Four young graduates who refused to succumb to the pressures of unemployment are now rocking their community through a laundry company they established together.
MaRocks Laundry Services, located at Tshing in Ventersdorp, North West, was established by four young graduates who were faced with the plight of unemployment.
One of the partners, Tsholofelo Moeng, said they refused to allow unemployment to discourage them. In 2021, they organised themselves and started the laundry services.
At the time, the business offered washing, folding and ironing services.
“The business is growing rapidly — offering additional services such as drying and packaging of linen, curtains, blankets and sneakers at affordable prices with extended hours from Monday to Saturday,” she said.
The success of the business was thanks to grant funding of over R200 000 from the National Development Agency (NDA).
The financial assistance allowed MaRocks Laundry Services to purchase an additional container to expand operational space, four commercial washing machines, a 2 500-litre water tank, a generator, two industrial steam irons, a weighing scale, a steam press machine, a folding table, a square table, as well as office and administration equipment.
“We are now a fully fledged, competent and competitive laundromat since acquiring the machinery and equipment from the NDA funding.
“Even during load-shedding, we can offer our services because we have a generator. The consistency of water supply through the tanks also makes business continuity a breeze for us,” said Moeng.
She added that the production capacity of the business has doubled, which has allowed the business to make a profit and sustain the salaries of the four owners and two additional casual staff members.
“Soon we will offer delivery services and that will allow another job opportunity for someone,” said Moeng.
MaRocks Laundry Services is looking at providing its services to catering companies and local hospitals.
“The challenges of meeting the demand have been resolved; previously, our two machines could not cope with the workload and our turnaround [time] took longer.
“Our client base has grown substantially … We have a quicker turnaround [time] and deliver same-day services.”
NDA provincial manager in Potlako Ntlatleng said it was important for the NDA to support young people who are making a difference in communities through entrepreneurship.
“We saw it fit to offer this group of young people support to expand their existing operations – they are centrally located within a business site offered by the municipality in Tshing and have a unique offering as no one else is providing the service in that locality,” concluded Ntlatleng.
• This article first appeared in Vuk’uzenzele
