Young chartered accountant advocates for social change in the Cape Flats

Nathaniel Japhta is no stranger to achievements. In 2018, the 32-year-old chartered accountant won the Saica influencer award in the Top 35 under 35 CA(SA) competition. He was one of the Mail & Guardian’s 200 Young South Africans in the category for entrepreneurs, mentors and advocates for social change, while News24 named him one of the 100 Young Mandelas of the Future. 

It’s easy to see why. As president of the Heideveld Basketball Club, which has been around for 25 years, the young entrepreneur is dedicated to uplifting young people in underprivileged communities in the Cape Flats where he grew up. He wants to inspire them and give them hope for a better future. 

Japhta grew up in the backyard of his grandmother’s house in Heideveld. “It was a challenging neighbourhood. I was surrounded by gangsterism, but my environment pushed me to strive for the best. I knew that I had to rise above all the challenging circumstances and redefine my path and destiny.”

Through the transformative power of basketball and his knack for accounting, he secured a place at the University of Stellenbosch to study towards a BCom Accounting degree. He completed his CA(SA) training programme in 2012, during which time he acquired Easylife Kitchens Kenilworth with his wife Stacey. Today, he runs a number of businesses and is a pillar of his community. 

Japhta, who is also the father of a two-year-old girl named Juno, is determined to create opportunities for the 200 boys and girls in his basketball club. He uses his entrepreneurial and accounting skills to make sure it operates like a professional business. “I’m living testimony that it’s possible to move out of your circumstances. I’m saying, look, I’m from here, I did it, and I’m one of you, so why can’t you do the same? Every child in our club has a tracksuit, a playing kit, and they get transported to places like the University of Cape Town to play.

“We’ve grown so much. We’ve sent kids to Johannesburg, other provinces and overseas to compete, which has been a blessing. One of the biggest challenges we have is idleness and parents who are absent, so basketball keeps kids busy doing something positive.” 

The social justice advocate wanted to create more opportunities for his players, especially once they turn 18. So, he started the Pro 226 Africa agency, flew to Switzerland, wrote an exam and became one of two Fiba-qualified basketball agents in SA. 

“The goal was to create an agency to get more players connected globally and now we’ve partnered with GSE Global Sport and Education in France. There are a number of ex-NBA and EuroLeague players who are supporting me in driving the education and sport agenda this side,” he says. 

Japhta hosts big events and invites youth across the country when there are opportunities to compete in international tournaments. “The idea is to also fulfil a scouting role and send kids abroad to compete in other  tournaments to network with professional players and potentially be scouted and offered a scholarship.”

He also trains young people in basic accounting and bookkeeping and helps them find work through his Pro Business Advisory firm. The firm satisfies his second passion – helping small businesses thrive through accounting and finance support. 

“Our small businesses really battle with compliance. They want to register their company, they want to get more funding, but they don’t know how to do it,” he says. “Because I run a small business, I think I’m best suited to tell other small-business owners how they need to look at their businesses and how to make it run more optimally.”

Japhta hopes to inspire others to be the change they want to see. “Many South Africans can identify with my story of growing up in difficult circumstances, but they need to know their story can and will have a happy ending. They need to know that their story is not finished.”

This article was paid for by the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants.