Samkelo Ntlola grew up in Matatiele, Mvenyane Village as the fifth of seven children. Discipline, perseverance, and accountability were daily expectations rather than abstract ideas.
Looking back on his upbringing, he reflected on the values that shaped him.
“I am the fifth of seven children, raised in Matatiele on values that would later shape everything: discipline, perseverance, and the understanding that nothing comes without effort.”
After completing Grade 12 and pursuing college studies, he worked in conservation for six months. It was there, surrounded by forest and soil, that clarity began to form.
“It was there, working with my hands in the soil and surrounded by the quiet of the forests, that something shifted in me. I was not just doing a job. I was discovering a calling.”
In 2024 he joined the Social Employment Fund (SEF) programme implemented by Avo Vision under the Green Business Value Chain (GBVC) programme. The immediate stability mattered deeply.
“The programme placed me with a host organisation where I earned a stable income for the first time in years. That income meant I could finally support my family and help my younger siblings in ways I had only dreamed of before.”
But the most profound shift was internal. The coaching and enterprise training challenged his self-perception.
“Through business coaching, the Charcoal business simulation, and team-based enterprise training, I began to think differently. I walked into the programme as someone looking for work. I walked out as someone ready to create it.”
He began interrogating his own potential.
“What skills do I have? What problems can I solve? Who in my community needs what I can offer?”
He realised forestry was not just passion. It was opportunity. That realisation led to the founding of Iphupho Nature Calling Pty Ltd, a land clearing and restoration enterprise in the Eastern Cape.
“The name ‘Iphupho’ means ‘dream’ in isiXhosa, because that is exactly what this business represents: a dream I once thought was out of reach, now becoming real.”
Within four months he had already employed nine people from his community.
“Each person I employ is one less household wondering where the next meal will come from. Each salary paid is a child who can stay in school, a family that can keep the lights on.”
His enterprise restores land, but it also restores belief. What began as a search for stability has become a journey of leadership, responsibility and ownership.
Today, Samkelo stands not only as a beneficiary of opportunity, but as a founder creating it, grounded in purpose and driven by the responsibility to build something that will outlive him.
