The obvious and vicious effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have undoubtedly altered the lives of many people for the worst, but that did not deter a KwaMakhutha young man from providing for his family.
Sphephelo Mampondo, 28, lost his job in 2020 due to the pandemic, which was his only source of income. He saw an opportunity to start his own business, a venture that would require minimum resources and capital to start up.
The idea and creation of ‘We Wash Sneakers’ (WWS) came about as he was washing his own sneakers.
Mampondo, testifies that the substance he uses to clean his own sneakers is very effective in cleaning any type of material without the harmful effects of a regular cleaning agent. This aspiring young entrepreneur has not only created employment for himself, but through the rapid growth of this business, he was able employ two youths from his neighbourhood to work with him.
The young entrepenuer then invited his high school friend, Sanele Shoba to join him in his growing business, which gave rise to the opening of its second branch of WWS in uMgababa. The duo sees this as the beginning of something progressive, and hope that other ideas will flow so they can be one of the game- changing entrepreneurs to curb the rise of the unemployment rate in our community. Shoba, 29, said, “Before Sphe offered me this opportunity, I was unemployed. I was unable to provide for myself or my family. When my good friend approached me, I was very excited because it meant that we could create a business that can grown into something amazing and fulfilling for us. Operating from his own home, Shoba is confidant that his role in the business would help it grow. Our customers are always happy and satisfied with our work. By word of mouth, our client base is growing. We want to extend a request to our community members to support our local business so that we may create more job opportunities for the youth and those who are unemployed but have skills to work,” he said.
