FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD FURNITURE
Running businesses and marathons
“Often in the real world, it’s not the smart who get ahead, but the bold.” This famous quote from Robert T. Kiyosaki’s best-seller, Rich Dad, Poor Dad, resonates with 40-year-old Siviya native, Kedibonye Furniture.
In this interview, Voice Woman sits down with the energetic go-getter, simply known as Kedi by her legion of clients and business associates, to talk about her inspirational story of resilience in the face of adversity, which has ensured her success even during the most tumultuous of times. Indeed, the self-motivated entrepreneur exhibited this hunger for success from a tender age.
In 2004, when she relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa to pursue higher learning at Witwatersrand University, she already knew that she wanted to be an entrepreneur. “My uncle, Ernest, used to ask me, “What do you want to do once you’re done with schooling?” I’d tell him that I wanted to go to university to acquire enough knowledge to do my own thing; I never wanted to work for anyone. I was fully aware that life is a challenge, after losing both parents in 1999 and 2010 respectively. So, I started my hustle as a runner in Joburg at 19 years, while still a student, earning a 10% commission on goods delivered to customers in and outside South Africa. I remember by then I was making a sufficient amount of money that I could afford to buy my mother a phone. After graduating from Wits University with a BA Degree in Travel and Tourism, I worked part-time as a flight attendant for South African Airways for three years,” the high-flyer explains, adding by the second year, she had begun travelling internationally to places like Dubai and China, slowly building business relationships with suppliers.
With the rise in demand for cheaper goods in China, Kedi had spotted an opportunity to be the middlewoman or agent rendering a much sought-after service to buyers who weren’t able to travel to the East or simply did not know how to go about sourcing goods overseas. The following year, in 2011, she quit her job to open a supplies company, Kedi V Project, subsequently opening Gorosa Express Logistics in 2012. “I began delivering items to customers around Joburg, especially during the 2010 World Cup. I would later expand to Botswana, Namibia and Lesotho, using public transport to send goods by bus and eventually I resolved to buy a motorbike and registered a company, Kedi V Projects, shipping to all provinces and cities. Although I lost a lot of money travelling to neighbouring countries advertising my services, I was not defeated because I knew that in business, one must lose to gain,” she asserts.
Eager to learn more, Kedi took a part-time entrepreneurship course through a business school in Sandton in 2017. The avid reader says the one book that truly inspired her was Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki. “I read the entire series, even attending Kiyosaki’s masterclass at the Sandton Convention Centre. I was curious to understand how, as someone from a poor background, I could become rich. I later hosted business showers in Namibia, Lesotho and Botswana, teaching entrepreneurship. Setswana sa re, ‘metlhala ya khumo e mentsi, e tlhoka balatedi’ (many are the paths that lead to wealth). I’m quite the athlete, too, so I ran marathons to raise capital, conquering the 90km Comrades twice, winning R22,000; the City to City (Joburg - Pretoria), winning R8,000; the 42km Soweto Marathon in 2008, coming in second place and walking away with a whopping R35,000; as well as the Spar Women’s 10km Joburg Marathons.”
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, Kedi’s logistics company had grown exponentially and earned the trust of both the private and public sectors. “By 2020, business was booming. During that time, I won tenders to deliver vaccines, sanitisers, masks, and all manner of medical paraphernalia across SADC countries. Additionally, I delivered jam and peanut butter to schools and hospitals here in Botswana.
I also taught people how to buy goods like electronics/phones online, through SHEIN, and deliver them throughout the region,” she says. Indeed, fortune favours the bold. Today, Kedi’s Gorosa Express Logistics has offices and a warehouse in Sunninghill, Johannesburg. “From 2012 to 2017, I was
WHERE IT ALL STARTED:
Gorosa Logistics motorbike beset with financial challenges, mostly arising from returns owing to customer dissatisfaction. But I kept pushing, reflecting on my background, which kept me motivated, along with my desire to empower others. I realised that a lifestyle change and fresh strategies were needed. I even hired a white lady, Sue, who’s my PA and in charge of all admin work. Occassionally, my bank would forward me adverts for repossessed cars and houses; I saw yet another opportunity to expand. I began buying cars and trailers to resell, and for use in my company, hiring reliable drivers, and 23 runners in Botswana and South Africa - 36 employees in all,” she says, and adds the pandemic was a blessing because she began thinking about settling down to focus on motherhood and marriage; she has a 3-year-old son and is engaged to a supportive Venda man.
Family-oriented, the ‘queen of hustle’ inspired her younger brother, Tlhabologo Furniture, to go into business, quitting his job as a police officer. “Tlhabologo is now a businessman and politician; the former BCP Youth League President will be contesting the Tati East parliamentary seat. We are assisting him with campaigns,” she says proudly.