Rea Ngwane is turning rags to riches
Reabetswe Ngwane founded a company dedicated to recycling and repurposing rubber tyres. Her innovations caught the eye of Forbes magazine.
Rea Ngwane was born and raised in Mogwase, Rustenburg and has always had big dreams. Once she moved to the city of Rustenburg she got straight to work, combining community outreach with environmental activism to start her first venture, RePurpose.
She and her business partner created school bags fitted with solar-powered lights for school children in underprivileged communities.
Now, Rea has set her sights on something other than plastic: tyre tubes. To set herself on the path to success, Rea consulted industry experts: informal waste recyclers who she saw pushing trolleys around the city.
Rea says: "We went to them, consulted with them about an alternative to plastic, because that’s all I knew. They advised on the tyre tubes and it became a business".
Rea uses tyre tubes to make trendy handbags which she sells online under the label Atyre. Her work earned her a spot on 2018's Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 list.
Rea and her business partner (who is also her sister) work closely with mines in Rustenburg manufacturing respiratory bags and seat protectors for those working in the mines.