Supporting entrepreneurship in South Africa

Shell LiveWIRE

My name is Thabitha Malinga

I’m from Tembisa in the East Rand

I am a mom to 2 beautiful children.

I’m a sister and I am an entrepreneur.

So I was browsing through the internet and I saw the Shell logo and I remember picking up funding, incubation and that was good for me to start applying.

So in my mind when I applied I was looking for funds.

Thabie Mobile Spa is my fourth business attempt. Because of the lack of experience, the revenue that I made was hand to mouth.

I would make R500 that day and then close shop, go shopping.

It failed so many times.

(text - subtitle) We've come a long way.

(text - subtitle) She's a child who has always had vision.

(text - subtitle) After Matric we asked her what she wants to do in life.

(text - subtitle) She said "Somatology".

(text - subtitle) Her father asked "What is Somatology?"

My vision was so clear and it still is and for me to get to that vision I had to really make a lot of sacrifices.

(text) Thabitha was selected to be part of the Shell LiveWIRE program in association with Raizcorp.

The entrepreneurial journey is a tough one. We all believe erroneously that there’s a place, there’s a nirvana, there’s a peak at which it will all be okay. We’re only there for seconds before we realize that there’s another peak and more issues and more problems and sometimes that relentless pushing back on our journey it takes a toll on individuals. It’s only certain people that push through that.

(text) Shell LiveWIRE is a global social investment initiative that focuses on training and equipping young people with the necessary entrepreneurial skills.

So she came in here with a business model of her mobile spa and optimistic and this is something that she loves, she’s been in the industry for quite some time. Now we said to her, “Okay fine, this is beautiful but let’s look at the vision, let’s look at where this business is going.” Now, you see we’re not giving them answers, we’re asking them questions.

I acquired learning through Shell LiveWIRE. It’s now a year that I’ve been with them and during that year I have learnt so much. I have learnt what it really means to be an entrepreneur.

When I started here I was with a panel of sixty other candidates and now I’m a finalist of 2 candidates.

The program is intended to develop businesses that can become suppliers or match our supplier chain. She is aligned to our wellness program that we have at Shell where we look at a holistic view of employee wellness and she’s done very well.

You know, when I speak about it I become quite emotional because right now I can say with pride that my business is profitable and the reason why my business is profitable is because of the program.

(text) She now employs 3 people, expanded her business to include kids pamper parties and plans to move to bigger premises later this year.