The Believe Begin Become (BBB) Business Plan Competition (BPC) could not have come at a better time for 28 year old entrepreneur, Ludziwo Foods Director Hlob’sile Mdlovu.

 

At the time the competition launched last year, she was faced with the challenge of buying an existing food manufacturing company based in Manzini. She decided to join the competition and was fortunate to make it into the top 60, enabling her to go through to the core training program offered by the BBB programme.

 

Two months after graduating from the BBB programme, Mdlovu was able to secure funding from the Swaziland Finance Development Corpooration. (FINCORP), which gave her the capital required to purchase the business and actually start manufacturing.

 

Her business, trading as Ludziwo Foods is located at Lulote (BMEP) Complex. It offers two products; Summer Cool Emabele and Some More Fruit Juice, both of which are now found in most supermarket outlets throughout the country.

 

 

Mdlovu holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a major in marketing, which she obtained from the University of Swaziland in 2002. She worked for companies such as Inter Agencies and MvTel as a Marketing Manager. She was the first marketing officer for the now defunct Swazi Lotto when it opened in Swaziland in 2004.

 

“My involvement with Swazi Lotto gave me insight into starting up a business because I was there when the company was initially set up in Swaziland. I decided to venture into my own business when Swazi Lotto closed down the following year. My first business was Ludziwo Consulting which entailed developing business plans for small and medium businesses and conducting market research. I also did some event management work during this time,” she explained.

 

 As a business consultant, Mdlovu thought it would be a good idea to actually run her own business, thus the formation of Ludziwo Foods. Ludziwo Foods is a subsidiary of the holding company, Ludziwo LwemaSwati.

“I have always had a passion for food products and saw this business as a good match for me,” she stated.

 

 

It is known that successful entrepreneurs always look around for opportunities. Mdlovu is no different and she seized the opportunity to purchase the business from a foreign businessman who was selling it. 

 

Explaining the concept behind the branding, Mdlovu said the plan was to portray a real Swazi image. “Ludziwo is traditionally used for the storage of valuable food products. The name is ideal and culturally significant for a Swazi owned food manufacturing business,” she said. 

Mdlovu is grateful for the knowledge, experience and contacts that she obtained from joining the Believe Begin Become programme.

 

“The business plan competition contributed a lot towards my actually starting the business. Although most of the course work was familiar to me being a commerce graduate, I really needed further business knowledge and exposure before I could venture into this new business. After the training I definitely felt a lot more motivated and confident to face the business world both the banks and my customers,” she explained.

 

One of the unique features of BBB is that each of the 60 participants going through the training programme is paired with a mentor who assists him/her to develop a business plan.

 

 

Notably, Hlob’sile’s relationship with her mentor Sabelo Mabuza, who is now Director of Foreign Direct Facilitation and Aftercare Department at the Swaziland Investment Promotion Authority (SIPA), is still going strong.

 

This is how she explains it: “We are a market oriented business and one of our objectives is to establish a long lasting relationship with all our stakeholders. That is why we have managed to maintain our relationship even after the competition. I have an excellent relationship with my mentor and he keeps me motivated to go forward. As a financial person he has enlightened me in that aspect and generally in planning and strategising. He has also assisted me in securing the finance to run the business.”

 

Mabuza, on the other hand, spoke highly of the young business woman.

“I would say she is a born entrepreneur,” Mabuza said. “She was very clear in terms of what she wanted. I told her there would be obstacles but she kept her focus. She was going into a rather saturated market. Others had tried and failed but she still believed in her products and her strategies to penetrate the market.”

 

Mabuza played a significant role in linking Mdlovu to financial institutions. “To be honest with you, there were problems. However, each time her application bounced, she would always go back and re-adjust the plan to meet the requirements,” he pointed out.

 

 

She officially started operating Ludziwo Foods on December 19, 2006 and currently employs about five young people. She has managed to expand her market base by about 10 percent. One of her top priorities upon acquiring the business was to retain existing clientele.

 

“I ensured that I personally visited each of the customers in order to understand their needs. It helped to ascertain how the products can be improved to their satisfaction,” she disclosed.

 

Ludziwo Foods products are distributed to leading retailers such as Spar and Luck Save Supermarkets and to a number of groceries and restaurants countrywide. 

 

Mdlovu is looking beyond the local market and wants to export her products in the near future.

 

She plans to have her company listed on the newly established Swaziland Standards Authority (SWASA) mainly because she values quality, which is a prerequisite for export products. She also plans to venture into bottling spring water.

 

In the next five years, she said she would like to see Ludziwo Foods being the preferred brand of choice of all consumers in the kingdom.