• Rudzani Moralane from Pretoria got a Chemical Engineering qualification in 2011 but could not find a job despite years of applications and volunteer work.

• She now runs Roo Detergents, making and packaging washing powders, soaps and cleaning products, and says the business gave her hope after years of rejection.

Rudzani Moralane thought a Chemical Engineering qualification would open doors. It did not.

She graduated in 2011 and completed a 12-month volunteer placement at Vhembe Local Municipality in Limpopo, hoping the experience would help. Employers still said no. Years passed. Nothing changed.

"I thought once I had my qualification, I would finally be able to work," she said.

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"But after years of trying, nothing changed."

She went back to studying, enrolling for an IT degree to improve her chances. She dropped out. She felt the job market was rejecting older graduates, though no employer told her that directly.

Eventually, she stopped waiting.

Drawing on her Chemical Engineering background, Rudzani started Roo Detergents in Pretoria. The business produces and packages washing powders, soaps and cleaning products. She got certified in chemical product manufacturing and packaging to formalise it.

It was not easy at first. Funding, marketing and finding customers were all hard. But the business grew.

"It gave me hope again," she said. "Now I'm able to support my family."

Rudzani is a mother of three. She still tells her children that education matters, even when it does not immediately lead to a job. She says it builds discipline and knowledge regardless.

She now encourages other unemployed graduates to consider working for themselves, build skills and start small, rather than waiting for opportunities that may not come.

"Entrepreneurship has become both a livelihood and a form of healing," she said.