Samela Ovens (Pty) Ltd
| Business Location: | Township |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Branch: | Uthukela |
| Business Start Date: | |
| Busniess Type: | Company |
Business Dynamics and Challenges
Business Activities:
Samela Ovens (Pty) Ltd is a 100% woman-owned business based in Wembezi Township, Estcourt. The business is owned by Miss Noluthando Hlophe and was formally registered in 2022. In February 2021, Ms Hlophe started Samela Ovens where she was selling queen cakes she baked and clothes because she wanted extra income while she was working at Deboniars as a Chef. She noted that most clothing customers required credit and were unreliable and shifted her focus on baking as there was no other person selling baked products in the community. She quit her job and fully committed to developing her bakery business. In 2022, the business secured funding with NYDA for machinery and started to supply a local tuck shop with bread and cakes.
Challenges/Needs:
• Lack of marketing material to assist the business market their products.
• Access to markets.
• Lack of productivity management techniques.
Intervention Insights and Results
Intervention Details:
• The business was assisted with the branding and promotional material to assist in their marketing efforts.
• The business attended the Ladysmith Pop-up market in February 2024.
• The business owner also attended the Grow Your Business workshop and Productivity Awareness Training to assist them with strategies to improve their operations and overall business growth management.
• The business attended the Ladysmith Pop-up market in February 2024.
• The business owner also attended the Grow Your Business workshop and Productivity Awareness Training to assist them with strategies to improve their operations and overall business growth management.
Outcome Details:
• The business increased its turnover by 70.5% from R181 920 to R245 872 due to the quality of marketing material, which assisted them in marketing their business.
• Employment of the business increased from 3 employees to 4 employees.
• Employment of the business increased from 3 employees to 4 employees.
Client Feedback
Client Comments:
“I am very happy with the service of Seda because the training I attended assisted us improve our business operations and people are now able to identify our business due to the exposure and marketing material we received. I am looking forward to more assistance from Seda”
