Soweto woman shares secret to success

A 30-YEAR-OLD woman in Joburg says owning two farms has taught her the importance of land and self-development.

Thato Moagi from Molapo in Soweto owns two farms, one in the Western Cape, where she farms indigenous plants and another in Limpopo, where she has an expanding number of cows, sheep and goats.

The mom of two employs 40 workers and an extra number of seasonal workers.

She said her love for farming developed when she was at university and she would often visit farms just to see what happens on farms.

Moagi said she has realised how farming had become complicated for black people because of the lack of land.

“There are not a lot of young black females who are in farming so for me I wanted to stand out. But the land problem became more clear to me when I was in the industry.

“Our people do not have sufficient land,” Moagi said.

She said she made a lot of mistakes when she started commercial farming but she was able to learn from her mistakes and run the farms in a way that generates revenue for her and her family.

Moagi travels between Cape Town and Limpopo where her second farm is.

“I am proud to say I am a woman who is an entrepreneur and I am running my own business and empowering other people,” Moagi said.

The entrepreneur is part of a campaign by Momentum titled, She

Owns her Success, and Moagi wishes to empower other women.

Momentum brand manager Charlotte Nsubuga-Mukasa said the company had been running several campaigns in which women were being empowered to reach their potential and show their skills.

“We look at strong women who have overcome a lot and the barriers they passed and Thato was one of the inspiring ladies that we have had.

“Momentum will run these campaigns and we want other women to learn from strong women.”