With the 26th of September marking World Rhino Day, it seemed fitting to chat to young entrepreneur and rhino-cause-crusader, Jenna Bischoff. Jenna, along with some help from her folks, has conceptualised a range of hand and body products, the proceeds of which are all donated to uniteagainstpoaching.co.za.

Jenna, tell us a bit about yourself…
Well, I am 10 years old and I am in grade 4 at Rustenburg Junior School. I do hockey, swimming, gymnastics and ballet. I love animals and my favourite is my dog, Nox, and my two guinea pigs – Charlie and Houdini. My favourite thing to eat is sushi and seafood. I like drawing, looking for things to make out of my art box and playing Lego.
Most 10-year olds are into TV and games and things, so how did the plight of the rhino become something that you were interested in?
At school they taught us about what is happening to the rhinos and them using their horns for medicine. They would die from this and that really made me sad. I love animals and anything that is being extinct I would like to save.

So how did you go from knowing that you wanted to do something to help, to actually doing it?
About a year ago we (my parents and I) spoke about doing something like this as I always gave my mom money to give to the rhinos and she suggested we create something we can actually sell. It was only after I drew the picture of the rhino that we realised what we can do with it. My mom asked her cousin if she could design a label using my picture. I loved it and chose the label I liked most. Then my dad brought me some perfume samples to choose from of which I liked the Rooibos fragrance the best. From there he developed the formulation for me as he owns a cosmetic and toiletry company that makes creams and soaps. And that’s how jenna b came about.

Did you have input into the choice of packaging and the design?
We have a whole lot of packaging samples at home, because my mom and dad works in the industry so they packed it all out for me to choose the one I liked best. My dad then brought me a lot of perfume samples and I chose the Rooibos fragrance as my favourite. My mom’s cousin designed the label and I could choose the one I liked best.

Do you think you have a career as a young entrepreneur ahead of you?
Yes, I maybe want to take over my dad’s business one day or else I think I want to be a lawyer. I have learnt that it can be very stressful to have your own business, especially if something goes wrong.

What has been the most exciting thing about this experience for you?
I loved smelling the samples and seeing how the design turned out. Most of all I am excited that if it succeeds then I can save the rhinos.

Quickfire Questions

Favourite ice cream flavour… chocolate
Veggie you’d prefer to skip…celery
Favourite musician/band… Flo Rida
Book you’re reading right now… Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief

Support Jenna’s cause against rhino poaching by purchasing products online at jennab.co.za

uniteagainstpoaching.co.za