19 Jan 2014

Batswana have always been encouraged to start their own businesses to help diversify the economy of the country and create employment.

All these initiatives are geared towards satisfying the national Vision 2016 pillar of a prosperous, productive and innovative nation. Real Gumtree Investment is a citizen owned company moving in that direction.

Established in November 2010, it manufactures and repairs tents, makes canvas, canopies, tarps, blinds, tonneau covers and awnings. The company’s affordable and quality products have already penetrated the local market and have proved to be very popular.

Real Gumtree Investment is owned by 39-year-old Ishmael Giye from Maitengwe who said in an interview that he had a dream of owning a business before reaching the age of forty. And with patience, he said, he was happy to have achieved his dream.

The name Real Gumtree Investment was derived from the idea of being determined to manufacture strong tents for the future generations. Giye says the tools to succeed in business are passion, hard work and looking after the assets one has and utilizing them effectively.

He says his rented workshop is located in Mmopane, where he started with a single heavy-duty machine and that, at the time he had no vehicle because his car got wrecked in an accident. “This is what I call humble beginnings; I had to carry material on my back sometimes during the night. But as you can see now I have a Land Rover, a multipurpose vehicle and I can buy the material from Johannesburg and transport it on my own,” he added with a giggle.

Giye said his hard work paid off, as he was able to buy other two heavy-duty machines and all the light ones and their spares needed in the manufacturing process. When asked what strategy he used to blossom within a short period of time, he said he regards himself as the doctor of all tents and the experience he accumulated throughout the years has helped him to keep his customers.

He explained that tent-manufacturing business is unique from other businesses and that to excel, it demands a lot of experience. He clarified that the experience needed is not only of how to do the job but how to run the business, pricing, retaining customers and making profit.

Giye said that his interest developed when he was staying with his uncle in Maun, and he volunteered at Kalahari Kanvas revealing that prior to that he had wanted to be a tour-guide. He said upon his arrival at Kalahari Kanvas he was astonished when the company owner, Mrs Elaine Dugmore told him that she could only offer him the opportunity if he was willing to learn about tent manufacturing

Giye said as the passion for tent making grew, he was made a team leader because he was active and innovative. Giye said starting a business was not a piece of cake on a silver platter saying that sometimes he goes out without sleep because of many orders needing to be delivered on time. He said that he sometimes compromises his rest time by taking customers’ late orders.

The company presently employs six permanent employees and he is the main designer as most of them have different roles while some are still learning the ropes. “I employ graduates from vocational schools and it is very difficult to train or teach them this job. All in all I’ll say they are not that bad as they come with a little bit of skill,” Giye said.

He said though there are no training institutes for tent making in Botswana or neighboring countries, he made it through on job training and by his passion. “If there is going to be a school for Tent Manufacturing I am the one who is going to start it, I’m also planning to have a tent plant, and that’s when I’ll increase my workforce,” Giye revealed his vision.

Giye said he has shops in Maun that he supplies and that he already has a place for the tent plant. He also revealed that, though he was the sole employee of his business for some time, he had progressed because of his employees.

He said they work together as a team and he makes sure that they earn a salary that could change their lives as there is no one who earns less than P1000, 00 as a basic salary.

Giye said he is a qualified accountant and also studied Criminology to equip himself for running a business.  “The first thing to know about success is that it doesn’t just come to you, it involves the state of mind. There are no limits when it comes to success and one has to surpass what is possible,” he said.

Mr Giye said that he is a disciplined person when it comes to money use and that he started his business with personal savings because he did not want to get into debts. He however expressed his disappointment to some of the youth that get government grants to start businesses but eventually leave them to close down. Mr Giye advised them, saying they should plan ahead and get into what they have passion for.

Meanwhile, Giye revealed that he is the only child to his mother and that he was raised by his uncle since his mother went to United Kingdom to work there as a lawyer.

When asked about his immediate family, Giye declared himself single without a child and that he is waiting upon God to give him the right woman. “I plan to have a family when I’m financially stable and I’m still searching for the right one. I grew up seeing other children suffering but I want mine to live normal,” he said.

He lastly encouraged Batswana to visit other countries, saying observing life on the other side of the border challenges one’s mind and it teaches one to be independent. “At one time when my mother was working in Zimbabwe I did part of my primary school there for 3 years. I also completed my Accounting in United Kingdom, this has really made me look at life differently,” he said. ENDS