By Matšeliso Phulane
A new pub, 8Pool Bar, will be launched at Khubetsoana LeCoop this month. The pub will feature a pool hall as the main attraction, giving patrons the opportunity to unwind, enjoy food and drinks while at the same time testing their pool skills against each another.
In an interview with theReporter this week, the owner of 8Pool Bar, Marcia Ramakatane said there are about 10 tables in the hall to give an opportunity to the players when they have tournaments.
Ramakatane said the idea of establishing the pool hall came up in November, after she had noticed that the sport is very popular, but lacks facilities. As a result, she found the need to expand the business idea in order to make it accessible to everyone.
“We established the pool bar in November last year, that was around the time when the actual concept was conceived.
“The inspiration behind the business came after I noticed that, while driving from one district to another, I always noticed one pool underneath some shelter or in the shack,
“That was when I discovered that there is love for this game and people just need a place where they can come together and really enjoy the game in a relaxed and open environment that is spacious and has enough tables for them to challenge each other,” she observed.
Ramakatane said she is currently not in partnership with anyone but once the commercial or private sector as well as the public sector starts to know about the business, it is only then that they will see the opportunities to work together with them and form a partnership.
“There have not been any tournaments so far, but I am sure that once the business starts operating, we will see some of the various tournaments coming with the business. However, the construction has cost us a lot of money which was close to a million Maloti,” she said.
Added that she chose to locate it at Khubetsoana because she did not want it in town, avoiding the town mentality, thus keeping it real and bringing it to the people. Apart from that she wanted to make it accessible to anyone and just to uplift Khubetsoana community as the place she grew up in.
Ramakatane is a mother of three daughters, she has worked in South Africa for a long time at multinational companies. She has twenty years of marketing experience. “I am a pure classical marketeer and I have always build brands from scratch as well as taking over from peers or colleagues. I absolutely love new projects, driving them and seeing them succeed,” she said.
To the women who are still afraid of taking risks and having the mentality that such businesses are owned by men, Ramakatane urged, “as an entrepreneur you need to be open to any opportunities that come your way” she concluded.
