Dr Richard Maponya overcame apartheid-era obstacles to build a business empire, including the renowned Maponya Mall.
With a qualification under his belt, he moved to Johannesburg in 1948 in search of a teaching post. “When he got promoted, he called me to his office and thanked me for helping him reach that point.
“I started with a butchery, then a fruit and vegetable store, and then a grocery store with two tables inside where we sold cooked food,” he said.However, Maponya struggled with getting the right people to manage the stores. Mountain Motors became the first black-owned garage to have a motor vehicle dealership. Like his other businesses, it took off.“That made history…. it was history that a black man would sell cars those days… I would get an allocation of about 30 cars per month, and I would sell all of them in a week… I would borrow cars from other dealers and sell three times my allocation per month,” he said.
In 1979, Maponya acquired land for the mall on a 100-year lease. In 1994, South Africa became a democracy. After several attempts, he was able to acquire it outright.“You won’t believe it if I tell you I started building it on the 28th year. They said the people of Soweto would never support a mall in Soweto because they want to shop in the city where there are brighter lights, and I told them it’s not true,” said Maponyane.
“I am very proud of the mall. It can stand anywhere in the world and compete. I am proud I have built something for the people of Soweto because I have always wanted it to be an economic hub.”
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