Limpopo’s Youngest Employer
By Abongile Ndlela
It is rare to find a young people who are passionate about bricks manufacturing business . Meet Tshilate Pfunzo, a 21-year-old University of Venda student from Thohoyandou who produces more than 1000 bricks per day.
She wakes up at 02:00 am every day to manufacture bricks. She started bricks manufacturing business in 2018 when she saw that her parents were not making enough money to sustain their way of living. “My family has a farm where they used to plant maize, sweet potatoes, and sometimes cabbage, the farm is very spacious and the part near the river was never utilized so I asked permission to use it as a bricks manufacturing plant and they agreed, so that’s how it all started” Said Pfunzo.
With the demand for bricks around her area, she has employed 14 people to work with her and they successfully reach enough people that sometimes they have to hire transportation to take the bricks to towns around Thohoyandou. Of course, they are planning to grow bigger in the near future with a hope of creating a national footprint and create more employment opportunities for young people, and just like any other businesswoman, Pfunzo faces problems in her field of work. “I face challenges of being undermined because I’m a girl, people think I’m not equipped and incapable of handling the work, and I also have challenges with transport because I have people from outside the province that want my bricks and hiring a truck becomes expensive so it would have been better of I had my own” added Pfunzo.
It is very inspirational to see young black women entering an industry that was seen as for men, and we have to play a role as a country to support these people.
She encourages young people who are just starting their businesses to keep on going, she says they should learn to cope with all kinds of critics, as long as you put your mind and heart into something you can achieve it. Pfunzo also does decorations for small parties and helps around her community as much as she can, so if you are interested in any of her services you can visit her Facebook page @Chilate Pfunzo Monica or contact her on these numbers +27 82 687 4984.
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