Thobela Mnqma, 37

Married mother of three: 18, 12 & 5

Lives in Khayelitsha, Cape Town

Everything that is happening at TCB is giving me a lot of skills I didn’t know before. Before I came here I thought I knew how to run a business, but I didn’t know. Now I write down every cent I spend, even the 50c to my kids.

I tell people about TCB but they don’t want to learn, they just want to buy clothes and sell. I keep telling them it’s not about buying, it’s about learning because we thought we know how to run business, but we don’t.

I feel different now because I’m independent. While I was working I was always so stressed. It’s the payday now and the money is just finished, and you’re not finish what you expected to do with it.

Now I’m a financially independent woman. I don’t even want to open an account now. If I want something I’m going to save for that and go and buy, finish and klaar.

Yoh, what makes me brave to do this is because I see there is no one to help me. I just told myself, ‘I have children, I must stand up for myself’ and I think, ‘I can do this, no matter how hard it is’.