Disability solution seeking turns into an award-winning business for a dyslexic medical student

Nothile Ngema turned her dyslexia and slow speech into a winning business, e-Aggrandizer, that won her the Existing Business: Tech category prize and R20 000.

The final year medical student at the University of Limpopo, creates high quality professional AI powered videos, which, at her reasonable prices, are within reach of a wide target audience that includes small businesses.

Ingeniously, Ngema, who speaks haltingly, used one of her AI generated videos as her presentation to the eight judges at the EDHE (Education Development in Higher Education) Entrepreneurship Intervarsity 2024 national finals.

This year was a technology forward year, with most of the 23 leading student entrepreneurs showcasing their businesses using some form of technology, often inviting the audience to participate by using QR codes, or directing them to social media platforms as they presented.

There were 599 entries from across South Africa’s 26 universities, in this, the sixth year of the Intervarsity awards. Of that number, 165 made it to regional rounds, whittling down to just 23 National finalists. (Every non-winning finalist was given R2 500.)

Ngema, using an AI generated video, began her animated presentation: “Are you struggling with poor business pitching skills?” Then, making it personal, the video continued: “Do Dyslexia or speech difficulties make presenting your ideas a challenge? Or maybe you have a fantastic business idea but no physical product to show investors.

“Do you own a small business battling for visibility against larger companies? Does your website have lengthy paragraphs that just aren’t converting?

“Media e-Aggrandiser is here to transform your business. We specialise in creating high quality professional AI powered videos, animated or non-animated, 2D or 3D and even whiteboard videos.”

The 28-year-old Ngema has roots in Ezwenelisha, a small community in Mtubatuba, KwaZulu-Natal. She said of the University of Limpopo: “This institution has been a pillar of strength, providing me with countless opportunities and support that has helped me grow both personally and as a budding entrepreneur.”

“I come from a big family of eight siblings – three brothers and five sisters. My father, a retired mechanic, and my mother, a retired teacher, are both pensioners who taught me the value of resilience and hard work,” she said.

She explained that her entrepreneurial journey began after a significant setback. “I lost my disability bursary in 2021 due to changes in regulations that excluded degree holders. This left me devastated, as I couldn’t find any other bursary or online job to fund my education. Fearing financial exclusion, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

“I researched business models that could generate income and came across the traditional animation video business model. Intrigued, I took courses on animation and business essentials. With the little savings from my disability bursary allowance, I launched a traditional animation video business in 2022.

“However, starting wasn’t easy. Customers were scarce, and the traditional model wasn’t as effective as I had hoped. Recognizing the gaps, I began rethinking my approach. I introduced AI-powered video production, which drastically reduced production time from 4-6 weeks to just 24 hours.”

To foster inclusion and diversity, Ngema expanded the service to produce videos in all languages, including African languages, instead of just English.

Additionally, she tailored the pricing to be more affordable for small businesses, enabling them to compete with larger companies. Her AI animated video gave e-Aggrandizer’s flexible pricing structure:

Welcome package costs R500 for a 30 second 2D video.
We have a popular package for a 60 second video at R1064 to R8550.
Luxurious packages cost R13281 to R37981 based on video type and duration.
Ordering is easy on our website through Stripe, PayPal or on social media.
As a student I can make one high quality, 60 second, 2D video daily earning R1846.38.
That’s R36 927.60 monthly or R443 131.20 annually.

“These changes transformed the business into what I now call e-Aggrandizer. The name reflects the mission: empowering small businesses through innovative, high-quality video solutions.

Ngema said that when it came to pitching the idea, she faced yet another hurdle.

“I have dyslexia and slow speech, making traditional pitching a daunting task. Instead, I used an AI-powered video for my presentation during the EDHE Intervarsity Competition. This decision was twofold: to showcase the capabilities of my product and to overcome my personal challenges,” she said.

Invest in us because:

• We make a real social impact by supporting small businesses
• There is strong customer demand and proven revenue
• We have a scalable, high growth business model
• Digital content has an expanding global market
• Our team consists of five animators and two sales agents.

Winning the competition, Ngema said, was surreal.

“What started as a desperate attempt to fund my education has blossomed into a recognised brand that impacts small businesses and the content creation industry with AI technology.”

She said the journey was far from smooth. “The University of Limpopo’s Reagona Disability Centre helped me secure funding for my studies, while the UL Digital Hub Incubation Programme, THENSA training, EDHE coach (Mr Daniel from Maloba consultancy), UL coach (Qedelwa) and constructive feedback from EDHE judges sharpened both my business and myself.

“Every rejection and criticism pushed me to refine e-Aggrandizer into the brand it is today. The e-Aggrandizer that reached the finals of the competition was a far cry from its initial iteration.”

Ngema said this transformation was not hers alone. “I owe everything to God, who has continuously turned setbacks into stepping stones for me. My supportive family, church, and community were my anchors, standing by me through every challenge.

“Today, e-Aggrandizer is not just a business—it’s a testament to resilience, innovation, and faith. It represents the power of turning adversity into opportunity, proving that with determination and the right support, dreams can indeed become reality,” she said.

“Imagine an engaging video that makes your ideas shine and attracts investor interest. Or a visual demo that brings your concept to life, helping you secure funding. With our AI powered videos, you’ll reach global customers and investors, level the playing field with bigger businesses. Captivate your website visitors with videos that instantly boost conversions and engagement, keeping them interested in your brand.

 We serve businesses of all sizes, from NGOs and institutions to content creators. Our main focus is on empowering small businesses. Why? Because in SA the unemployment rate rose to 33.5% in 2024 and many unemployed people start small businesses which often struggle due to funding and visibility challenges.

 Imagine our team of five animators. We could achieve annual revenue of over R2-m rands with your support. With limited resources we’ve sold 15 videos in two years for R39300.
We’ve partnered with SEDA (Small Enterprise Development Agency) and are targeting their 53 branches across nine provinces.

 Why choose e-Aggrandizer over the competition?
We deliver AI powered customised videos within 24 hours supporting all languages including African languages.”

Judge, Dr Alice Mutiti Mweetwa, Senior lecturer in soil microbiology in the Department of Land Management in Zambia, asked: “Apart from the website, how else are you reaching the target market?”

Ngema: We distribute our brochures during entrepreneur networking sessions. We engage our audience via our social platforms. We also do cold emailing and cold calling.

Dr Naledi Gallant, CEO of Dalitso Holdings which provides on demand HR services to SMEs called Nothile’s presentation an inspiring business idea. “This is a service that a lot of SMMEs would need. You are currently generating revenue from the videos that you produce. Do you have any other revenue streams that you generate income from?

Ngema: We also have a YouTube channel and so we are tapping into making money through our YouTube channel monetisation.