By 
The Khateane twins from Botshabelo are not just ordinary women as per the norms of society. When faced with poverty and unemployment, at a tender age they braved themselves to venture into business to put a hot plate on the table.
The Business Weekly was privileged to have a sit down with Mpho and Mphonyana Khateane (27) who operate a “shisanyama” business from Monday to Saturday in Thaba Nchu next to Mmabana in town. The twins, as commonly referred to by their customers, have big dreams regarding their business but are not shy to start from humble beginnings.
The two ladies take after their grandmother, who used to operate the same business while they were younger and used to help her. When they finished school, they did not have money to further their studies and they were unemployed.
In 2023, instead of feeling like victims of circumstance and rely on government grant, Mpho said they started their business with just only R350. The lady from Batho Pele butchery, who knew them through their grandmother, sponsored them with their first stock.
“The lady asked us how much we needed and what we needed, we told her we do not want any money, we just want stock for one day; It was month end when we started our business on 28 February 2023. She said we should make a list of everything we need, she is not going to charge us because we grew up in front of her eyes, and she knows us from when we were working with our grandmother.
So we said we needed charcoal, meat, mielie meal and everything that we need here, she said ok, here is your start-up, from tomorrow, you are on your own and the profit you will make will be the one taking us forward and make us money so that we don’t take things on credit anymore,” said Mpho.
The Khateane twins never looked back since, they registered their business ‘Mpho E Ntle’ and saved the money they have been making and re-invested it back into the business to grow the business. Their journey was not without challenges, whatever they had; they had to make it work for them.
The twins did not even have a tent to operate from, they were borrowed a sail and five chairs by their lady neighbour and they used poles to create a structure with the sail to operate from, they later approached a gentleman in Botshabelo who sells tents, they inquired on how much a small one will cost, it was R2000 each, money they did not have at the time, but they negotiated to pay it in instalments and bought their first tent.
As they pressed on, they were met with fortune, people who were impressed and inspired by what they are doing and supported them. A gentleman from the Democratic Alliance (DA) sponsored them with a table and two chairs, their church also sponsored them with warmers and the business was now taking shape.
The Khateane twins say business is good and they now have regular customers; though getting to this point was not easy as people used to complain that their R35 plate is too expensive, they had to contend with the pricing issue and stick to their guns for the business to be profitable. They say now business has improved and the price has increased to R40, but people support them irrespective of the rising prices.
Life has changed for the better since the two braved themselves to swim against the current of unemployment and poverty. They say they can now afford things that they could not afford with that R350 they were getting.
“The business has improved our lives a lot, we can now have food, buy clothes, pay our policies, do things that we could not do when we were unemployed and getting R350. We have achieved a lot of things in life, we started with nothing, we were renting and did not even have a bed, but when we started the business, things started to change.
We can now afford home appliances and furniture, but without compromising the business. We try by all means to invest into the business to keep it going,” said the Khateane twins.
The twins have big aspirations to grow their business and have a branch either in Botshabelo or Bloemfontein, create jobs, especially for the youth and register them as their official employees with benefits. Mpho and Mphonyana also attend workshops and women empowerment programs to empower themselves so that they can sour to greater heights.
“What I can say to the young ladies out there is; they should stand up, they have hands they should work for themselves, everything in life is possible, you can make it if you want to. Everything has its own challenges, so be firm and tell God about every challenge you are facing. Tell yourself that; with or without another person, ‘I can do it, I can push, I can go high’.
Everything we do, we put God first and we know that everything that we pray for, He can provide and He can do it for us, and He will make it happen,” advised Mpho Khateane.
