True Grit Shores Bedding Duo Up
Keneilwe Ramphopho | Monday January 15, 2018 16:46
Despite the hardships associated with running a business, 33-year-old Chilisa and 50-year-old Mosugelo, are still optimistic about their bedding business, which they believe would soon penetrate the industry.
With assistance from the Gender Affairs Department (GAD), which funded them by buying them machinery in China, Chilisa said that they managed to start running their business last February.
Through their company, Boa Noite, the duo manufactures a wide range of comforters, duvets, plain sheets, night frills, fitted sheets and bed spreads.
“We were forced into business by the swelling rate of unemployment in the country. We knew we had to do something to put food on the table for our families and going into this type of business was a very logical option,” Chilisa, who holds a Business Degree in Computer Technology, said.
Unlike her partner, Mosugelo is a self-taught designer who has been in the textile industry for years.
According to Chilisa, they ventured into this business after identifying a gap in the industry that there was a huge demand for quality bedding products in the country.
Housed at the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) business incubators, which are situated at the Francistown light industrial area, Chilisa said that the business has not been performing up to expectation, however, they are optimistic about the future.
“Currently the business is not performing well, as a majority of our clients only purchase bedding for kids and we have not been receiving satisfactory requests. However, we are hopeful that some of our products will soon gain more recognition as we are still at the marketing phase of the business,” Chilisa said.
In addition she said that schools and hotels among others have collected samples of their products, which makes them hopeful that they would do business with them due to the good quality of their products.
Touching on the challenges, she said that customers still question their quality because they are a new brand.
Chilisa said due to the unavailability of the raw quality materials that they use locally, they end up sourcing them at an expensive price in neighbouring countries like South Africa.
“Our long-term goal is to grow the business and employ more people. Mostly we market their business through issuing flyers in busy areas within the city. The textile industry in general has the potential to employ more people if fully explored,” she said.