Hlompho kick-starts her career as a farmer with Skills Panda
The 27-year-old farmer saw her opportunity during the Covid-19 pandemic and decided to save and study until her dreams came true.
LIMPOPO – Hlompho Mokoena is one of four lucky students of Skills Panda in collaboration with Khanyisa Uplifment Trust to receive the opportunity of a lifetime.
Skills Panda and Khanyisa Upliftment Trust enabled Hlompho Mokoena to kick-start her business aspirations through the trust’s Township-Based Micro Business funding.
The 27-year-old woman lives in Kgohlwane with her grandmother and younger sibling and is extremely passionate about farming.
During Covid-19 the government issued unemployment grants and Hlompho saw an opportunity save that money to start her own small farm in the backyard of her grandmother’s house.
Thanks to the farm and the income it provides, Hlompho can support herself and her family.
“The area I live in usually has poor water supply, so I use buckets to irrigate my veggies. I was able to cover 300m of the yard in delicious vegetation and I hope to double it as time goes on,” she explained.
As a Skills Panda learners she managed to qualify for funding through learning and earning on the Skills Panda e-store platform.
The platform rewards learners for studying and gives them what they call a ‘gig economy’ (Phanda on demand) to encourage further learning.
“I plan to use the money I got from Skills Panda and Khanyisa Upliftment Trust to buy a 100m fence and net to cover up my plants, as they are frequently burnt by the sun.”
She sells her vegetables in Polokwane near Boxer store to generate an income.
