A story of human triumph …

Shonaquip, a company
that makes wheelchairs for
children with special needs,
walked away last week as
the overall winner of the
ECIC/Cape Chamber of
Commerce Exporter of the
year.
The Plumstead
headquartered company
took home a cash price of
R50 000.
“The success of
Shonaquip is a remarkable
story of a woman who was
forced to make a plan for
her disabled daughter. The
plan grew into a factory
employing 49 people
and an export business
worth millions of rands a
year,” said Cape Chamber
president Janine Myburgh.
“In our 25 years of running
this competition we have
had some amazing winners
but few stories of human
triumph like this one.”
Owner Shona McDonald
started the company after
experiencing first hand
how difficult it was to
find appropriate assistive
devices for children.
Her second daughter was
born severely disabled and
when she became too heavy
to carry she asked the
bio-medical engineering
department at UCT to help
her build a suitable wheel
chair.
“She soon found other
parents in a similar
position and they, too,
needed specialised chairs.
This was the start of a
business that has changed
countless lives over the
years,” Myburgh said.
Nautic Africa, which
makes fast armed patrol
boats and launches mainly
for the oil and gas industry
off the West African coast,
was awarded the Transnet
Port Terminals trophy
for best manufacturing
exporter, while the
Transnet National Ports
Authority trophy for the
best exporter outside the
engineering field went
to Thokozani Winelands
Investments.
CAPTION
Janine Myburgh, president of the Cape Chamber, with top
exporter Shona McDonald of Shonaquip, and Odirile Ramasodi
of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa
(ECIC), which sponsored the main prize.