Feature: Namibian woman from "not a cent" to her own business

More than 20 years ago, Mama Emma Isaaks didn't have a single cent to her name, but now the Namibian woman has her own business selling hotdogs and hamburgers.

Many that seemed "impossible" for Isaaks when she was at her twenties have now become a reality: she has several properties -- two houses in the capital Windhoek, one in the southern region, as well as vehicles.

In 1990 when Namibia gained independence from the apartheid government in South Africa, Isaaks was 21 and a mother of three.

At the time, she was working as a domestic worker and earning 350 Namibian dollars (96 U.S. dollars) per month, which was not enough to take care of herself and her children.

"I did not have a choice, because my husband and I did not have an education, so I did what I had to do to help out," she said.

Isaaks worked for six years before she decided to start her own business, encouraged by the country's independence.

"I realized that the freedom of the country also brought about opportunities, it was just up to us to grab those opportunities and rise," she said.

"My husband gave me the idea to start a hotdog business, after we noticed that both our incomes were not enough to sustain the family."

Although she was eager to start her business, she was quite hesitating as she had no experience in the catering business.

Nevertheless the hard-working woman has succeeded.

"I knew that I had to create a brand that was different from everyone else's, because the market was flooded with a lot of people in this type of business," she said.

With just 450 Namibian dollars (123 U.S. dollars) starting capital, and a child strapped to her back, she started with eight hotdogs and five hamburgers for the first day of her business.

"People were discouraging me, telling me that it would not work, but God gave me the strength to persevere," she said.

Gradually her business grew, and she moved her stand to a place in the Windhoek CBD.

Moving to a larger market also meant more competition, thus requiring her to have her advantages, so that people would choose her stand over others.

Ensuring her food is clean, she also came up with her own sauces, and added a few extras to attract customers.

"I make sure I give my customers clean food and I also make sure I make the best food for them, while also making them feel at home," she said.

Isaaks said the first ten years were all hard work, but she soldiered on.

"The first five years in business I was learning everything there is to know, while the five years after that I was ploughing back into the business," she said.

Her hard work has changed the life of her family.

"Through my business I gave my children and my other family members a life, the life that I did not have," she said.

She, who only went to school for some seven years, has given her children an education.

Her firstborn acquired an accounting qualification, while her second is helping her in the family business.

Her youngest is 21 years old and is studying information technology at Lingua College.

Currently, she is busy with her business in the southern region, where she intends to eventually settle, after she hands over the stand in the capital to her children.

"My customers are like family, I respect and cherish their support over the years," Isaaks said. Endit