Lungi’s B&B in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, will be further developed following a R50 000 (€2 940) donation from the Thebe Tourism Group. The B&B was opened by former domestic worker Numalungelo ‘Lungi’ Pango in February 2010 but was destroyed by a shack fire in 2014. It was rebuilt and reopened in September 2015.
The R50 000 grant will be used to build a fence and a gate, to create a new garden and replace furniture destroyed by the fire; to invest in the ‘Makaha Youth in Art Project’; and to further Lungi’s hospitality education and to get her official tour guide qualifications.
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“In South Africa, the SME market is where our growth will come from and we cannot rely solely on government for funding and support; we, as the private sector, must play a major role in driving innovation, sustainability and transformation in tourism,” said Thebe Tourism Group General Manager, Brett Hendricks. “This, in turn, creates the space for entrepreneurs to engage with their ideas and bring them to fruition. We’ll take Lungi’s experience with us and learn from it, as much as she is empowered by Thebe Tourism. That will be part of informing our role in the initiative going forward.”
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Lungi’s B&B was placed third at Cape Town Tourism’s Board Development Fund Awards. TurningPoint B&B, Kuils River, and Maboneng Township Arts Experience were placed first and second respectively and each received R50 000, from the Cape Town Tourism’s Board Development Fund.