Passion Leads Pabalinga to Her Dream
Pauline Dikuelo | Monday August 13, 2018 18:00
Narrating her story to Business Monitor last week, the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) beneficiary said after completing her studies she worked for government, and later joined the Botswana Defence Force (BDF).
“In 2014 while at the BDF, I decided to start my own physiotherapy clinic because I felt restricted and could not express myself,” she explained.
According to Pabalinga, she then approached CEDA, which rejected her proposal. However, the determined entrepreneur then looked for an investor, whom she later bought out.
She opened her clinic in Gaborone before moving to Palapye after identifying a gap in the market.
“I opened my own centre because I wanted to design my own treatment and specialise, which is what we were encouraged to do at school,” she added.
In 2016, Pabalinga approached CEDA yet again and that time she was successful. The cash injection from the Agency assisted her in expansion while also receiving mentorship.“CEDA offers come with a low interest rate and they always monitor the business and advise on the challenges that we encounter. It took me about two months to secure the funding, but everything worked out.”
Currently she offers corporate health and wellness, emotional health, fitness evaluation, individual treatment as well as rehabilitation which include back ache, neck and shoulder pain, arthritis, joint disorder, sports injuries amongst others. The company has created employment for six people.
The journey has not been without its hiccups. Pabalinga noted that there is need for education with regards to physiotherapy, as some potential clients are ignorant of the profession’s existence or what it can offer.
“We have realised that there is need for education and we have been doing outreach talks in villages surrounding Palapye. We even attend wellness activities for corporates to share our knowledge,” she said.Going forward, Pabalinga plans to expand her business and work with other professionals. She also intends to introduce back care classes to the public.