Nurcha Success Story
Building for a Future, 2008
Ms. Grace Kgomongwe trained as a nurse, but in 2007 she decided to explore potential business opportunities at Lonmin, a platinum mine, knowing that by doing so, she could help empower the local women from the Segwaelane village near Brits, South Africa. With this in mind, Ms. Kgomongwe secured a R23 million tender from Lonmin, which she used to convert 13 mine hostels into residential family units.
Lonmin then referred Ms. Kgomongwe to Tusk, an intermediary of Nurcha, an SEDF investee that provides construction assistance to emerging contractors. In turn, Nurcha provided Ms. Kgomongwe with R3.5 million in bridge finance. Thanks to this support and Tusk’s expertise, Ms. Kgomongwe and her team were able to complete the project successfully and, in the process, employ about 70 people from the local community. Through this project, Ms. Kgomongwe was able to uplift and empower the women and the community, while also establishing a highly successful construction career.
Ms. Kgomongwe is now the managing director of Little Rock, a construction company fully owned and operated by black women. Since the Lonmin project, Little Rock has been involved in various construction ventures and is currently working on renovating primary schools in North West Province.