Written by: Shanice Pilay and Mfundo Knowledge Mthembu

At the age of 25, founder and owner of KV Track Company, Simphiwe Ntuli is all about children’s safety.

This Durban University of Technology (DUT) final year Jewellery Design and Manufacturing student is pulling out all the stops with his new invention of a safety watch for children. Ntuli was born in Inanda but later relocated.

“When my parents got married, they moved to KwaNongoma because they bought a house there and my father’s family lived there as well. When my father passed way in 1998, my mother an I moved back to Umlazi with my grandparents,” said Ntuli.

He attended Wentworth Primary School and completed his senior phase at Fairvale Secondary. His love for community work and helping others started at a young age, but his inspiration came from his father.

“When I was growing up I wanted to be medical doctor simply because I love helping people and working with the community. My father was my inspiration. From a young age I looked up to him because he was the only person in my family to obtain a teaching degree,” he said.

Coming from a family who are business-minded, Ntuli followed in their footsteps. His passion for business grew when he discovered that it could make the world a better place.

“All my uncles are taxi owners, most of my skills I obtained from them. I was once told that I should never allow myself to make money for someone else rather than myself,” he said.

Pedican School of Jewellery opened in 2015 and the sole purpose of the business was to teach others how to design and manufacture jewelry in order for them to generate their own income. It closed shortly after due to the lack of funding.

However, Ntuli didn’t stop there. His love for innovation and new ideas brought KV Track Company to life.

“The company offers GPS smart watches for children through a smart watch. It is connected to an application which parents can download on their phone in order to track their children’s whereabouts,” said Ntuli.

It also offers a 24-hour emergency team, which attends to issues whereby children can be located if they are missing. Describing this business as his ‘baby’, he became concerned at the number of children that go missing during the festive season at the beach. It also provides an easier way to communicate with children.

The watch also offers a call, SOS button and waterproof abilities, amongt other things.

Ntuli has high hopes for his company and reaching the forefront of the world. He believes that his business is from God and wishes to work with countries that have a high rate of child labour.

“In the next three years I will be South Africa’s millionaire because my business has high potential of being a multi-millionaire company. Being in business means putting the company first before anything else,” he said.

*Caption: Simphiwe Ntuli showcasing his Smart Watch.