News stories often talk about how hard it is to help poor Africans get out of poverty. One business owner is doing her part to give people hope on that continent by starting a business whose products are now being sold all over the world.
Elmare Lombard, a South African psychologist, left her successful practise after 15 years to start a natural aromatherapy line because she wanted to help people.
Lombard made her dream come true by experimenting with essential oils and plant-based oils in her kitchen and then taking the line to international markets. BioPharmetics Inc. is now selling her Molo Africa line in the U.S.
But her company, which she started with help from family and community leaders, also helps poor people in South Africa start farming projects. Molo Africa has a proactive hiring policy that helps single parents get jobs with the company or with businesses that work with Molo Africa. This project is meant to help people become self-sufficient and give them a sense of pride.
Molo Africa helps the independent farmers of Africa by giving them advice and help, buying raw materials at fair market prices, and running education programmes that help poor South Africans learn about farming, basic education, business, and computer skills.
There are pure essential oils, natural aromatic room sprays, massage butters, shea soaps, and scented candles among the company's products. "Hello" in Molo is an African greeting. With names like "Hamba Suka" and "Sefako" that sound like they came from Africa, the products contain essential oils that were taken from exotic plants that were grown and processed in Africa.
Gertrude Mewy is a good example of a success story that Lombard's company helped make happen. The single mother from Guguletu, Cape Town, worked as a housekeeper to pay for her four kids. But she wanted to be a business owner. She started her own pottery business with help from the Foundation for Economic and Business Development.
The hard work she put in paid off when Molo Africa hired her to make ceramic beads. Because of its contract with Gertrude, she can hire two full-time workers who are both single mothers. Her business now gives jobs to nine people, and Gertrude and Molo Africa are working on more deals.
