To many people, Dan as he is popularly known, is the tycoon of Francistown. His business journey, as he relates it, is a true rags-to-riches tale.
When he walks down the memory lane, it is all smiles despite the hardships he endured as a child. “My parents struggled to make ends meet and I was determined to make things better.” A highly-driven young man who got straight A’s from primary to junior school, he did not hesitate when the time came for him to start earning his own living. “I was a brilliant student but I could not finish school because of my parents’ poor conditions.” Morupisi would sometimes travel 15 km barefoot to school and this did not dampen his spirits, but only made him more determined and he vowed that his children would not live the kind of life he lived.
When he quit his Cambridge, Morupisi joined Haskins wholesale where he worked as a salesperson, but he found the job boring. An aggressive entrepreneur, he wanted a job that is more challenging. “I like going out there and meeting people, but at Haskins, we waited for customers to come to the shop.”
He then moved to Business Machine Services (BMS) where he also worked as a salesperson. The job there was more challenging and exciting and he was paid on commission. During his first month he made a turnover of P200,000 and got a P20,000 cheque.
“That was a lot of money back then. It was agreed that I would get 10 percent commission, but after this turn over they decided on giving me five percent commission.” This did not bother him, he made more sales and they still had to pay him a lot. His directors then negotiated a basic salary with him.
Morupisi knew very much that he was the backbone of BMS. Even though he was making a lot of money, he decided to quit and start his own business.
With the experience that he got from BMS, he had an idea of how to run a business. Though the market he was eyeing was lucrative, his efforts were almost frustrated by a banker. A man who never takes no for an answer, he fished around until his business was financed. “I wanted to sell office machinery, just like at BMS but I was targeting people in the rural areas.” Morupisi was the first person to introduce battery operated cash registers.”
That was in 1989. He was in his early twenties, had only P15,000, his house and his brains. He asserts that one really had to be bold to take such a step at that time. What makes him different from the rest of the crowd is his ability to trust his instincts. “I believe in myself and knew that all is possible through the grace of God,” says the staunch member of Zion Christian Church. His plans to start a business were almost thwarted by the bank, which he requested a loan from. He had orders from the clients, his house as surety and the P15,000 but they would not finance him. However, he did not despair, but approached the then general manager of BMS and requested him to partner with him. “I gave him the same business plan, and the house, you would not believe it, the bank approved. I guess the colour of my skin made me more risky than the white one,” he says. That is when Danny’s Agencies - supplier of office machinery was born.
Morupise had to compete with his former employer but it was tough because his buying power was not as strong, which made that difficult. Thanks to the intervention of the government, the company survived. As the business grew, he bought out his partner and became the sole owner of Danny’s Agencies. All this time, he ensured that he ploughed all the profits into the business. “I did not rush into living a lavish life, like the rest of the business people. For years, I drove a mere Datsun,” he explains.
Morupisi believed in spreading the business risks, so that he could have something to fall on if one of them failed.
On one of his trips to Moria, a production shop he saw in Pietersburg intrigued him. N.T.Y manufactured windows, doorframes and steel furniture. He negotiated with management to start up a branch in Botswana and the deal was sealed, that was in 2001. After some time, the South African shareholders suggested that they shut down business as the Zimbabwean market was suffocating them. “I told them that I would rather buy them out than close the business.” At that point, he asked for assistance from CEDA. He was given a P2 million loan and was able to buy his partners out.
He knew how to tackle the Zimbabwean competitors. “I capitalised on their weaknesses. I manufactured quality products.” Today N.T.Y has been listed with the Public Procurement And Asset Disposal Board (PPADB). It has won several tenders and has now been supplying schools with furniture for the past two years. Though he is successful, he believes in going out there to market his products. “I travel a lot, I hate sitting around doing nothing,” he says with a smile. He is already selling his products to Zimbabwe and still negotiating with the Angolans. “I am also eyeing South Africa - I do not fear competition.”
As he continued with business, Morupisi was approached by an Italian family, which had been operating a furniture manufacturing business for 25 years. He partnered with them at REN-O-VATE for sometime but later bought the company. “One should not stick to a single business, there is no market here and the slice gets thinner each day, so as a business person, opportunities should be exploited.” He does not have problems with competition as it keeps him on his toes and make him deliver the best.
At REN-O-VATE, he supplies office furniture to various companies. Whenever the budget speech is read he listens attentively to see where a lot of money is being allocated to and vow that he too would get a cut.
When the government started feeding primary school children, he decided to exploit it. “That is when Olio Food Distributors was born.” His company distributes food to various government institutions. He admitted that competition is very stiff in the market. “We compete with Indian shops that gets their merchandise at cheaper prices. While we manufacture and sell our products locally.” He said they need the intervention of government in such instances. “Government should not pay lip service to empowering locals, it should be practical.” He also owns a supermarket and butchery. Morupisi employs more than 100 employees. “The business is doing well, it is the only up market supermarket in Monarch location,” he reveals.
He attributes a great deal of his success to his wife who supports him and gives him ideas. His wife, a District Commissioner in Masunga, helps him make sound decisions. “As they say, behind every successful man, there is a woman.”
