Having once been on the wrong side of the law, Bheki Kunene (28) proves that where you come from does not have to determine where you are going and it is never too late to turn your life around.

Born in the crime-infested township of Gugulethu in the Cape Flats and surrounded by poverty and high unemployment, Kunene vowed to be different.

Road less traveled proved to be more difficult than anticipated

The road to being different and defeating the status quo proved to be more challenging than what he had anticipated. In his teen years, Kunene landed himself on the wrong side of the law and was incarcerated in juvenile prison a couple of times.

In a moment of rage, Kunene hit one of his teachers with a hammer and was expelled from the school. He was also barred from all other government schools in the area. Hoping to find refuge in private schools to continue his education, but they too shut the door in his face.

It was at that point that Kunene felt like his world was coming to an end. He said he felt like an outsider who did not belong in society.

All hope not lost

His mother and grandmother were, however, determined to see him prosper and with their help, he managed to write and pass Grade 12.

Kunene says during the time he was struggling to get his life back on track he developed a strong sense of resilience and strength.
“I learnt the lesson of staying hopeful and never giving up even in the toughest of situations,” he says. He adds that now he tends to focus more on the solution as opposed to the problem or challenge.

Light at the end of the tunnel

After completing his Grade 12, he got a scholarship to study graphic design at the Ruth Prowse School of Art in 2006.

“The scholarship paid for everything provided that I get above 75% for all my subjects,” he says.

The road to writing his own paycheck

​Kunene says the road to being an entrepreneur was filled with potholes. His first business failed after two years.

“I owned a fruit and veg stall outside my home and the stall was running for about 2 years,” he says. When he was 19 he decided to start his website-building company, Mind Trix Media.

The company is based in Cape Town and they have big names such as SAB in South Africa on their client list as well as companies in Italy, Vietnam, Zimbabwe and Angola.

He says one of the challenges he had to overcome was that he did not have any experience in business management. But the biggest one was that just two weeks into the business he got arrested for murder and was taken into the holding cells for a few days but was released as he was wrongfully accused.

“I was worried that I would lose my first client, so I contacted them and luckily they were sympathetic and I kept the contract,” he says.