The founders
Rethabile Molumo and Mpho Phakisi are young entrepreneurs aged 29 and 22 respectively, who are very committed to sustaining the health of the environment. They identified a gap in the waste management space and came up with an idea to establish their business. They perceive their business as a gift to mother nature as they contribute back to the community and preserve the ecosystem. In essence, to them, the business part of what they do comes as a bonus because they believe their customers are reciprocating the concept of "gift," hence the name M.P.H.O.
The business model
M.P.H.O Cleaners and Sanitary Services is a company that collects, sorts, and recycles plastic waste locally and internationally. They collect plastic and paper waste materials from local businesses and franchises such as Blue Ribbon and Maluti Mountain Brewery. They then sort it, burn it and recycle it. They are currently selling the products to other South African stores. Furthermore, the business promotes integrated waste management and recycling culture as its core mandate. The company currently employs 5 permanent employees.
The Challenges
One of the challenges that the business has faced was the implementation of the national lockdowns as a result of covid-19. The movement of waste materials to and from South Africa was impossible at the beginning of covid-19. Their employees lost their jobs, this resulted in the near-closure of the business. But they adapted to the challenges of covid-19 as the regulations were lifted gradually. The movement was fairly allowed and this helped the business to recover.
Partnerships and Collaborations
The duo has collaborated with a number of local and development partners to promote life on land, sustainable cities, and towns through their recycling activities. They have partnered with local stores in Roma whereby they collect boxes. Their customers supplies them with plastic waste and box waste. They have also worked with UNDP-Lesotho in terms of integrated plastic waste management.
The Big Vision and call to action
They are greatly motivated by their vision of being the biggest and most profitable recycling company in Lesotho. They hope to achieve this by collecting any kind of plastic from households, corporates, schools, churches, and communities nationwide. They perceive environmental sustainability as enjoying the benefits of both the natural and human resources and preserving the same enjoyment by actively participating in eco-friendly activities.
They urge the whole nation to come together and work together for the greater good because the future starts today. They advocate for waste separation before collection which makes it easier for collection companies to sort and recycle.
Contact them on:
Email: molumowathabo@gmail.com
Phone: +266 6307 3207
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