From timekeeper to running her own beauty spa (Mpumalanga)

Enterprise development

Thandeka then went on to find other enterprise development opportunity in the town of Nelspruit and came across the opportunity to run a beauty spa at the Kayalami Hotel, using her savings from the SEF project as seed capital. Thandeka’s new business provides services such as massage, manicures and other beauty services. She says she received so much more than she expected from the SEF programme. What helped her a lot what was being able to work with different people from different backgrounds, and learning how to lead them was an invaluable experience. Thandeka lives by a quote from Oprah Winfrey “I have a lot of things to prove to myself. One is that I can live my life fearlessly”. She says there are a lot of things she still needs to prove to herself, such as taking this fearless step.

SEF the stepping stone

Thandeka credits the SEF project for being her stepping stone. Through her experience on the SEF project she has learnt about the power of producing. Before she started on the SEF project she did not know anything about farming, but as time went by she grew to enjoy it and believes it could well be a worthwhile business to pursue in the future. But for now she is focusing on building her beauty spa business.