13 May 2019

Some business enterprises in the Mahalapye sub district under the tutelage of the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) have applauded the business consultancy for its mentorship programme.

The enterprises have observed that through the assistance  of LEA, they had undergone training in among others record keeping, market access facilitation and mentorship.

During a media tour organised by LEA recently, the management of Chakanaka farm, a horticulture business run by Mr Collin Moalosi and  family at Shakwe shared their entrepreneurial journey under the coaching of LEA.

Mr  Moalosi said that the family business  secured funding to the tune of P516 000 from CEDA in 2016 with the assistance and  guidance of LEA. “We started on our own, but struggled to secure financial support from Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA), until the financing agency advised us to approach LEA for guidance,” said Mr Moalosi.

Mr Moalosi  said that the funds were quoted to cater for irrigation equipment covering a piece of land measuring two hectares. However, he said they managed to buy the equipment directly from the manufacturer in South Africa where it was much cheaper and the irrigation network covered a wider area of five hectares.

Mr Moalosi noted that through the guidance of LEA, the business was growing and producing a quality harvest to the satisfactory of the market.  He said they were now cultivating eight hectares producing mainly tomato, cabbage, pumpkins, maize and green pepper.

As LEA encourages farmers to collaborate and assist each other grow and sustain the market, Mr Moalosi said Chakanaka farm was a member of Mabogomanthe, an association of horticulture farmers in Mahalapye sub district.

Mr Moalosi said he was optimistic that through the continued support of LEA the horticultural project would continue to grow, sustain and satisfy the demands of the market, emphasising that SMMEs must grow, sustain the demands of vegetables in the local market and assist government in reducing the import bill.

On the issue of the buyer, controlling the price, Mr Moalosi has noted that pricing only becomes a challenge when market gets saturated with harvest of certain vegetables. He said the quality of the product also dictated pricing.

Moreover, he said that Chakanaka farm had established a market within the local chain stores and other vegetable dealers as well as supplying schools and other government facilities locally.
Meanwhile Ms Morwesinyana Moalosi observed that even though the horticulture project was cultivating varied vegetables, tomato was their main crop and was in  high demand. In regards to satisfying the market demands, Ms Moalosi said the choice of variety of the vegetables to cultivate was also important as it determined the shelf life of the product.  

She said that the farm had engaged 10 full time employees and about 40 temporary workers.

Despite the steady growth, Ms Moalosi explained that Chakanaka horticulture farm was not immune to challenges saying pests and  natural disasters were a challenge as their last crop of maize was destroyed by a hail storm.
The media also visited Diponeng Hotel at Mahalapye which was also funded by CEDA. One of the Directors, Ms Gotweng Gabotlale  stated that they started working with LEA in 2016.

“Our marriage with LEA is running smoothly, they assisted us with human resource development, staff empowerment and marketing. I am proud to note that through LEA, Diponeng Hotel is well known,” Ms Gabotlale said.   

Ms Gabotlale said the relationship between the management and employees was one of the most important aspects of a hotel business. “We have a staff compliment of 16, which are mostly youth. Our business provides services in accommodation, restaurant had hosts various events, ” she said.

Despite the financial injection from CEDA, Ms Gabotlale observed that financial constraint remained a major challenge for the hotel and tourism industry.  She said customer service and satisfaction was at the core of their business. Ms Gabotlale noted that the location of the hotel, was their strongest point as it was easily accessible. She said they had been engaging in bench marking exercises to assist in growth and planned to expand with an additional 18 rooms. ENDS