BLOEMFONTEIN – A pioneering Botshabelo social entrepreneur and professional senior nurse, Elisa Koenyama has scooped a worthy prize of R30 000 in this year’s Iwisa No. 1 Community Champions competition in the Free State. She was announced as the third-prize recipient alongside Kemiso Motholo, overall winner of R70 000, and Ponkie Thekiso, second-prize winner of R50 000, at the prize ceremony held at the Bloemfontein City Hall on Thursday 3 September.

Koenyama was selected for her continued ability to transform the clinic to function effectively and deliver much-needed professional health services in Botshabelo and other areas in the Mangaung Metro. She mainly focuses on providing accessible community healthcare through the Unjani Clinic in Botshabelo. Her operational focus is on developing community-based, low-cost healthcare franchise structures.

Koenyama specialises in creating economically sustainable primary healthcare models that relieve pressure on public medical centres. The trailblazer started the clinic in 2000 and has transformed it into a flagship clinic in Botshabelo, bringing vital healthcare to communities.

The sponsor also offered each of the three winners their share of the R150 000 in prize money allocated to the province. This is intended to provide access to comprehensive training, mentorship and ongoing business development support to ensure they further build, grow, and sustain their social enterprises.

Motholo is the social entrepreneur behind KemiChem in Qwaqwa, while Thekiso is a registered financial and business professional who serves as the chief financial officer (CFO) of the local community organisation Tsa Dinaledi, which operates from Welkom.

Phumzile Nhlapo, senior brand manager at Premier Group, said this year’s edition attracted more than 280 entries from the Free State, which were part of a cohort of 1 400 entries nationally across the four participating provinces, namely the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, and Western Cape.

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