When Constance Kubheka embarked on her entrepreneurial journey, she was fuelled by a mission close to her heart. As a fitness professional, she understands the importance of regular exercise and is working to promote fun fitness activities to her community in Mamelodi township, Tshwane. Her desire to promote healthy living by making exercise enjoyable led to the birth of her business, Fit Muntuza.
Inspired by her love for outdoor activities and exploration, Constance tweaked her original idea to include fitness programmes for children. She strongly believes that it is very important to instill healthy habits from an early age by ensuring that exercise becomes a fun part of a child’s daily routine.
Her clients have the opportunity to participate in a variety of enjoyable activities. These range from hiking, camping and obstacle courses to engaging games, Zumba, and even yoga. In addition to her love for exercise, Constance also has a passion for fashion which led to an interesting extension of her business: a unique clothing brand that allows her clients to embrace their new, healthier lifestyles in style!
Constance’s journey has been an interesting one consisting of a mix of challenges and victories. Despite the hurdles that she has faced, Constance remains positive and dedicated to growing her business and changing lives. She would like to broaden Fit Muntuza’s children’s activities to numerous daycare centres, explore the possibility of hiking expeditions in other provinces, and even establish brick-and-mortar clothing brand outlets.
Participating in the Nedbank-funded Ranyaka Building Business programme changed the way in which Constance approaches the day-to-day running of her business. It gave her a gentle nudge in the right direction, showing her that her business was not just a hobby, but a thriving venture with incredible potential for growth. The programme also equipped her with essential business and personal skills, and provided her with much-needed printing equipment, eliminating the need for outsourcing.
Constance rates graduating from the programme and securing a spot as a resident vendor at Market at the Sheds as two of her biggest achievements to date.
Balancing work and personal life is crucial for Constance. Planning her week every Sunday acts as a guide, ensuring she manages her time well. For budding entrepreneurs dreaming of starting their own businesses, Constance suggests patience, a love for learning, attentive listening, and a solid marketing strategy.
She is in love with the amazing diversity she encounters while traveling and meeting people from different backgrounds. Fit Muntuza is so much more than just a business, it also teachers her about love, understanding and the joy of giving back to your community.
Mamelodi is one of 28 communities in 8 provinces across South Africa where Ranyaka is implementing the Nedbank Proud of my Town programme. Building Business is one of ten programmes that forms part of this holistic community transformation model. Small, micro and medium enterprises are key participants in our township economies, contributing to the bigger picture of sustainable socio-economic transformation in South Africa. Through the Building Business programme, Ranyaka works to mentor and capacitate businesses in the communities where we work – determining their specific needs, strengthening their capacity and also, sharing their stories.
Images: Lizelle Lötter Photography