07 May 2018

Fashion designing is a female dominated business that women view as their means of putting away pangs of hunger.

Despite its market saturation, more people continue to look up into it and one such woman is Ms Dipuo Kenalemang who hails from Serota ward in Tonota.

Ms Kenalemang is currently a fashion designer of note within her place of residency and she is also trusted in the surrounding villages.

The 51 year-old told BOPA in an interview that she was driven by passion and determination to venture into this kind of business.

In addition, she explained that she had the desire to become independent and do away with the dependency syndrome.

Upon completion of her Junior Certificate studies in 1991, she was forced to stay home doing nothing, noting that by then she had no means of making ends meet.

“I heavily relied on my parents to provide me with everything I needed and it was not easy for  them as they also had to care for my siblings,” she remembered.

After the distressful long time of her stay at home, Ms Kenalemang had to introspect about her life.

During her time of introspection, she was more fascinated by the concept of fashion design despite her having no actual skills and qualifications.

By the year 2000, she took an uncertain journey to the city of Francistown to seek employment in fashion designing companies with the main aim of acquiring the skills and knowledge of it.

She was then fortunate with the Ever Rest Firm, which offered her a full time job as a garment trimmer.

“Since I had neither qualifications nor skills of fashion designing, I was offered a simple task of garment trimming,” explained Ms Kenalemang.

She said during the passage of time, her colleagues taught her how to thread an industrial machine till she grasped the basics of sewing and next she learnt how to mark and design a pattern.

Ms Kenalemang noted that she did all the tasks exceptionally well and no longer a trimmer but a knowledgeable fashion designer.

During her stay with this firm, Ms Kenalemang received inspiration from Ms Tinah Moyo, who was a Zimbabwean national.

She explained that Ms Moyo did her fashion work wholeheartedly and passionately as she continued to perform her duties even beyond normal working hours with or without overtime payment.

“That lady indeed inspired me and I got to learn that in order for one to prosper in their endeavour, they must develop interest on such endeavour despite the challenges that may be associated with,” she explained.

After five years as an employee, she quit and started to pursue her dream and S & 3 Metres is the name that she gave to her lawfully registered business in 2005.

She noted that even though the savings she had from Ever Rest Firm could not allow her to purchase all the necessary resources for her own business, she was able to do more with fewer resources.

Though the business started with minimum tasks of patching and repairing torn garments for locals, in no time she started receiving orders to design wedding dresses as well as clothing for other occasions such as dinners and culture days.

The year 2016 came handy and it was historic for her as the Gender Affairs department funded her to the tune of P100 000 to help her expand her business.

With the amount, she was able to purchase the material and equipment she so much needed.

The selfless sole proprietor said that since she had all the resources, her business attracted more clients, which boosted her and was motivated.

She was then able to open another business of poultry that she operated from home and the two businesses are doing satisfactorily as they help her to put food on the table.

Ms Kenalemang noted that the business of fashion designing is seasonal as people seem to be making more orders in the summer and during the end of the year where a number of occasions seem to be taking place hence she decided to have the poultry business so that they complement each other.

She said her competitive advantage over other local fashion designers is that she treats her customers well.

Ms Kenalemang is living proof that devotion and dedication pay.

Her business is situated at Serota ward along the road leading to Tonota Show grounds and she specialises in designing men’s wear, church dresses, African clothing (leteisi), school uniforms and wedding dresses.

She uses social media to market her business and also participates in market days.

Ms Kenalemang advised other Batswana to ditch the dependency syndrome and waiting for government to do everything for them.

She said they should rather look to the available business opportunities and venture into them and utilise the government initiatives geared at economically empowering them. Ends