Cape Town - Mitchells Plain resident Megan Saunders decided to challenge her circumstances as she chased her dream of starting her own business.
She opened Saunders Technical Services to introduce her community to a world of digital opportunities.
Saunders, who now works for Vuma, started her business in 2020. She did not expect it to generate a healthy income stream for her family and the 32 staff members she employed from her community.
With just one month’s salary, which she used to cover expenses such as petrol and basic office equipment, Saunders left her full-time job to launch her new business.
“I didn’t have any capital to start the company when I left my job. I went to my husband Craig and we decided that sacrificing our salaries might be worth it and that we would somehow make provision for our household and three children,” Saunders said.
She said fibre has had a positive impact on the residents. Saunders said it meant people no longer felt the need to leave the area to provide better opportunities for their families.
“I’m proud of how affordable, high-speed fibre connectivity has made it possible for Mitchells Plain community members to access new opportunities in their lives. Even more importantly, children in the community who don’t have internet access at home can now connect to the internet at school to do homework, which helps them improve their education and access better opportunities after school,” she said.
Head of marketing at Vuma, Leanne Williams, said Saunders was a shining example of how one individual was able to give help an entire community the chance of a better and brighter future.
Saunders is also grateful for the support she received from her family and her former employers, and to her father, who taught her the values of drive and discipline which helped her business blossom into what it is today.
The company has grown in leaps and bounds, such that they now have a 16-seater van and another new bakkie to transport the work teams around the community.