South Africa used its G20 Presidency to put clean cooking on the international agenda, launching a Legacy Programme to expand access across households, schools and communities and co-authoring an investment action plan with the International Energy Agency. One of the businesses preselected to help deliver it is now a finalist in the 38th annual Business Partners Limited Entrepreneur of the Year® awards.

Lwazi, Lwando and Simnikiwe Ndlangalavu are shortlisted in the Emerging Entrepreneur category, which honours those in business for one to five years. The brothers founded PB Gaz in July 2023, bringing together backgrounds in energy, banking and finance, and opened a single outlet in Kempton Park selling LPG cooking gas to township households. Lwando runs the company as CEO, Simnikiwe as COO and Lwazi as CFO.

The business now runs three branches across Kempton Park, Kaalfontein and Ivory Park, serving between 5 700 and 6 800 households a month. What made that growth possible was removing the cylinder deposit. PB Gaz was the first formal LPG retailer in its target areas to offer pay-as-you-go micro-refills with no upfront cylinder purchase, alongside a rent-to-own option that transfers ownership after twelve months. Customers can order over WhatsApp and receive free doorstep delivery within 24 hours, with a safety check on every cylinder.

Customer retention sits at 90%, the business has recorded no major safety incidents since it opened, and revenue grew 58% over the past year. PB Gaz supplies public schools taking part in the National School Nutrition Programme, and is preparing to expand from three branches to eight, adding 34 jobs. Eight in ten of its branch staff are hired from the communities it serves.

“The major fuel companies were not going to solve last-mile access in townships, because the economics do not work if you insist on a cylinder deposit,” says Gugu Mjadu of Business Partners Limited. “The Ndlangalavu brothers changed the payment model rather than the product, and that is what unlocked the market.”

The finalists will now compete for top honours in their respective categories and for the overall title of South Africa’s 2026 Entrepreneur of the Year®. The Job Creator, Innovator and Impact Entrepreneur of the Year® titles may also be conferred at the judges’ discretion.

Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in October. They will share in award prizes designed to accelerate business growth, including funding, mentorship, technical assistance and business exposure opportunities.

For more information, go to https://www.eoy.co.za.