tech platform, Renvr, to streamline quoting, bookings and project management.
Allon Raiz, Raizcorp CEO, said this year’s competition highlighted the grit and creativity of SA’s entrepreneurs and the powerful role of partnerships in nurturing their journey.
“Each pitch showcased not only unique solutions to real-world challenges but also the extraordinary resilience of South African entrepreneurs,” he said.
Mabaso’s message to aspiring entrepreneurs is simple and firm: “If you don’t start, nothing will happen. Use what you have, where you are. There’s no perfect moment. Just start.”
