Opportunity Issue 98

ADVISORY SERVICES
Mint Fresh
Advisory Services
Founder Thuli Magubane reflects on the popularity of innovation
workshops for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
When Thuli Magubane bought a shelf company in 2010, she liked the “Mint
Fresh” part of the name and so that’s what this 100% black women-owned
and managed boutique management consulting firm became, and it’s a
name that’s become a trusted brand over the last 11 years.
Mint Fresh Advisory Services arose out of Thuli’s desire to expand her
horizons, something she’s been doing ever since she switched from studying politics to
commerce. “I knew I was going to go into business from that time,” says Thuli.
Her first business was in BEE consulting but because she didn’t want to get boxed in,
she had a five-year stint in banking with Absa and Investec before launching Mint Fresh.
The company offers a wide range of services from strategic and business planning, project
management and market and customer strategies to financial advisory services.
When the company evolved over the years, Thuli found that she had come full circle. “I
found myself back in the BEE space with the focus on enterprise and supplier development.”
In the early days, getting clients’ trust was tough. "'Who is this Mint Fresh?' It takes time to
build trust and a rapport.” As the company built up a portfolio of work, Thuli found she could
use successful projects as a reference point. “The more you do, the easier it becomes,” she says
of those early days. A successful programme with Sasol showed what can be achieved. Young
people were selected for an Entrepreneurship programme programme which was run by Mint
Fresh while Sasol donated equipment and made facilities available at an incubator at Sasolburg.
Thuli Magubane
Biography
Recognised in 2018 by the Entrepreneur
Magazine as one of the top 50 businesswomen
to watch in South Africa, Thuli was also selected
by Money Today SA as one of the country’s Top
12 businesswomen in 2019. Thuli is a graduate
of UCT, having majored in Political Science, and
holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Management
(PDM) from the Wits Business School. She
completed a Master’s programme in Leadership
and Strategy at Instituto de Empresa (IE) Business
School in Madrid, Spain.
Services
Sometimes corporates ask the company to find a small business as a supplier, but Mint Fresh is also
asked to assist or train SMMEs that the larger company has already identified. In the case of a taxi
association in the Northern Cape, Mint Fresh helped the group register as a company (as a prerequisite
for trading with the mining company) and advised it on systems and compliance issues.
Clients include Nedbank, Standard Bank, Tata, South32, Sasol, the National Empowerment Fund
(NEF) and Transnet.
The fastest-growing aspect of Mint Fresh’s business is the series of workshops that it runs on
innovation. “We focus on getting small businesses to think more about innovation and helping
those with an idea but who don’t know how to implement it,” says Thuli.
These sessions are generally sponsored by government or corporates, who contract Mint Fresh
to offer the service, which is about to be rolled out in rural areas. There are practical benefits. As
Thuli asserts, “At the end of the workshop, participants walk away with a concrete action plan.”
Thuli credits mentors who have helped her as an individual and supported her in her career
path. Now mentorship is built into programmes that Mint Fresh offers to entrepreneurs. “We work
with people who are currently running their own business and are willing to make the time to
mentor,” she says.
Having mentors spread around the country is an advantage because participants on Mint Fresh
programmes can then “engage with someone who can direct them and they can introduce them
to a network”.
Mint Fresh Advisory Services
Office: 63 Braam Fischer Drive, Ferndale, Randburg | Tel: +27 (011) 086 0629
Email: info@mintfreshas.co.za | Website: www.mintfreshas.co.za