Nelson Mandela moved into this house in the Soweto area of Johannesburg in in 1946. He lived there until 1961 and then for 11 days after his release from Robben Island in 1990.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: FRANCOIS XAVIER MARIT/AFP/Getty Images/File

Nelson Mandela moved into this house in the Soweto area of Johannesburg in in 1946. He lived there until 1961 and then for 11 days after his release from Robben Island in 1990.

Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu also lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

Nobel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu also lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto.

Originally the site of a coal fired power station, you can now bungee jump from the Orlando Towers in Soweto.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: courtesy Joburg Tourism

Originally the site of a coal fired power station, you can now bungee jump from the Orlando Towers in Soweto.

The Soweto theater in South Africa was designed by Afritects. The external and internal walls are sloped and curved for functionality as the service spaces on the upper floors required more space than the public ablutions on the ground floor.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Courtesy: World Architecture Festival 2012

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

The Soweto theater in South Africa was designed by Afritects. The external and internal walls are sloped and curved for functionality as the service spaces on the upper floors required more space than the public ablutions on the ground floor.

With more than 200 stores, the Soweto shopping center, Maponya Mall, was opened in 2007 by Nelson Mandela. It is Soweto's first shopping mall and the first to be blacked-owned.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Media Club South Africa

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

With more than 200 stores, the Soweto shopping center, Maponya Mall, was opened in 2007 by Nelson Mandela. It is Soweto's first shopping mall and the first to be blacked-owned.

You can learn about Soweto's past as a centre of resistance at the Hector Pieterson memorial and museum off Vilakazi Street, named after a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead by police during a student protest in 1976.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: courtesy Joburg Tourism

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

You can learn about Soweto's past as a centre of resistance at the Hector Pieterson memorial and museum off Vilakazi Street, named after a 12-year-old boy who was shot dead by police during a student protest in 1976.

Artwork at Freedom Square, the site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955 in Kliptown, Soweto. The Freedom Charter proclaims that ''South Africa belongs to all who live in it" and was a major part of the anti-apartheid movement.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Source: Media Club South Africa

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

Artwork at Freedom Square, the site of the adoption of the Freedom Charter in 1955 in Kliptown, Soweto. The Freedom Charter proclaims that ''South Africa belongs to all who live in it" and was a major part of the anti-apartheid movement.

It was these protests, when demonstrators opposed the use of Afrikaans as the main teaching language in schools, which came to be known as the Soweto uprising. Some estimates say over 560 people were killed during the unrest.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images/File

It was these protests, when demonstrators opposed the use of Afrikaans as the main teaching language in schools, which came to be known as the Soweto uprising. Some estimates say over 560 people were killed during the unrest.

Violence is still an issue in Soweto, and police responded to mass looting in the township as recently as January. Groups attacked businesses owned by foreigners after a teenager was killed by a Somali shop-keeper in the area.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty Images

Violence is still an issue in Soweto, and police responded to mass looting in the township as recently as January. Groups attacked businesses owned by foreigners after a teenager was killed by a Somali shop-keeper in the area.

This image of anti-apartheid activist Ruth First was painted on the side of a home in Soweto by Ben Slow. First was murdered by a parcel bomb while working in exile in Mozambique in 1978, and remains one of the most iconic figures of the country's struggle against the former regime.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: courtesy Shafiur Rahman

This image of anti-apartheid activist Ruth First was painted on the side of a home in Soweto by Ben Slow. First was murdered by a parcel bomb while working in exile in Mozambique in 1978, and remains one of the most iconic figures of the country's struggle against the former regime.

Visitors and locals get transport from the Baragwanath minibus taxi rank in Soweto.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Source: Media Club South Africa

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

Visitors and locals get transport from the Baragwanath minibus taxi rank in Soweto.

Union Avenue in the Kliptown area of Soweto is another bustling shopping street.

Photos: Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom

PHOTO: Gauteng Film Commission

Soweto shines: tourism brings township boom —

Union Avenue in the Kliptown area of Soweto is another bustling shopping street.

Story highlights

Business-owners in Soweto say tourism is helping the area transform

Both Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have lived in the area

4.3 million people visited Johannesburg in 2014

As businesses grow more Soweto residents are joining the middle class

CNN Marketplace Africa covers the macro trends impacting the region and also focuses on the continent’s key industries and corporations

(CNN) —

Not many streets have been home to a Nobel Laureate – and even fewer have been home to two. Yet, Vilakazi Street in the heart of bustling Soweto has been exactly that, housing both South African leaders Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. And this claim to fame is paying dividends for current residents – helping transform the area into a thriving business community.

Here, visitors from all over the world walk past traditional dancers, hawkers and waiting taxis to visit the building that was Mandela’s home when he walked free from prison on Robben Island in 1990. With its restaurants, boutiques and bars, this buzzing boulevard is no ordinary residential road.

Surviving legacy

For local entrepreneur Sakhumzi Maqubela, it was words spoken by the iconic freedom fighter that inspired him to open a restaurant in the area – and provide employment for people in his community.

“Mandela used to fight with people that ever since there is black government people are complaining unemployment is high, the crime is high,” Maqubela remembers. “Mandela was saying, ‘what are you doing in your own capacity to create jobs?’”

04:44 - Source: CNN

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