Empowering entrepreneurs for job creation
Published in The Herald Newspaper July 12, 2016
“Whenever I see any property business sign, all I can think of is - Khumalo Properties sounds good!” explains Kabelo Khumalo who is particularly attracted to and interested in abandoned buildings, believing that they can be renovated and recreated to host good accommodation.
In 2015, together with two business partners, they registered their business, Nokhumti Property Developers, reflecting the surnames of the partners. They decided to start the company because they want people to live in good quality accommodation. Kabelo says, “I believe that all people deserve to live well, and we will not buy property that we feel we personally cannot live in”. Their aim is to acquire property and provide safe and comfortable student accommodation, “live where we live”. Kabelo is the visionary in the company, while his two business partners, as professionals in architecture and construction, are responsible for the evaluation of the property and the calculations.
Kabelo joined The Hope Factory's Personal Development in Business Programme at the beginning of this year, learning business skills, which he has not known before. “It has been phenomenal, being taught about the challenges that we will face in business and realising the importance of focusing on finding solutions. The programme has given me a new perspective on business” said Kabelo.
He believes that being a business owner gives him the opportunity to contribute to his community through job creation. “Being an entrepreneur gives me the flexibility of time to be all who God created me to be as I am called to inspire others to be who God created them to be”.
It is small businesses like these that The Hope Factory empowers, to enable them to grow and develop towards financial sustainability, but in particular to make an impact in the communities within which they operate.
