15 Jan 2017

A research authored by Dr Mokubung Mokubung (competition authority - Botswana, May 2014) reveals that most of the retail businesses that set up in the country since the 1970s were general dealers.

However, these businesses later experienced a sharp decline.

Closure of those general dealers was attributed to the emergence of big chain stores.

Many general dealers did not survive the entrant of chain stores in the market, especially in big villages.

However, there is a few that managed to survive the tremendous competition and have long managed to run with traces of success and passion.

BOPA spoke to Mr Mothusi and Mrs Pononyana Mogotsi, who opened their general dealer and fresh produce store in 2010 despite the continued closure of many businesses similar to the one they opted for.

The couple said they started the construction of their store in 2008 when one of them was a government employee while the other worked for a non-governmental organisation.

“My wife retired first in 2010 to open and nurture the business as we couldn’t hire people before we realised the full potential of our business.

We had to monitor our returns before engaging outside help, as we also wanted to avoid an instance where we failed to pay staff.

I then retired in 2014 when we realised that we found a niche in the market,” Mr Mogotsi shared.

He said they decided to run their business free from entanglements of trying to work and being self-employed simultaneously.

He added that he worked the four years as backup in case business failed, but it grew from strength to strength.

He applauded and attributed their business success to their suppliers, whom he said have been willing to walk them through by providing lenient purchase methods such as hire purchase.

The pair said they also received satisfactory sales from the destitute, orphans and vulnerable people, who use voucher cards to swipe groceries from their shop.

They said they have observed the needs of their clientele and have since managed to retain and attract more.

“We have read the minds of our customers, I must say we know them well, for instance there are clients who would buy 1kg’s from us because they are embarrassed to buy such small items from big stores, in that case they come to us.

We also offer credit to those loyal customers who would always come to us,” Mrs Mogotsi said.

They also said opening a butchery section in their store has nourished their profit as most people come from as far as Gaborone to buy meat.

Today they are expanding their building as they intend to extend their services and add more stock to meet the current demand.

Meanwhile, the duo said they have had a number of challenges including financial fluctuations, which they said were common in most businesses.

“We were also robbed three times, twice at the shop and once at home.

However, in all instances we managed to bounce back.

I also sustained head injuries in one of the robberies, am grateful it wasn’t fatal,” Mr Mogotsi said.

He advised all who aspire to venture into business to be determined, self-driven and patient.

He added that Batswana should support one another and stop demeaning each other, which he said is the reason why most businesses do not survive even though there are bountiful opportunities. BOPA