Tsholofelo Ruth Leso established Burger Valley (Pty) LTD in 2012 and has faced so many obstacles but that did not force her to throw in the towel. As a GBV, COVID-19 and Looting survivor she is looking forward to the new dawn and era that is embracing her business.
“When I filed for divorce my husband wanted half of my business, I refused which lead to me to being shot at and my first container being burnt to ashes”. While still recovering from that, lockdown was implemented which further caused her business to crumble and be shaky but she did not lose any faith. She continued to pick up the pieces bit by bit and tried to restore her business back to what it was and back to what her customers previously identified with, but the looting outburst that occurred last year sent her 5 steps away from the finishing line.
With an all-female staff, Tsholofelo is business savvy and is always looking for ways to improve her business and take it back to what it was before her obstacles. She has worked her way up the corporate ladder and has done catering for a lot of companies for their corporate functions and has also catered for tourists destinations on the historic Vilakazi Street in Orlando West, Soweto. She has also given back to her respective community of Meadowlands, “There is a local creche that I usually donate burgers to and I have donated tasers and torches to the local neighbourhood watch as they safe guard our area”. She is grateful for the mentorship programme and looks forward to working with our in-house business coach Noluthando Dlamini as she believes that through this mentorship she’ll gain a lot of tips that will enable her to reach for the stars and restore her business back to what is was before these obstacles, for she is back to stay!
