In 2023, the last entertainment centre in Kimberley in the Northern Cape, closed down. This left the Diamond City’s residents with little options for entertainment. Merissa Meyers, a businesswoman, was worried about the impact that this would have on the city’s youth. She decided to step in.
Merissa Meyers believes that the Northern Cape is brimming with talent.
“And we don’t realise it because there aren’t many opportunities like this for our kids,” says Meyers, a local business owner in Kimberley in the Northern Cape.
A few years ago, she saw the gap in youth-focused activities that would encourage children to be more active, and express themselves.
Meyers registered her business, Mon Percée Consult in 2021, before having a clear idea of what she would be doing.
“In one of my corporate jobs that I had, I was always the person putting events together and was at the forefront of deciding who we are inviting, how we are decorating and all that,” she says.
Today, the core of her business is to bring fun activities for the children in the city, she says. She also hopes to bring artists and national figures to the Diamond City, and to create a platform for talented children in the province to be recognised by the country.
“We don’t have movies – the cinema was taken away from the kids,” she says, referring to the cinema in Kimberley that was closed down in 2017. “We don’t have waterparks. We don’t have game shops and those things anymore,” she says.
Initially, her business was not necessarily making profit, but she remained driven by her love for the work that she was doing. A lot of the business’ earlier work was aimed at uplifting underprivileged children in the city and raising funds for them.
During school holidays, Meyers still opens her door for children to have movie days and water fun days – activities that they don’t get to experience regularly.
A journey towards creativity
After matriculating in 2006, Meyers enrolled to study a law degree through UNISA, but after visiting court with a friend, she felt this was not a right fit.
Following the advice and guidance of her mother, she then ended up interning at a bank instead.
“I still didn’t find my happiness though, so after 15 years of going from one bank to another, and financial institution to the other one, I then decided to tap into my creative space,” she says. This was when she decided to start her own business.
As a businesswoman, Merissa Meyers does planning, decorations, invitations and media on her own. PHOTO: Casey-Lee Anthony
Making experiences matter
One of Meyers’ first big events, the Northern Cape Show Your Talent event hosted in 2024, brought out large numbers of children from all over the province to participate in Kimberley.
This was a humbling experience, she says.
There was a power outage on the night of auditions, yet many of the children who lived outside of Kimberley waited until the lights returned to audition.
This talent show, alongside her Mother and Daughter Extravaganza event, aimed at empowering women, were her biggest achievements, she says.
Both events were sold out and every stakeholder involved left happy, according to Meyers.
Most of Merissa’s events and activities are centred around children, and on uplifting children within the Northern Cape. PHOTO: Casey-Lee Anthony
From Kimberley to the world
“I think the most important thing for us in Kimberley is that we are saturated now with lifestyle events,” she says.
To stand out from other events, she tries her best to collaborate with various artists, experts, local content creators, and photographers to provide something different while appealing to multiple communities.
“I don’t like to do things on my own,” says Meyers. It is also an opportunity to provide exposure to talent within the city, she says.
In future, Meyers wants to team up with like-minded content creators and focus more on social media.
In the meantime, she’s also started working with international organisations. This has given her the opportunity to take new insights back to Kimberley.
In March, she was able to attend a national beauty pageant, and says she’s learnt a lot about running events more effectively.
Merissa Meyers is a 32-year-old mom, wife, and businesswoman, who focuses her business ventures on improving opportunities for children in Kimberley. PHOTO: Casey-Lee Anthony
Legacy
Winners never quit, and quitters never win. Meyers heard this line when she was in Grade 8 at Northern Cape High in Kimberley. It has been her mantra ever since.
She believes that when something is planted in your heart, and you believe in it, quitting is not an option.
For her, this is to spark a movement empowering women, and children with rare talents in the province.
Dr Gail Motlaudi, a purpose and entrepreneurial mindset coach who has co-hosted multiple events with Meyers, says that her consistent drive for innovation is appreciated by the greater Kimberley community.
Business managing director for the Hull Street Theatre, Mogale Sedibe, says that Meyers’ network added value to their theatre’s audience development. The theatre’s interaction with the community was initially slow to take off, he says.
“But Merrisa’s touch broadened our reach,” Sedibe says.