Meet the Absa Small Business Friday featured Small Business of the week – Macatlas Freight.
In 2016, Christine Mackay founded Macatlas Freight, a 100% female-owned and -operated freight company that provides a wide range of freight and logistics services.
Christine Mackay’s curiosity for freight was awakened when she accompanied her dad to the harbour to view cargo vessels sailing into the port of Cape Town while on holiday. The contrast of her small stature with the vastness of the ocean and the ships fascinated her. Thus, a passion for freight and logistics was born.
With no formal freight training, her entrepreneurship journey has been built on passion, resilience, determination, inspirational leadership, networking, and creative and engaging thinking.
When entering the male-dominated freight industry, Christine had to work hard to be taken seriously. She had to believe in herself and keep pushing forward. When her father passed away, she had to grow and come out of her shell as a businesswoman. She also had to learn not to be afraid to ask for what she wanted, and the power of the word “no”. This word no longer disappoints or scares her. She doesn’t take “no” for an answer but rather sees it as an opportunity to find another way to get what she wants.
Over the years, she has gained an excellent network of partners, associates, and clients both locally and internationally, and has formed strong working relationships with them which allows her the ability to work cross-functionally within her network.
Today, Mactatlas Freight not only exports on behalf of their clients’ volumes of wines and beverages, agricultural, food, construction materials, machinery tools and equipment into Africa and other global markets, but they are also launching their brand of fruit and wine for these markets.
“On the days where I want to give up, I have to remember why I started, but also who I am, what I stand for, what I’m capable of achieving, and most of all, that nothing will stop me until I succeed. This is what kept me going through the years. Breaking barriers, creating my own opportunities and threading wherever I walked with confidence, until my name was known. Today I can only smile and be proud of my accomplishments. I continue on my journey as an entrepreneur looking for the next big thing, with experience, heels and a radiant smile, as I know I am a force to be reckoned with, and am able to also empower other entrepreneurs on the journey. It has not been an easy journey but it has been rewarding,” Christine shares.
Christine hopes to continue to make a meaningful and valuable contribution to the world of freight and logistics.
Macatlas Freight was chosen to receive a Top 20 Award at the 2022 South African Small Business Awards.