When Johanna Mukoki, started Travel with Flair 18 years ago with her two partners, she had only three employees in her Pretoria office. Now, her company employs 800 staff and has offices in Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town.
How did she achieve this?
At the tender age of 11, Mukoki had to work hard in school to support her family’s business by selling ice cream, boiled eggs and raw meat in the dusty streets of Orlando, Soweto. This helped her to understand that life is not a picnic and that she needs to work hard.
After getting her degree from Rhodes University, Mukoki considered doing business. Several companies wanted to employ her and if she was that sought after, why couldn’t she start her own company? She put her business plan together, and approached different banks for funds but none of them were interested in funding a woman. This however was not enough to discourage her.
Johanna eventually met her business partners, with whom she has built Travel with Flair to become the envy of many companies in South Africa. The company has also established Gauteng Travel Academy to train travel booking consultants in the travel and tourism industry.
Johanna has won several awards and she is the first African to sit on the Global Tourism Board (ACTE) – Association of Corporate Travel Executives where she represented the Middle East and Africa.
Thank you for being so inspiring Johanna!
