With unemployment at a staggering 32.9%, in 2021, four graduates from Ventersdorp in North West defied the odds of being jobless by launching a local business in their community.
After sitting at home, pained by the pile of job rejections, MaRocks Laundry Services was born to create employment opportunities, and it is now growing rapidly.
The business, which offers laundry services at affordable prices, including for sneakers, was funded more than R200k through the National Development Agency (NDA).
The NDA is a government agency that aims to alleviate poverty by providing financial assistance to young people and vulnerable groups that have operational enterprises that contribute to job creation, skills development and sustainable livelihoods.
Through the cash injection from NDA, MaRocks Laundry Services was able to acquire essential equipment to run a profitable business, such as four commercial washing machines, a 2 500l JoJo tank, a 7.5kva generator and most significantly, an additional container to expand the operational space.
Among other equipment, they bought office stationery including a laptop, printer and front desk, for administration purposes.
Sitting at the helm of laundry businesses in her community, Tsholofelo Moeng, one of the managing directors, said the business is making strides – and by far. It is functional during load shedding and has trained two people who assist when they have big orders.
“We are now a fully-fledged, competent and competitive laundromat since acquiring the machinery and equipment from the NDA funding. Even during load shedding, we can offer our services because we have a generator. The consistency of water supply through the tanks also makes business continuity a breeze for us. We have trained two other people who come in to assist when we have many big orders,” said Moeng.
Moeng proudly stated that MaRocks Laundry Services is turning into a sustainable business as they can now pay themselves.
“Our production capacity has doubled, and we are beginning to make a profit whilst still maintaining income for the four members,” said Moeng.
Moeng noted they intend to grow their business by rendering services to established businesses and local hospitals, including servicing members outside their community.
Despite machinery technicalities in the past, which were a challenge when it came to meeting orders, Moeng explained they are now able to meet deadlines and, thus, their clientele has expanded to professionals.
“The challenges of meeting the demand have been resolved. Previously, our two machines could not cope with the workload and our turnaround took longer. Our client base has grown substantially; it includes nurses, police officers, teachers and other professionals who reside here for work deployment purposes. We have a quicker turnaround time now and deliver same-day services to our clients,” she said.
NDA provincial manager Potlako Ntlatleng explained that they decided to fund the graduates as their business not only creates employment but “they are centrally located within a business site offered by the municipality. They have the business acumen that demonstrates growth and expansion”.
The Star