In South Africa, woman entrepreneurs are a force to be reckoned with. While balancing their roles as mothers, community activists and partners, women are at the helm of thousands of small businesses that play an important role in fuelling the engines of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Their resilience and adaptability have enabled them to navigate the complexities of the business landscape, often overcoming significant barriers, such as limited access to funding and markets.
Despite the challenges women face as business owners, many continue to drive innovation, create jobs and contribute to the economic empowerment of their communities.
According to reports by the World Economic Forum, women constitute close to 60% of self-employment on the continent and make up at least 13% of Africa’s total GDP. On a national level, success stories abound – their experiences are a source of inspiration and motivation for the next generation of aspiring business owners.
As a financier for small and medium enterprises, Business Partners Limited has had the honour of seeing several of these glowing success stories develop, evolve and grow. These are two examples of this immense potential:
Asanda’s story: good food is good business
Asanda Maqabuka describes herself as an entrepreneur at heart. After a couple of false starts in tertiary education and various business ideas, she decided to join forces with her mother and buy a franchise. In 2018, the pair found a business that ticked all the boxes: a fast-food franchise with a proudly South African menu and story.
In true kasi style, the stores were set up in containers which could be moved if a certain geographical location didn’t fit the bill. With that, the all-important “location, location, location” aspect of doing business was sorted. Soon afterwards, the Maqabukas signed the contracts, received their store in Hammanskraal and started trading.
In their first month of trading, they became the top-performing franchisee. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before Asanda and her mother faced their first serious hurdle. Among other issues, the franchisor was facing significant stock supply issues. Furthermore, the 26% interest rate charged by the franchisor’s funding partner drained the new business’s resources.
Six months after they started operating, the franchisor was liquidated, leaving Asanda and her mother with the financial burden of servicing the loan. They had reached the point where they risked losing the family home. After an arduous High Court battle, with the help of a family friend, they moved their container from Hammanskraal to Mthatha, rebranded the store as Chickenbar, created a new menu and got back into business.
Another hurdle, in the form of the Covid-19 pandemic was next in line, but the Maqabukas were up to the task. As soon as lockdown ended, Chickenbar’s delectable food offering took off again and moved far quicker than many other bigger franchises.
In 2021, when Asanda started getting enquiries from people who wanted to replicate Chickenbar, she joined the Franchising Association of South Africa. She also felt that the time was right to open a second outlet. To do this, she secured financing to fund the lease for a new store in Kingsley Centre in Arcadia, Pretoria.
Today, Asanda sits on Fasa’s members council and Chickenbar has set a accreditation for fast-food service and food and beverage training and upskilling. Chickenbar continues to thrive as a brand that represents everything South Africans should be proud of.
Nontando Molefe: a diamond in the rough
Phatsima Jewellery Design, the brainchild of Nontando Molefe, started in a 15m² wooden wendy house in a Johannesburg backyard. Nontando studied jewellery design at the University of Johannesburg and soon afterwards, got an early break when her work was entered into an international competition, and she was the youngest of the top 10 entrants.
She went onto work in the industry, moving swiftly up the ranks from the design desk to sales and, eventually, management. She quickly noticed that most of the jewellery sold locally was not produced locally. She saw this as a golden opportunity to make her mark.
She started by saving up and buying her own workshop tools. Things eventually started taking shape when she resigned in frustration in 2010 and started making jewellery for family and friends. For the first three years, Nontando did everything herself, from designing and manufacturing in her aunt’s wendy house, to meeting clients at a nearby rent-by-the-hour office.
Not long afterwards, Nontando was able to employ her first technician to help with the manufacturing and Phatsima, which means “shine” or “bling” in Setswana, was able to move to a rented workshop.
Covid-19 dealt a significant blow to Phatsima’s growth, but Nontando pulled through by concentrating on marketing. To save costs, she teamed up with other service providers, such as photographers and make-up consultants, to market their services together.
Then, she got the funding she needed to buy her own workshop in an office park in Lonehill.
Today, a team of five is behind the amazing pieces being produced by Phatsima, which has captured the interest of some of the biggest European and American names in jewellery. Her work was also recently featured in the British Vogue Magazine. Nontando has come a long way since the days in her aunt’s wendy house, but her growth is far from over. Everything points to a bright, sparkly future for Phatsima and this shining gem of an entrepreneur.
Ben Bierman is the managing director of Business Partners.
BUSINESS REPORT