All Day Jam was founded a few years ago with just R1000, the recipes from his grandmother and the farming knowledge from his grandfather. Inspiration first hit when, hungry, he stopped by his gran for something to eat and was struck by how delicious her jam was. When he asked her why she’d never thought to sell it, she challenged him to do it himself!
Not only was he inspired to start his business by his grandparents, but also by the Step Up to Start Up competition he entered when he was still in school, a four-week course and competition which encourages youth entrepreneurship. While he didn’t win, it taught him the ins and outs of starting a business and primed him to look for opportunities.
While he’s had challenges in getting funding and knowledge in agro processing to scale his business, Gontse says that being part of Innovation Hub and SEDA (the Small Enterprise Development Agency) has assisted him a lot. He hopes to get his jams into hotels and restaurants around Johannesburg, as well as retail stores.
“We produce 1000 units in a week, which are available on our online store which people can place orders for delivery,” says Gontse. He hopes to be able to make enough profit to create employment around Orange Farm and to buy bigger land to plant more produce as the business grows.
His advice for other young entrepreneurs is to look for inspiration close to home. “Look to the skills that your grandparents have and see how you can make use of them,” says Gontse. “We can start a business from the things that they can teach us!”
