Feature on small entrepreneurs

In her market stall, Maggie Mthimkhulu styles hair. Her shop is clean and professional, with a photo album to show customers examples of her work. Yet, despite her efforts, Mthimkhulu doesn't earn enough as a hairdresser to support her mother and four younger sisters. Six months ago she began moonlighting. She joined a group of women making and selling beaded jewellery. Now, Mthimkhulu, 26, strings beads in the evenings and sells the jewellery from her shop, and two days a week she sits at a table in the market, where her group sells the necklaces and bracelets they have made. "This way, I get enough money," said Mthimkhulu. As the oldest child she is responsible for her family. Her father is dead and her mother does not work. "Now we get food, we get clothes, and my sisters go to school." "I have no problems now," told IRIN. Mthimkhulu is part of an effort to expand income-generating opportunities for people - especially women - in the rural areas of South Africa. Her group in the province of KwaZulu Natal participates in a CARE International programme that nurtures small businesses and links people to larger markets. Years before CARE got involved, the women had shown initiative in improving their twice-weekly market. Before 1998, they sold goods beneath the trees. After pooling resources and seeking government funding, they built a series of concrete buildings where small entrepreneurs rent spaces to sell their products and services. They named the market "Thandokuhle", which translates roughly from Zulu as: "to love what is beautiful". The Thandokuhle market is in the town of Mbazwana, a strategic spot on the north-eastern coast of the country near the Sodwana Bay National Park and St. Lucia Marine Sanctuary, popular with both tourists and scuba divers. The town is on the road to Mozambique and Swaziland and is poised to experience tremendous growth, with a planned extension of the road bringing increased traffic and opportunities. The government has identified Mbazwana as a priority area for development, and property speculators from as far away as England are buying up land in anticipation of an economic boom. But most of the residents know nothing about this - certainly not the women selling beadwork and woven baskets in the market for as little as US $1 an item. Unaware of the outside factors influencing their community, they are not positioned to benefit from its growth. CARE's Local Economic Analysis Project (LEAP) is trying to change that by helping them to identify market demands, and supporting efforts to respond to market opportunities. "Mbazwana is kind of an exciting town. There is potential for a lot of things to be done. In five years' time that area is going to be big," said Bhekinkosi Madolo, LEAP project manager. "So, we want to see if we can help get money to the people living there. That area was very remote and, because of it, they did not have access to resources. So we felt we could direct resources to areas that were needy." In partnership with the Philisisizwe Association for Development, CARE trained 40 craftspeople in identifying and making products for which there is stronger consumer demand. For the basket-weavers this meant adding finishing touches, such as small beads and leather, to improve the quality - and the purchase price. For those making beaded jewellery, it meant combining different colours and patterns to create unique and desirable products. They were given a basic course on running a business. "Most people were selling the same product, so we were trying to come up with a new way of doing things," said Jabu Gumede, of the Philisisizwe Association for Development. CARE provided training in making the products, and initial materials and equipment, such as beads and copper wire. Madolo travelled with their products to gauge consumer interest. "I have tested their products in Johannesburg, Soweto, Durban and England - products that they designed - to see if people like them," he said. "I have found people interested. Now we need to link them to people who could distribute their products." After several months of analysing the local business environment, Madolo presented CARE's findings to the craftspeople and others from the community, including bank representatives, taxi drivers and local leaders. Madolo advised craftspeople to respond to demand, rather than saturating the market with the same types of products. He encouraged them to "think big" about potential opportunities, such as starting tourist-related businesses and information-technology businesses. After listening, some of the community members said they would like to try new businesses, but did not know where to access the start-up capital to do so. "Today I felt like I started something [but] I don't know how to take to the next level," said Madolo. "The traditional leadership is very interested in helping the community reach its potential. It's hard for those women who don't have resources, very hard. I think they are trying their best and, eventually, they will succeed. But if we deal with structural issues, such as how to access financial resources, it will help them reach their goals more quickly." The Thandokhule Market Association, with 300 female entrepreneurs, has demonstrated its effectiveness. They have managed to accumulate US $5,000 in group savings over the last five years, and are in the process of creating a system to lend money to one another to grow their businesses. The LEAP project was funded for just two years and is scheduled to end in a few months. "If we had done this in Soweto, two years would be enough time, because people are aware of what is happening in the world. They have access to information and TV," Madolo said. "Here, you need a bit longer. People are born there and grow up there; it's the only world they know. "Some of these women have never been out of this place. It's why we wanted to take them to Johannesburg for their training," he said. "I was not aware of the limits they had. Some had never seen an escalator before. Some had never been on such a long journey. It was like they realised there's a world outside Mbazwana. There’s something different." Those involved with the project have seen the women's ability and commitment. "Like now, they can save money. They are buying more supplies. They can pay for their children to go to school and household needs," said Gumede. "Their businesses now are starting to develop, they have gotten some skills and training, such as business management." And the women want to take it further. Nokuthula Mdletshe, 35, started making jewellery because she wanted to learn more about her Zulu culture. Now that she has, she says, "I want to learn more about beads. I must make my own business."