KZN entrepreneur's journey from a single pressure cleaner to an award-winning cleaning business

From a rural village in KwaZulu-Natal to the continental stage, 22-year-old entrepreneur Cebolenkosi Gcabashe has turned a small cleaning idea into an award-winning business.

The founder of G Khula Trading recently won the Revenue Growth Award at the 2025 Anzisha Awards, recognised for building a profitable property services company that began with a single high-pressure cleaner.

Anzisha is a venture building fellowship programme that supports young entrepreneurs in Africa. Its applications for its 2026 Fellowship has since opened.

Gcabashe grew up in Ndulinde, under the Mandeni Local Municipality, north of Durban, and says his passion for business started at a young age. “I think entrepreneurship is something I was born with, because since school I always knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur even though I did not fully understand the concept at that time,” he said.

After finishing school, he decided to start his own company to create employment and address challenges in the cleaning and property maintenance sector. “I became passionate about solving problems within the cleaning sector and properties to enhance their value and increase their visibility in the property market.”

The idea for G Khula Trading was born during a walk with his brother in a suburban neighbourhood.

“We discovered that roofs were really dirty and that dirt was hiding the real beauty of those properties and making them look old,” he recalled.

He said his brother suggested that if they get a pressure cleaner, they could offer to clean those roofs. Gcabashe said he decided to put the plan into action.

With only R2 000 in savings, Gcabashe bought an entry-level domestic pressure cleaner to test the concept.

From that modest start, G Khula Trading has grown into a multi-service company offering roof cleaning, car washes, and upholstery cleaning.

“When we started, we were doing only roof cleaning services, but over the years we have expanded our service reach,” he said.

“We also established car washes in two different locations, one in a rural area and one in a township.” The company currently employs four permanent workers and plans to employ ten by the end of the year.

The road to success was not without challenges. “One of the biggest challenges I faced was hiring the right people for the job,” he said.

“At some point, I had to manage people who were older than me. To solve this challenge, I started creating systems in my business that allow us to identify the right candidates and follow a proper recruitment process.”

He credits his business development to the mentorship of Mr M.M. Madondo, an extended family member who encouraged him to attend entrepreneurship workshops. “These workshops shaped my thinking and whole understanding of business concepts as a young entrepreneur.”

Winning the Revenue Growth Award at the Anzisha Awards, Gcabashe said, validated his journey. “Along the journey, we as entrepreneurs sometimes wonder if it is worth it, but I never gave up. Therefore, winning the prize validated my hard work and motivated me to do even more.”

Beyond employment creation, Gcabashe is helping others in his community. “We have offered free training to young people in Mandeni who want to start their own businesses,” he said. “We have helped some to even register their own businesses with the CIPC.”

Looking ahead, he plans to buy a bakkie to expand mobility for a mobile car wash service and to introduce solar panel cleaning. His long-term goal is to establish “a fully functional auto-valet centre with automated car wash bays and cleaning centres across KwaZulu-Natal.”

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is straightforward: “Start where you are with what you have; the rest will be acquired along the journey.”

THE MERCURY