Nonkululeko Mgodi is the proud owner of Madistar Trading in Cape Town.

After receiving R90 000 from the Black Business Supplier Development Programme (BBSDP) to kick-start her business, Nonkululeko Mgodi now has her sights set on exporting goods to an overseas market.

The programme, run by the Department of Trade and Industry, is a cost-saving grant aimed at improving the competitiveness of small, black-owned businesses.

Mgodi is the owner of Madistar Trading, a hair salon.

The business also manufactures and distributes hair products and baby shoes to customers and nationally supplies a major retail store.

She attributes much of her success to assistance she received from the BBSDP.

Her dream to start a business was realised when she decided to use her experience as a former corporate brand manager to run her own hair salon in Pretoria five years ago.

The business is now based in Table View, Cape Town following her move there.

After realising that her savings would not be enough to support her business idea, she started researching ways to access funding.

Mgodi says a former colleague told her about the department’s various business development opportunities and she later approached the department’s Cape Town offices to enquire about their programmes.

“At the department I was immediately told about the BBSDP and since I wanted to be in the business of making and supplying hair products I was advised to apply,” she says.

Upon submitting her application, the department invited Mgodi to meet with a programme facilitator who guided her through the application process to ensure that she met all the requirements.

These included having to submit proof of registration, tax clearance certificates, financial statements and a business plan.

“I was assisted in meeting all health and safety compliance levels required from a credible business and acquiring quotations for the equipment I needed,” explains Mgodi.

Following the three month process, Madistar Trading’s grant for R90 000 in assistance was approved, with her having to contribute the mandatory 30% of the total cost or R30 000.

The grant helped her to buy salon basins, hairdryers and workstations to fit into the premises she had acquired.

“My sales turnover has since increased by about 17% monthly. I have applied for more funding to open a second salon and a hair product manufacturing centre as the demand for my hair products has also been rising,” says Mgodi.

She says she now has her sights set on exporting her goods to countries like Zimbabwe, China and India.

•  Visit www.thedti.gov.za for more information on the BBSDP.