Career
In gratitude, the manager sold Maponya soiled clothing and offcuts, which he resold in Soweto. With the capital acquired he attempted to open a clothing retailer in Soweto, but was blocked by the government"s refusal to grant him a licence – despite the intervention by the law firm created by Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela. By the 1970s the retail empire had grown to include several general stores, car dealerships and filling stations.
But some consider his boldest political move to have been his choice of horse-racing colors.
As the first black person to be granted such colors in South Africa, Maponya chose green, gold and black, the colors of the African National Congress.
On 27 September 2007 Nelson Mandela opened the in Soweto. One of the largest shopping centers in the country, it holds more than 200 stores and a cinema complex.
Maponya acquired the land where the mall is situated in 1979, at first as a 100 year lease. In 1994, after several attempts, he acquired it outright.
Various attempts to finance construction failed until Maponya"s holding company entered into a joint venture with Zenprop Property Holdings.
