By Palesa Matlala
- Ngcobo started her backroom rental business after her parents moved to KwaZulu-Natal in 2021 and she needed income to survive.
- She makes about R6,000 a month and earns double in June when international tourists visit for the June 16 commemoration.
Mangaliso Ngcobo, 27, had no means of survival when her elderly parents moved back to KwaZulu-Natal in 2021.
She tried selling wigs and kotas but was unsuccessful. Then she had an idea.
Ngcobo lives in Orlando West, where Vilakazi Street draws large numbers of local and international tourists throughout the year. The high visitor numbers gave her the idea to rent out her backroom.
She has been hosting soccer fans, concert goers and tourists for three years. She charges from R380 for accommodation only and offers a breakfast option for guests who are, in her words, “hungover and need a rescue meal”.
“Most B&Bs are expensive in Soweto. I charge less to accommodate everyone. In a month I make about R6,000,” she said.
Some guests come looking for the “full township experience of sleeping in a backroom”. Others book for the weekend so they don’t have to travel to surrounding cities after soccer matches.
June is her busiest month. She makes double her usual income as international tourists visit the township for the June 16 commemoration.
This year marks 50 years since the Soweto Uprising. On 16 June 1976, students led a protest against the government’s plans to make Afrikaans a medium of instruction in schools for Black students.
With a number of activities, celebrations and commemorations set to take place in Soweto, Ngcobo said: “I am going to make a lot of money and improve my business.”
Pictured above: Mangaliso Ngcobo’s room that she rents.
Image source: Supplied
