While Covid-19 lockdowns are shuttering businesses and cutting off traditional routes to market, one Stellenbosch agripreneur says the pandemic brought out his innovative spirit in adding value to his product, finding new ways to reach buyers and planning for expansion of his 3t/month herb-growing business. From a solo operation in a shade-netted corner of his parents’ backyard to 1 hectare of land, six employees and six growing tunnels each housing 10 000 to 20 000 herb plants, Herbal View Hydroponics managing director Basil Williams has grown his business over more than a decade – and he wasn’t going to let a virus slow him down.