TYALA RIDES LAGOS WAVE
DESPITE some challenges, entrepreneur Thandi Tyala gets a kick out of promoting South Africa to Nigerians through her tourism company.
The company, called GEPS, has four employees, a branch in Lagos and helps South African companies to set up marketing campaigns in Nigeria.
“My company offers intercultural tourism services to schools and universities in Nigeria to travel to SA and vice versa,” she said.
“We have to find exciting tours that we can take the children to and these include science fairs.
“I have an event planned with the Gugulethu Wine Festival for two days in December at Lagos Polo Club.”
She said she would be heading back to Nigeria for three weeks to sort out administration for her business while also marketing it to get more clients.
Her main target market, however, are children from affluent families who are interested in science, as a school subject.
Tyala completed her matric at Cape College in Cape Town, where she also furthered her studies by doing an 18-month diploma in marketing management in 1997.
She describes her teenage years as a difficult time of her life because her mother, who had raised her as a single parent, died when she was only 18.
“My mother died and for a long time I didn’t have a home and stayed with friends and relatives,” she said. “My mom was a domestic worker, but I was fortunate that her employers took me to good schools.”
Tyala got married in 2007 and started GEPS Tours and Travel with her former husband, who hails from Nigeria.
“The business was started after a large number of people and his acquaintances showed interest in visiting SA and wanted someone they could trust to show them around the country.” Tyala separated from her husband in 2013 and returned to South Africa. However, she regularly travels between the two countries to ensure her business runs smoothly.
She said the challenges of running a business in Nigeria were that most services are expensive in the West African country.
“Travelling and accommodation costs are high and Nigeria has challenges in relation to electricity. It is expensive to run an office in that country,” Tyala said.