18 Oct 2020

Portia Mbulayi’s life and career are a tale of determination and steady progress.

The journey takes her from a difficult childhood to become the founder and director of Focsport Elegant Parties.

Driven by passion and a desire to be independent, the 26-year-old event décorator started her events décor business in 2019, targeting birthday parties, patlo celebrations, weddings, baby showers, amongst others.

Ms Mbulayi said this was after she did a thorough research on the industry and the business promised a quick turnaround. 

She noted that the event decor business was quite profitable compared to other businesses.

“I was both excited and afraid at the same time. 

But total determination, coupled with perseverance drove me,” she said.

Ms Mbulayi said, “As an event décorator, you are the person responsible for the overall atmosphere of the event. 

Event decor is more than simple decoration. 

It is about how the guests feel when they walk into the venue and how the venue affects their overall experience, and afterwards, how fondly they remember it.”

However, Ms Mbulayi’s business like other businesses suffered a setback following the outbreak of COVID-19, as the pandemic brought down businesses across the globe.

“At that time, it was bad, but things are becoming better now,” she said.

Ms Mbulayi explained that COVID-19 cost her as she was forced to cancel all the bookings during the extreme social distancing period.

Furthermore, she said she had to refund all her clients who had already paid deposit for the bookings.

She said during the nation’s extreme social distancing period, she had to reflect on other businesses she could venture into, hence she resorted to chicken feed production.

According to Ms Mbulayi, she enrolled online for a chicken feed production and managed to complete the lessons and was still waiting for funding to buy raw materials for a start-up.

Ms Mbulayi is optimistic that although some businesses were still trying to find their way back after being hardly hit by COVID-19, her business was slowly gaining momentum.

However, she said since the lifting up of some restrictions, she had been receiving many bookings, a sign that ‘there is light at the end of the tunnel’.

She showed determination to adhere to all COVID-19 protocols and ensured that gatherings were strictly reserved for 50 people.

 Ms Mbulayi said through all the challenges she faced, she had learnt that giving up was not an option, but rather one should learn to live amidst all situations that might befall her.

She advised other youths not to give up on their dreams, adding that amidst all challenges they had to find some means of survival.

She said when she grew up, life was not a bed of roses, hence her determination to make the business successful. 

It was in 2011, while doing Form Five that her father passed away and she remained with her unemployed mother.

After the death of her father, Ms Mbulayi said she lived an unstable life with her now unemployed mother, struggling financially. 

Her mother, who was in the business of selling cars for a local company, started a street vendor business.

After matriculating from Mmadinare Secondary School in 2012, Mbulayi excitedly opted to study Business Marketing at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology and passed with a Distinction.

She then started hustling for jobs in Gaborone for a year, but to no avail before moving to Francistown, where she distributed her CVs, but again without success.

However, Mbulayi knew that she was destined to do greater things - to start her own business.

“After years reeling with unemployment, I started what is called pallet décor and my efforts were noticed despite having no experience, but only qualification,” she said.

With little savings she got from her work as an assistant court clerk at Shashemooke kgotla under the Tirelo Setshaba programme, she bought a tent, chairs, tables, table cloths, plates, drinking glasses and some cutlery, which kick-started her Focsport Elegant parties business. ENDS