Mpho Molema

Women in Tourism

Nominee's Province:
North Cape

Project Name/Description:
The Workshop ko Kasi

More info:

Mpho Molema, the founder of The Workshop ko Kasi, had an interesting upbringing. While growing up in Mothibistad, Kuruman, Northern Cape, her mother forced her to play with girly toys. Meanwhile, her father, who owns a motor mechanic and panelbeater workshop, made sure she had spanners and cars as toys. In 2016, Molema, 32, founded The Workshop ko Kasi, a sustainable ecotourism hub, after quitting her job in Johannesburg. She leads a team of 10 people from the local creative community. The Workshop ko Kasi is a tourist attraction that was started with mostly what Molema calls “sweat capital”. “Business has been a blessing, and we discovered the lengths and depths of sustainability having built our hub with natural and recycled material and curating visitor experiences that are out of the box,” she says. Molema’s entity runs social projects in the community such as public art projects, charitable initiatives to the needy, and contributes to the sustainable development of local heritage sites. “In my second year of operation I was awarded the National Emerging Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year Award. That recognition has fuelled me ever since,” Molema says. Molema also heads JTG Women-in-Tourism, an organisation that empowers women and youth to run their tourism businesses more efficiently. She holds a Bachelor of Business Science Honours from the Monash NC University, specialising in tourism.