Eastern Cape businesswoman Hlombe Dukada cannot believe how far she has come from her humble beginnings.
Her Mthatha CTM franchise, which started in a store the size of a double garage, is now the biggest in the Transkei.
Dukuda said the start-up store was so small “we could not drive a forklift inside, so everything was manual ... We only had one isle.
“We built a bigger structure and opened in March 2011,’’ Dukada told the business community at a gala dinner recently to celebrate the business’s 20th anniversary.
Some business people travelled from Lesotho and many came from other provinces.
Dukada said she wished her husband, the late Bhisho High Court Judge Duncan Zola Dukada, who died in 2014, could have been with her to celebrate.
He was by her side when CTM Mthatha opened its doors on August 8 1997.
“It has been under the same ownership, management and has retained some staff members who started with it.
“We waited for almost three years for better premises,’’ Dukada said.
She said CTM Mthatha was the first franchise in the Eastern Cape, she was the first African franchisee and it was the first store to be managed by a black woman.
“We received financing from the then-Meeg Bank to build a bigger and better store.
“This allowed us to move to our current premises in March 2001.
“After this big jump, the group started to know the place called Mthatha.
“Twice I was asked to do a presentation at our conferences in South Africa and neighbouring states.
“We also took to the stage several times to receive awards.”
The highlight was when the top sales trophy was awarded to her employee, Xolani Dosi, in 2011.
Before opening the franchise, Dukada, a teacher by profession, decided on a career change and opened a hardware store in Ngqeleni.
“Later, my husband thought of a franchise to help get into businesses where entry is not that easy.
“We signed with Italitile in 1994. For three years we could not get suitable premises to operate. But we never gave up.”
“In our group they called it a double garage, but the Italitile chairman, Gianni Ravazzotti agreed to let us start testing the group,” she said.
Ravazzotti said he would never forget when he first met Dukada “in a tiny shop of about 40m².
“We agreed she would become the CTM franchisee for Mthatha. “It was a risk for her and for CTM, but I felt I was dealing with the right person ...
“Twenty years later, I still feel exactly the same,” Ravazzotti said. —
lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
Franchise owner celebrates goal
Her Mthatha CTM franchise, which started in a store the size of a double garage, is now the biggest in the Transkei.
Dukuda said the start-up store was so small “we could not drive a forklift inside, so everything was manual ... We only had one isle.
“We built a bigger structure and opened in March 2011,’’ Dukada told the business community at a gala dinner recently to celebrate the business’s 20th anniversary.
Some business people travelled from Lesotho and many came from other provinces.
Dukada said she wished her husband, the late Bhisho High Court Judge Duncan Zola Dukada, who died in 2014, could have been with her to celebrate.
He was by her side when CTM Mthatha opened its doors on August 8 1997.
“It has been under the same ownership, management and has retained some staff members who started with it.
“We waited for almost three years for better premises,’’ Dukada said.
She said CTM Mthatha was the first franchise in the Eastern Cape, she was the first African franchisee and it was the first store to be managed by a black woman.
“We received financing from the then-Meeg Bank to build a bigger and better store.
“This allowed us to move to our current premises in March 2001.
“After this big jump, the group started to know the place called Mthatha.
“Twice I was asked to do a presentation at our conferences in South Africa and neighbouring states.
“We also took to the stage several times to receive awards.”
The highlight was when the top sales trophy was awarded to her employee, Xolani Dosi, in 2011.
Before opening the franchise, Dukada, a teacher by profession, decided on a career change and opened a hardware store in Ngqeleni.
“Later, my husband thought of a franchise to help get into businesses where entry is not that easy.
“We signed with Italitile in 1994. For three years we could not get suitable premises to operate. But we never gave up.”
“In our group they called it a double garage, but the Italitile chairman, Gianni Ravazzotti agreed to let us start testing the group,” she said.
Ravazzotti said he would never forget when he first met Dukada “in a tiny shop of about 40m².
“We agreed she would become the CTM franchisee for Mthatha. “It was a risk for her and for CTM, but I felt I was dealing with the right person ...
“Twenty years later, I still feel exactly the same,” Ravazzotti said. —
lulamilef@dispatch.co.za
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