SOUTH AFRICA: Determined mother finds success late in life

PRETORIA (The Star), August 7, 2008: Susan Maloka-Mphela is a lucky woman. She owns a three-star bed and breakfast establishment in Ga-Rankuwa, a township just outside Pretoria. Not only that, the 48-year-old mother was recently awarded a contract to provide accommodation for 2010 Fifa World Cup guests and is currently in talks with a motor vehicle manufacturer that has expressed interest in assisting businesses like Mphela's by providing tour buses for them at discounted rates. "It's like a dream come true," she says. Mphela had worked for 20 years as a credit controller and shop steward for one of the biggest food chain stores in South Africa when she was dismissed from her job in 2003. "I burped," Mphela explains. "I had a calling to be a spiritual healer and would at times have an overwhelming feeling to burp, and my employers were not happy with that." While still working at the food chain company, Mphela had undergone hospitality training at the Tshwane Tourism Office - something that would later work to her advantage. She is also an accredited tour guide. "There was a lot of talk about the thriving economy of South Africa as a result of tourism," she says. "The government was encouraging previously disadvantaged people to look at starting their own businesses so I saw tourism as an ideal route to take; I was looking for something different, something that would challenge me." After hearing about the Umsobomvu Youth Fund on the radio, Mphela immediately sought more information. "I was lucky because when I inquired, the organisation had just opened its doors to older women as well. I decided to convert my house into a B&B, and that's how Suzy's Nice Palace and Tours was born," she says. Suzy's Nice Palace and Tours offers bed and breakfast, dinner, a garden restaurant which visitors can also hire for private events, a pub and grill, conferencing and tours. Although Mphela and one of her children still live within the premises of her business, she plans to have moved out by the end of the year. "I still live on the premises in a room adjacent to the B&B," she points out. "But business is looking good, and as I have a plot, it is my wish to build a bigger house." Mphela benefited from Umsobomvu's microfinance programme, which provides applicants with loans ranging from R1 000 up to R100 000. She received a R98 000 loan to extend her business. She used the money to add a conference room as well as the garden restaurant. Mphela is now looking at buying a projector so that clients will be able to watch the World Cup while relaxing in the garden.. "Last week I attended a franchising workshop organised by Umsobomvu, and I'm now thinking obtaining a ZOK container, which is an all-in-one business that provides services such as public phone services, a faxing facility and a shop in rural areas, where they are needed the most," she says. Suzy's Nice Palace and Tours www.suzysnicepalace.co.za © 2008 Independent Online