Soshanguve paint company wins R1m in kasi SME competition

As the days drew closer to the Standard Bank Kasi SME National Pitch Challenge, Rodney Maduwa, founder of Maduwa Paint World, used his wife and five-year-old son to practise how to sell his business in three minutes.

Maduwa Paint World specialises in manufacturing decorative paint products for the commercial and industrial sectors, while also working to reduce reliance on imported raw materials.

Maduwa, 38, is the 2026 winner of Standard Bank’s R1m Kasi SME National Pitch Challenge. The competition invites township start-ups to pitch their businesses, and the best pitch wins R1m. He was crowned the winner on Thursday in Gqeberha.

“I am sure my five-year-old son can recite my pitch because every day when I got home, before we watched TV, I would plug in my laptop and connect it to the TV. My son would handle the slides, while my wife would be the timekeeper,” said Maduwa. “This is how I worked with my family.”

The Kasi SMME Summit is an annual Standard Bank platform for South African entrepreneurs, designed to help accelerate small township businesses. The bank selects 10 township-based businesses from across the country, one from each province, to compete for the R1m prize.

The first runner-up was Ezempilo Primecare Clinic founded by Sisanda Potye which advanced to the national finals through the competition’s Viewers’ Choice category. The second runner-up was PSD Scent Perfumes founded by Phumulile Mkhonza, which represented Mpumalanga.

This year’s competition showcased the ambition, resilience and innovation that exists within township economies across South Africa. The quality of businesses that participated demonstrates entrepreneurs are building scalable enterprises that create jobs, solve real challenges and contribute meaningfully to economic growth

—  Naledzani Mosomane, Standard Bank’s head of enterprise and supplier development

While Maduwa was initially confident about winning, he said his confidence level dropped as soon as he heard pitches from other contestants, which ranged from agriculture to media, waste management and fragrances.

Maduwa, who is originally from Ha-Maduwau in Limpopo, registered his company in 2013 while working for Nissan as a paint engineer. He said from his early university days, he always knew he wanted to become an entrepreneur. He drafted a plan to first work in the corporate sector to learn and gain experience before resigning to fulfil his entrepreneurial ambitions.

In 2019 Maduwa resigned from his job at BMW, where he worked as a paint specialist, to fully focus on his paint business. “It was very difficult because at that time I had a family, houses and cars I was paying for, so it was very difficult to leave my employment,” he said.

Maduwa said the R1m prize will assist him in acquiring a storage tank and expanding the business by hiring 12 additional employees. The funding is also expected to support the company’s ambition to advance its acrylic emulsion manufacturing initiative and increase its production capacity.

He said he has trained about 200 young people in paint application, while his workforce stands at 38 employees.

Maduwa studied for a BSc in chemistry through Unisa and completed an honours degree in polymer science. He is registered for a master’s degree and wants to continue studying until he obtains his PhD.

Standard Bank’s head of enterprise and supplier development in business and commercial banking, Naledzani Mosomane, said the calibre of businesses that entered this year’s competition demonstrated some of the country’s most exciting growth opportunities are emerging from township economies.

“This year’s competition showcased the ambition, resilience and innovation that exists within township economies across South Africa. The quality of businesses that participated demonstrates entrepreneurs are building scalable enterprises that create jobs, solve real challenges and contribute meaningfully to economic growth,” said Mosomane.

“We congratulate Maduwa Paint World on winning the Pitch Challenge and look forward to supporting Rodney as he amplifies the growth of his business with the R1m prize money.”

Sowetan