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0 viewsAfter setting out with just R50 in their pockets, a group of six UCT postgrads managed to raise R22,000 and successfully launch a new, revolutionary and environmentally-friendly range of bamboo watches.
The watches were showcased at the recent Vodacom Young Entrepreneurs event in August, which was opened by Springbok rugby player, Schalk Burger. After considerable sales and interest at the event as well as at local markets and via their website and hellopretty.co.za, the Bamboo Revolution team are now looking to expand sales and “grow” their product further.
The project was part of UCT’s postgraduate Management Entrepreneurship programme. Students were told to split into teams of six with as much diversity as possible to capitalize on different strengths and outlooks. Teams would then have to create and market a new product. Paula Nagy, Amy de Castro, Laura Braun, Chukweumeka Ogbonna, Nicolette Tomazos and Matthew Rosenfeldt joined forces and after some trial and error with other products, Bamboo Revolution was born.
The stylish Bamboo Revolution watches are made from bamboo with locally manufactured leather straps. They come in locally produced and sustainable packaging and are entirely assembled in South Africa. Whilst time constraints meant that bamboo was initially imported from China, plans are also in place to make the transition to locally sourced bamboo.
Team member Paula Nagy says that from the very outset the team were keen to “give something back”. As well as prioritising local producers and artisans, Bamboo Revolution is also giving R10 of every purchase (watches cost R380) towards Project Rhino on behalf of the purchaser. Project Rhino is a collaborative project involving 15 organisations that looks to tackle the problem of rhino poaching in Kwazulu-Natal through increased surveillance and intelligence, as well as through better communication, information sharing and education. Nagy says, “we did our research to find a cause we believed in, and a reputable fund to donate to”.
The Bamboo Revolution team managed to raise the necessary money for their project by persuading Vida e Café to sponsor them and setting up a Vida e Café stall on Jameson Plaza for two days, where team members pulled their weight as baristas selling coffee to UCT students. Ten percent of the total R22,000 will be given back to a UCT bursary fund which will be used to pay the course fees for a future young entrepreneur from an underprivileged background.
Nagy says that since the “very successful launch” Bamboo Revolution has experienced an “overwhelmingly positive response”. She goes on to say that “demand for our product and the support and advice we have received from so many people has been more than we could have hoped for. We certainly have big plans for our brand and our watches”.