Bokang Lehloenya
Youth in Business & Entrepreneurship
Nominee's Province:
Free State
Age:
27
Project Name/Description:
Bottling Heritage, One Sip at a Time
At 27, Bokang Lehloenya is reviving a cultural staple and reshaping local food systems with every bottle of her sorghum porridge drink, Motoho wa rona. Rooted in childhood memories and driven by a desire to uplift her community, Bokang launched Wa Rona Food Enterprise in 2022. What started in her kitchen has grown into an award-winning agri-food business based in Welkom, producing a ready-to-drink version of motoho made with clean ingredients and cultural pride. Beyond the product, she’s creating jobs, empowering women, and supporting small-scale farmers across the province. Her accolades include Start-Up Business of the Year (Presidential Awards, 2023), Top Achiever in Agro-Processing (2024), and overall winner at the Women Entrepreneurship Awards. Despite funding hurdles and infrastructure challenges, Bokang stayed focused on her mission: to make indigenous African food part of the mainstream again. “Our food tells our story,” she says. “I want Motoho wa rona on every table — as a symbol of who we are, where we come from, and where we’re going.”
