Woman reaps rewards of hard work
This year seems to be blossoming with blessing after blessing for Ms Julia Thandeka Shungube, an experienced security guard and mother of two. In July she was nominated as a finalist in Africa's Most Influential Women in Business Awards.
MBOMBELA – Holding tight to her grandmother’s teachings of growing certain indigenous plants, cooking their fruit and squeezing them to make body oils for her and her siblings, has made a 38-year-old woman from the deep rural areas of eMbangwane in Nkomazi municipality, the winner of the R1-million prize in the 2015 Female Entrepreneur of the Year competition hosted by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
This year seems to be blossoming with blessing after blessing for Ms Julia Thandeka Shungube, an experienced security guard and mother of two. In July she was nominated as a finalist in Africa’s Most Influential Women in Business Awards. A month later she won R130 000, a trophy and certificates in the provincial Female Farmer’s Entrepreneur Awards held at Graceland Casino and last Thursday, she became the winner of the prestigious prize of over R750 000 during a glittering ceremony held in Durban.
Shungube started her business of growing Umhlafusha plants in 2007. She boils and grinds its fruit with stones to extract the oil, which she uses to make body oils for preventing rash, stretch marks, dandruff and even ringworm in children.
“It all started as a hobby that I learnt from my late grandmother who used to make these body oils for me and my siblings while we were still young children. I then decided to make it a business to try to get extra cash as I was earning little from my full-time job of being a security guard and I’m glad for having made that decision,” she said.
Shungube owns 10 hectares of land where she grows the plants, she has also created seasonal job opportunities for 10 unemployed women from her community and supplies her products to various chemists around Tonga, Naas, Malalane and a few shops in Mbombela.
“I had always dreamt of being a millionaire and I knew that through hard work I will be one some day.
The money I have won means the business will expand and produce more oil and create more job opportunities, especially to unemployed women who are determined to go the extra mile and work hard like myself. Poverty, hunger and unemployment will be brought to an end and we will buy equipment to help us do this job more efficiently,” says Shungube.
Four days after receiving her prize, Shungube told Mpumalanga News that she would use part of the money to buy a machine to process her products because she had none in the past eight years, where she used her hands and stones to extract the oil from the plant.
“I also didn’t have a structure for my business and I will now be able to build a decent structure,” she said. She is also eager to double her number of employees.
Shungube urged women to start small businesses and aim to be financially and economically independent.
“Whatever idea you have, go for it and seek assistance from government departments as there are many that provide information on how to start a business,”
she said.
She told the paper that Tuesday (September 1) marked her last day as an employee in the security industry after being in its service from 1998.
Shungube will now dedicate all her time to her business. She also expressed her gratitude to her friend, Ms Phumzile Ntjingila for supporting her business idea from the start.
She also thanked the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) which trained her on how to successfully run her business coupled with a number of skills.
“I didn’t know how to communicate, but through Seda’s workshops, I’m now a good communicator,” she says. Her heartfelt praise also went to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the province for enabling her to achieve her dreams.
She thanked the community for voluntarily watching over her hectares.
