Meet the young entrepreneurs who’re redefining resilience

What do you do when you’re living your dream and then Covid happens? This is the question two young entrepreneurs had to face in 2020 when life threw them an unexpected curveball. Andrew Leeuw had built up a food business that had become a cultural phenomenon, while Raymond Makwakwa had established a successful IT services company. Lockdown changed everything.

Andrew was the brains behind Sumting Fresh, a food concept with a difference. His distinctive fried chicken with a side of music and mic banter had become a favourite with avid foodies and festival-goers alike. With outlets in the Johannesburg suburbs of Norwood and Melville – and three food trucks taking Sumting Fresh to markets and festivals around the country – he was on the crest of a wave.

Raymond, who was born in the remote village of Homu in Limpopo, had started his entrepreneurial journey when he was just eight years old. While helping out his parents, who were street vendors, he began selling fat cakes after school and soon developed a yearning to become his own boss. Fuelled by this goal, he had pursued a qualification in Accounting Science, equipping himself with the skills he needed to establish a company of his own.

Andrew’s story

Inspired by watching Jamie Oliver’s cooking shows on TV, Andrew had trained as a chef and, a few years into his first gig, had decided to set up a side hustle. Sumting Fresh was born!

“It wasn’t an immediate success,” he says, “but I persevered because I had a dream of becoming a chef/restaurant owner, like Jamie. Three years in, I was employing 20 people and Sumting Fresh food trucks were featured at markets and festivals as well as at popular hotspots like the Maboneng Arts Precinct in Jeppe.”

Like so many other entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry, Covid cost him everything.

“Our warehouse was looted, two of our trucks were stolen and, with the country under such strict lockdown conditions, we lost our market literally overnight.”

Raymond’s story

Raymond, on the other hand, hadn’t thought of going into the food and beverage business and was focusing on building the IT business he had established. But when his Gran, a farmworker, called to tell him she had been retrenched as a result of Covid, he knew he had to come up with a business idea that would give her and other retrenched farmworkers a lifeline. Like Andrew, he says Covid ultimately proved to be a big turning point.

“Sometimes new opportunities present themselves at the most difficult times,” he says. “You just have to think about things differently and create your own opportunities.”

‘I grew it with Absa show’

Andrew and Raymond have shared their inspiring post-Covid turnaround stories in the first episode of a six-part series that launched on YouTube on 17 April 2025. Called The ‘I grew it’ Show, it showcases young South African entrepreneurs who have beaten the odds to set up and grow their own successful businesses. Sponsored by Absa, it focuses on the unique ‘I grew it’ moments in the lives of South Africa’s young entrepreneurs.

“In 2020, I realised it was a time to reflect on the business and to define a new way forward,” says Andrew. “I’m not going to lie to you, Covid was a huge blow and I wasn’t sure what the next step was going to be.”

As the lockdowns started to ease, he decided to give Sumting Fresh a whole new look and to introduce a new, expanded menu, relaunching the brand with a hip, local feel that would appeal to a young demographic. Before he knew it, his passion for food and flavours caught the attention of an angel investor, who funded a learning trip to the US, where immersed himself in all the latest trends.

Back in South Africa, not only is he taking Sumting Fresh to new heights, he is also working on an entirely new venture. Spoiler Alert: in the next three to six months, he’ll be launching five new venues under the name of Andy’s Hot Chicken. Fans of Sumting Fresh can’t wait!

Raymond agrees that Covid was a turning point. It was during the first few lockdowns, when alcohol sales were restricted, that he came up with the idea of producing a unique range of wines made from Valencia oranges and went on to establish an enterprise that was both novel and that provided employment for his Gran and her fellow retrenched farmworkers.

Like Andrew, Raymond went through many ups and downs when setting up Sovenga Wines.

“Our first three trials failed,” he says, “but when we tasted the results of our fourth trial, we knew we had a winner.”

Uptake of the new range was nevertheless slow in the beginning, with wine lovers questioning whether oranges could be used to produce quality wines. But Raymond knew that all he had to do was persuade them to taste Sovenga’s wines, which come in Sweet Orange, Minty Orange and French Oak Orange flavours, and they would be sold.

This confidence is his product proved to be the charm and today, naturally fermented, sulphur-free and award-winning Sovenga wines are available at exclusive game lodges, hotels, clubs and pubs around the country. The next step? Online sales, of course – so that everyone can enjoy the unique Sovenga taste.

Powered by creativity, energy and a never-say-die attitude, these two young go-getters are taking bold new tastes to eager audiences around the country.

The ‘I grew it’ Show with Absa is more than just a talk show. It’s a celebration of entrepreneurial stories and the power of what your story could look like if you started today. It’s about inspiring the next wave of business leaders to boldly take that first step, so that, one day, they too will be able to proudly say, “I grew it”!

Catch this episode and more only on YouTube. @AbsaBankLtd