South African Startup Repairs Wheelchairs and Trains Disabled Technicians

A South African startup now provides repair and maintenance services for wheelchairs and other medical devices at Baragwanath Hospital and surrounding areas. The company also trains people with disabilities to perform the work and establish their own mobile repair services.

The business, Chief Ralekhudu Enterprises, was founded by Zacharia Mashishi. It began by servicing seven to ten wheelchairs and expanded after receiving R500 000 in seed funding.

The funding enabled the company to scale operations and develop a training curriculum for prospective technicians. The program targets individuals who want to launch independent repair services in their communities. Trainees learn both technical repair skills and basic business operations.

Town academics found that 90 percent of successful small and medium enterprises in South Africa are white-owned. Black entrepreneurs face documented difficulties obtaining external finance and navigating Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment application processes.

Many health innovators operate without formal procurement channels or early-stage capital. Project managers have reported multi-year waits for government approvals required to convert pilot programs into sustained services. Existing partnerships, including the Strategic Health Innovation Partnerships and collaborations involving the South African Medical Research Council and international research networks, have facilitated some cross-institutional projects.

Observers note that national-level coordination remains limited.