Central SA female entrepreneurs feel empowered to chase after dreams

Bloemfontein-bred sisters and owners of burgeoning wine brand Kaho 704, Rethabile Lesole and Diteboho Banda say they feel empowered as female entrepreneurs in South Africa to chase after their dreams. Rethabile and Diteboho were on the OFM Business Hour on Women’s Day to get into the latest addition to their bigger lifestyle, wellness and catering group, which was initially formed in 2013 and formalized in 2017 under the name Total Longevity.

The company has since evolved to include cuisine, and hence the introduction of a hybrid wine named Kaho 704. The Bochabela sisters says Kaho means to build, because the intention of their businesses is to create “generational wealth”, because going to school and getting a job isn’t enough anymore.

The sisters lament what they deem to be a lack of accessibility and transparency with regards to government grants and as a result maintain they did not benefit much from any state assistance in building their brand.

The sisters who are only 2/3rds of the wellness and catering group shy away from revealing any future plans for Kaho 704 or the bigger brand, with Rethabile in particular adding that they do not want to “count their chickens before they hatch”.