Local supplier goes from creating five jobs to 64

Ntombifuthi Nkosi, director Of Mumnkosi Cleaning and Projects

Ntombifuthi Nkosi’s motivation in business is her heartfelt desire to create employment op- portunities for people in her community. Ntombifuthi, the founder of MumNkosi Cleaning and Projects, is one of Kangra’s local suppliers. She started her cleaning company with just five employees and has grown to 64 over 14 years. But her love for business dates to when she was still a schoolgirl growing up in Driefontein Township, just a few kilometres from Kangra’s mining operations.

“Business is something I got from home because my grandfather was self-employed his whole life. I used to help at his shop every day after school,” says Ntombifuthi. Today, she has a team of 32, responsible for cleaning and gardening services at Kangra, while the rest are stationed at another company that she services. “All the people I have hired come from the local community, which means a lot to me,” she says.

The company also runs Kangra’s in-house laundry, where Personal Protective Equipment, like overalls, are washed regularly. Her relationship with Kangra began in 2019, when the mine approached her as part of its local enterprise development programme. At the time, Ntombifuthi was running a small shop in Donkerhoek. They started her with a catering contract and later assisted her in starting a gardening services business. As time passed, she expanded the business to include cleaning and laundry services through the mine’s support. “Now I have my own machines and cleaning products. I’m fully independent,” she remarks.

Ntombifuthi also runs a shop that sells cleaning products in Piet Retief, and she has a livestock business. She also drives community projects where she provides free gardening services for a local school, supports a community netball team, and assists a church in the area in erecting a building. Her dream is to one day supply major companies with clean- ing products and to have her own laundry and dry-cleaning business.