By Selloane Ntshonyane
- Lehlohonolo Moloi from Pimville used R350 to sell sweets and biscuits to schoolchildren passing the stall on the busy road.
- Lehlohonolo Moloi works from 7am until 7pm daily to pay for groceries, funeral cover and school fees for younger siblings.
Lehlohonolo Moloi lost his job at a gambling company and had to find a new way to make money.
The 30-year-old man from Pimville used R350 to start a street stall to survive.
He set up the stall next to a school fence on a busy road. This makes it easy for schoolchildren to buy from him when they walk past.
Moloi sells puffed corn, jelly sweets, marshmallows and biscuits.
He works long hours. He opens the stall at 7am and closes at 7pm every day.
Moloi said the business helps him survive, but the money is not always stable.
“On a good day I can make about R800 but on a bad day I only make around R100,” he said.
The money helps him pay for important family needs. Moloi pays R600 for groceries every month. He pays R1,100 for school fees for his younger siblings. He also pays R200 for a funeral cover.
Supplier prices keep going up, which makes it harder to run the stall.
“Supplier prices have gone up multiple times and that affects the business,” Moloi said.
He said the hardest part of the job is being patient with customers. He stays committed because his family needs the money.
“As a provider it would be disastrous for me and my family,” he said about the business stopping.
Moloi said the stall has taught him business skills. He hopes to build a bigger business one day.
Pictured above: Lehlohonolo Moloi at his snack stall in Pimville, Soweto.
Image source: Supplied
