"Very Awesome Idea": Northern Cape Woman Turns Rubbish Into Brick Manufacturing Business, stuns SA
- Zimkhitha Duze, a Kimberley entrepreneur, founded Uuka Bricks, a company that manufactures building materials from waste
- Her business diverts waste from landfills, rivers and streets to tackle both the housing and waste crises in South Africa
- Duze is now a Kasi SME Summit National Pitch Challenge finalist, competing for a R1 million grand prize on 27 August
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Source: Facebook
A Kimberley woman is turning what most people throw away into something that could reshape how South Africa builds homes. Zimkhitha Duze is the founder and CEO of Uuka Bricks, a clean tech manufacturing company that uses waste materials to produce construction bricks.
Instead of letting rubbish pile up in landfills, rivers and streets, Duze collects it and converts it into building materials.
In a video shared on Facebook by Standard Bank South Africa, she described the difference between her product and a standard concrete brick:
“We use waste to manufacture our bricks. We are diverting waste that would otherwise end up in your landfills, your rivers, our streets as well.”
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Uuka Bricks tackles two crises at once
Duze is clear about what drives the business.
“Uuka Brick deserves to win because we’re solving the housing crisis. We’re solving the waste crisis within our country as well. So it’s not just about financial benefit. It’s also about impact,” she said.
Her vision for growth is equally ambitious. She aims to scale production with automated and hydraulic machinery, expand into larger premises and move the company into the heart of where construction is most active, growing from a small-scale operation into a fully commercial manufacturer.
Standard Bank South Africa shared her story on 17 August 2026 as part of the Kasi SME Summit National Pitch Challenge, where Duze is representing the Northern Cape. She is now a national finalist competing for the R1 million grand prize, with the event scheduled for 27 August.
For other entrepreneurs watching, she had grounded advice: stop waiting purely on funding and invest in the systems, team morale and governance that hold a business together.
“Be resilient and be hardworking in your venture,” she said.
Watch Zimkhitha Duze share her story and the vision behind Uuka Bricks below:
South Africans back Zimkhitha’s vision
The response from South Africans online was warm and encouraging:
@Thanxi Nkosi said:
“Keep it up, girl, and God bless you and protect you so that you can hire youth.”
@Siyamtanda Nyawombi wrote:
“Very awesome idea. It should be implemented as a franchise in other parts of the country.”
@Lesedi Masebe commented:
“I love this business model, #girlpower.”
@Lydia Itumeleng shared:
“So proud of you, Zimkitha. 🙏😜”
@San Sisanda Potye said:
“Ow, this is amazing. You are a superstar.”
3 more stories about business women
- Penny Streeter moved to the UK from South Africa and spent two years in emergency homeless accommodation with her three young children.
- Zanele Nzimande, 36, built Asemahle Crafters in Durban on a handcrafting skill passed down through three generations of women in her family.
- A South African woman marked the opening of her new salon by cutting the ribbon at the entrance.
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Source: Briefly News
