Molemele's Startup Pivots Create DC Empire
Pauline Dikuelo | Tuesday November 30, 2021 06:00
Lapologang Molemele, a serial entrepreneur, has left no stone unturned as he has gone from selling sweets and biscuits at school, working as a property manager for his family business, organising a beauty pageant to acquitting himself well enough in the logistic industry, just to mention a few of his stints. In his latest venture, Molemele has moved into the hospitality industry operating an 82-bedroomed hotel in Block Five, Gaborone trading as DC Lounge.
Opened in 2017 the hotel, which is already making strides in the industry has a conference room, a restaurant and a swimming pool. According to Molemele, his entrepreneurial journey started in 2004, when he bought three second-hand combis to transport school children.
Three years later, he decided to take a break from the business for two years. “The combis were giving me trouble hence why I decided to sell them. They always had mechanical issues and it was very costly to the business as they were not as effective as I would have loved,” he said. During the break, he was involved in the family business where he was managing property. He would get clients and get a commission in return. In 2010, he returned to the transport business, but this time around, operating as a travel and tourism agency.
He bought some combis, branded them DC Tours intending to capture the eye of the consumers. They offered flight bookings, rental of combis, accommodation bookings among others. “I identified a gap in the industry and came up with a strategy to penetrate the space; my fleet was intentionally branded as I wanted the moving billboards.
The strategy worked as we got more inquiries and more clients, especially from the corporates,” he said As the business grew, he then introduced DC Logistics after he identified the gap in the industry.
He also opened the DC Hygiene, which offers cleaning services to the hotel and other companies. Touching on their expansions, Molemele has plans to spread their wings and open another hotel in Kasane. When quizzed about the secret behind his success, Molemele said he is a team player, who is always hands-on.
He said his employees’ welfare is a priority as he treats them like family. Molemele has employed over 160 people across his empires who are all locals and 55% of them are youth.