A Fresh Take On Shoes

Daveyton man cleans sneakers for a living and business is booming

- Dakalo Nemasetoni

To some, sneakers are as precious as cars. If they get even a little mud on them, it could mean the end of a fun night out for the wearer. This is what a young entrepreneur from Daveyton in Benoni noticed. People value their shoes. And what they value, they want to keep clean.

That’s why Lethabo Mokoena (28) started his Walk Fresh business.

THE BIG IDEA

He is dressed in his Walk Fresh gear, a shirt with the company logo and a denim apron he wears to wash shoes, when we meet up with him.

He was influenced by the way things in the township remained stagnant. He noticed this when he came back after graduating with a corporate communication degree from the University of Johannesburg.

“When I came back in 2014 after being in university for about five years, many of the people I grew up with did not have jobs. They were in the same place as when I left. It was very alarming,” he says.

“I came back from university with all these big dreams and I really wanted the same for all my peers.”

He started the business in his bedroom in 2015, with just R700 which he was meant to use to buy petrol.

“I think there is a big misconception that you need funding to start your business. Investors will not take you seriously if you are not willing to spend your own money for the business. Funding should be for growth.”

With just Sunlight soap, which he already had at home and R700 he bought the materials he needed to make his business a reality.