Maponya Mall’s magical 10 Years
Dr Maponya said that the mall is a huge success because of his tenants who believed in and supported his dream
Maponya Mall, being the original pride and joy of Soweto, envisioned by Dr Richard Maponya, has been a mall of many firsts for the community and the first premium black-owned mall in South Africa
September 2017 marks 10 years of successful trading for Maponya Mall. In light of 10 years of service, the mall celebrated its birthday at the Heritage Centre on September 29 and 30, under the theme ‘Izandla Ziyagezana’, which figuratively means one good deed deserves another.
The mall gave back to the community that built them with a primary initiative.As part of the CSI Ndlove Ndalo Competition, 15 schools from Soweto, entered a competition where they were required to create art projects, recreating the Maponya Mall elephant.
The most creative schools won R10 000 each for their schools to assist with improvement.
Dr Maponya also unveiled Motjoli Primary School‘s computer lab on September 29. The school is Non- Governmental Organisation (NGO) run and offers free education.
Having identified a gap in the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development and through the very few donations they received, Maponya Mall has ventured out to build the neighbouring school’s computer lab.
Speaking at the event held on September 29, Dr Maponya said that the mall is a huge success because of his tenants who believed in and supported his dream and that the mall was voted number one in Gauteng and came out number two nationally two years ago.
“This shows that the mall is built in the right place and has the support of the people, not only the community of Soweto but South Africa as a whole,” said Maponya.
“Thanks to God, thanks to the people of Soweto for this mall, this is not Maponya Mall; this is the people’s mall. Thanks to my tenants, I really appreciate you and I am the happiest man knowing that this is not only my dream, but it is a dream for the whole of South Africa” he concluded.
The mall is planning to undergo upgrade on facilities and services such as security, the bathrooms, and more. With the high volume of elderly citizens customers frequenting the mall, a Gogo’s Go-Kart initiative is on the cards for the next year. The initiative is geared at providing transportation for the mall for elderlies.
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