By Diane Silcock
RECONSTRUCTED Living Labs (RLabs)’s philosophy is all about people and community and this comes across strongly when speaking to CEO Christine Taphel, a vibrant personality with an audacious goal to impact two billion people by 2030.
Established by Marlon and Rene Parker 15 years ago, RLabs is an NGO with roots in Bridgetown, Athlone in Cape Town but now based in Mitchells Plain. The organisation provides funding to entrepreneurs along with the support that they need in order to grow and thrive while positively impacting the community around them.
RLabs operates in 25 countries, and has had over 200 000 people access its skills training. They recently created a R100-million venture capital fund to support emerging innovative businesses.
Taphel who has worked across the organisation for 12 years, was handed the reins a year ago. “It’s been a journey of learning and finding myself, and taking the organisation into a transition was really hard. But it’s a good thing. It’s when you feel uncomfortable that you learn.
“I have always been passionate about people and was quite intentional with building relationships with people across our organisation. This year, in particular, I focused on staff to take the organisation to the right level. Hard decisions and structural changes were made, and projects carefully considered to ensure that we had the best people to drive them.
“Even though the world is ever evolving – as is RLabs – at the end of the day, we shouldn’t lose the essence of community. People approach us, not because of our good training programmes and business support, it’s because of how embedded we are in community.”
RLabs’ services are not limited to the funding they source, they also add to that, and this is very much prevalent in their RLabs Women component. When working with entrepreneurs, they focus on the person first, then the business. “We find that once people feel dignified and confident, they are able to solve problems within their community and that’s where they can experiment with innovative ideas.”
An inspiring example of a women-led business assisted by RLabs, is Ncinci Ndiqala, a local, family-run recycling and waste management company. Trailblazer Wendy Johnson showcased her business in Lagos, Nigeria as part of the RevUp Women Initiative Business Showcase where she underwent rigorous entrepreneurship training. The programme is designed to accelerate female-led businesses into profitable and sustainable ventures that can stimulate the creation of jobs on the continent. She was a winner for her pitch presentation earning herself a substantial grant.
In addition to their global expansion plans, part of Taphel’s vision is to be dominant across all provinces in South Africa.
Taphel’s message to women as we celebrate women’s month is: “Don’t be an ostrich, be a lion. If we want long-term success in life, we have to accept the uncomfortable truths as fast as possible because when we refuse to accept the truths, we are ultimately choosing to accept an uncomfortable future. We have to get to a point as women to normalise what’s not right, what the red flags are and embrace these. We must strive to be better.”
