*Young entrepreneur turns township life into fashion empire
Born and raised in Gaborone’s Old Naledi location, Botlhe Ngwaga has not allowed the social ills bedeviling the tiny township to derail him.
Instead he has used that as art, turning the challenges depicting the lifestyle of the area into a business venture.
The 29-year-old created the “Zola Mdeni” clothing brand in 2014 with little more than pocket change.
At the time, Ngwaga could not afford any machines. He bought plain t-shirts from neighbouring localities, printed his designs and sold to his happy customers from door to door in Old Naledi, Gaborone-West and Bontleng
“The main purpose of me venturing into this business was that I wanted people to know more about my location which is Old Naledi, “ said the Limkokwing University graduate who holds a diploma in tourism management.
“I wanted to show them our lifestyle as people of Old Naledi, so I did that through art and t-shirt printing. Most of my designs are inspired by events which take place in our locality.
The year 2023 was a turning point for Ngwaga as he finally managed to buy a printing machine for the business and subsequently a car a year later, to help with mobility in the business.
Today the business, located in Old Naledi, produces oversized t-shirts, sublimated t-shirts, hoodies and sweaters, with prices ranging from P150 to P300.
“Growing up, I have always liked doing my own things. That’s where the spirit of self employment comes from. I have never believed in working for someone else,” he explained.
“We’re currently on our peak season because we now own our own machines and we have a variety of clothing to choose from unlike before when it was just the sale of t-shirts. We can now print for other companies as well which is extra revenue for the company,” explained the Mmankgodi native.
The business journey has not been easy for Ngwaga. He applied twice for funding from the Youth Development Fund (YDF) hitting a snag twice, but he never gave up.
The business has grown and today it employs three people; a designer, a tailor and a marketing and salesperson.
“The main challenge now is a good problem to have. Demand is outstripping capacity. “We are having more clients unlike before, so we need a bigger space and more machines so that we meet our high demand. Competition is everywhere and we sell at reasonable prices to beat our competitors. It’s just easy as that, our prices are low and our turnaround time for production is the best, no delays,” said Ngwaga who envisions to have a merchandise shop and a factory in future.
