At 19, Francisco Tunga left home to help feed his siblings.
Today, he is still carrying that responsibility – this time through a small transport business he built after losing a previous job. The business, which started with one car, now has four drivers and provides shuttle services, school transport and deliveries around Windhoek.
“I had to make a plan,” he said.
Tunga was born in Tsumkwe and raised by a single mother.
The family moved to Windhoek when he was young, where his mother worked as a domestic worker.
As the eldest of five, he started working early. His first job was at a shop in Wernhil Park, where he earned enough to help at home and share rent in Donkerhoek.
Things changed when he got his driver’s licence.It helped him land a job as a tour guide with CH. Africa, where he worked for six years.
“I liked the work. You meet different people, and you learn a lot,” he said.
But the job ended when the company closed.“It was hard. I didn’t know what I was going to do next,” he said.
With no income, he started selling male trousers with a friend, moving from street to street.The money was little, but he managed to save it.That money helped him get a car through a private deal.
He paid it off in instalments and started transporting people again.
From there, the business grew slowly.
Today, he works with three other drivers. Together, they handle school runs, work trips, deliveries and airport transfers.
Across Windhoek, small transport operators have become a common part of daily life. Shuttle services move workers between town and residential areas, take children to school, and deliver parcels for individuals and small businesses.
Most operate with one or two vehicles and rely on phone calls, WhatsApp bookings and regular clients rather than formal systems.
The work is flexible, but income can be unpredictable, depending on demand, fuel costs and vehicle condition.
For many operators, a single breakdown can stop the business completely.
That is something Tunga knows well.
Soon after he finished paying off his car, it broke down.
With no savings left, it stayed at a workshop for months.
A friend later paid for the repairs.
“That’s what got me back on the road,” he said.Tunga now supports his three children, his siblings and other family members.
He estimates that at least eight people depend on him.
During slow periods, he shifts focus.
“If people are not travelling, we focus more on deliveries,” he said.
He has been running the business for about seven years and has spent more than a decade in the transport sector.
Like many small operators, he has not received government support.
Still, he continues to build the business, one trip at a time.
“I do it for my children. They must not go through what I went through,” he said.
For Tunga, the work is simple and necessary.
“If I don’t work, nothing moves, and no one pays for my bills. Therefore, I need to work,” he said.