Bulls n Bears Entrepreneurship Zone :: The woman who took on Zimbabwe's security men and won

[Bulls n Bears]

 <http://www.nedbank.co.zw/> 

 

Ndhlukula started in her cottage in the late 1990s with four employees and
very little capital, has become one of her country's largest security firms.

According to her, perhaps the biggest barrier she had to face when she set
it up was her gender.

"Obviously, as a woman, people would not believe that I could run a
security company - particularly with no security background," she told the
BBC's series African Dream.

However, she held firmly to her purpose and Securico now employs more than
3,500 people, including nearly 900 women.

"We provide cutting-edge services. We move cash and valuables for companies
and banks; we also provide electronic security systems - that's the CCTVs,
the access control systems, the alarms, the rapid responses, remote site
monitoring and so on," she said.

 

The company exemplifies the vital role played by entrepreneurs in creating
economic growth, prosperity, and realising opportunity in AfricaAfrica
Awards for Entrepreneurship, 2011

"Our business has grown to be well capitalised in terms of assets; in terms
of balance sheet, our balance sheet is close to $8m (£5.1m). This year we
expect to turn over just over $16m," she added.

If things keep on going according to her plans, she hopes that within five
years Securico will have branches in neighbouring countries and reach an
annual turnover of more than $50m.

The company has not only grown physically. It has also been recognised as
one of the continent's leaders in business excellence and in 2011 it beat
3,300 other firms and won the coveted $100,000 Grand Prize at the Africa
Awards for Entrepreneurship in Nairobi, Kenya.

The organisers said that Securico "exemplifies the vital role played by
entrepreneurs in creating economic growth, prosperity, and realising
opportunity in Africa" and pointed out that it is the largest employer of
women in the private sector in Zimbabwe.

Subsequently, Ms Ndhlukula was chosen as one of Africa's most successful
women by US business magazine Forbes.


Enterprising initiatives


Ms Ndhlukula says that even as a student she dreamed of being an
entrepreneur.

"When I was in school I used to tell my friends that I was not going to
work for more than two years but obviously I had to work for more than two
years," she told the BBC's Steve Vickers in Harare.

 


Divine Ndhlukula


*  Trained as an accountant

*  Masters in Business Administration from Midlands State University,
Zimbabwe

*  Honourary MBA from the Women's University in Africa

*  Worked for Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), the Old Mutual
investment group and Intermarket Insurance (now ZB Insurance)

*  Started Securico with four employees

*  Now the firm has more than 3,500 people on its payroll, including about
900 women

*  Grand Prize at the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship, 2011, Nairobi

*  Chosen by Forbes as one of Africa's most successful women

She trained as an accountant and worked in the 1980s for the Zimbabwe
Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC), the Old Mutual investment group and
Intermarket Insurance (now ZB Insurance).

"During the time that I was working for these employers I was obviously
involved in various enterprising initiatives. Typically, I'd buy clothes
from factories here in Harare and sell them to my colleagues at work, and
also give [them] to my colleagues in other places, to sell on my behalf on
commission," Ms Ndhlukula explained.

With the money she saved she bought a truck which she hired out to a
construction company. Later she had to sell it to prevent her late father's
farm from being auctioned.

As she saved the farm, its title was changed into her name and she ventured
into the farming business.

She then took out a loan against her house in order to grow maize but
things did not go as well as she had expected due to a severe drought and
she almost lost her house. So in 1995 she had to go back into employment.

"I did a marketing diploma and I switched my career to marketing because
that gave me time to be able to run around into other things as I knew that
I definitively wanted to break out on my own at some stage."

Her dream finally came true in 1998 when she realised that there was a gap
in the security services sector, an area that was dominated by male
entrepreneurs.

According to her, she noticed that the quality of the services many of the
existing companies provided was not up to the standards of the big
corporations and multinationals operating in Zimbabwe. That is how Securicor
was born.


'Passion'


Ms Ndhlukula remembers that she started with three security operatives and
two managers, including herself.

"Of course, I just had to insure that I had enough money to be able to run
and be able to pay people on time because that is very critical in our type
of business. So, I did not really need a lot of capital," she said.

Obviously, as a woman, people would not believe that I could run a security
company - particularly with no security background

"This is, I think, the biggest folly of people who aspire to be in
business. They think that you have to have lots and lots and lots of money
to be able to start a business. No, it's not that. It's really the passion."

So she started approaching people who she knew and trusted - former
schoolmates, ex-colleagues, friends and relatives - and asking them to
support her new project.

"Slowly people began to gain confidence as they saw how serious I was, they
saw how ambitious and how passionate and determined I was. I was so involved
in the business.

"They began to notice that 'look, this business seems to be serious and
their service seems to be even much better than those established
companies', so they started referring us," she said.

She believes that, once a gap in the market has been identified,
persistence is the key to success.

"I always tell people: 'If you've got a product or a service that is
required by the market, you can sell it'. It's not about the sciences. It's
about the passion for the idea".


'No bribes'


Probably because of her experience of nearly losing her home when she
ventured into farming, Ms Ndhlukula is not keen to borrow money.

 



 

The company employs around 900 women

"We are very careful when we get money from banks. We get it when it's
really necessary, when we know we are going to swear to the assets that
we've gotten with the loans so that we can easily repay without having to
stifle the business."

Also, in a country where many business people complain about the levels of
bureaucracy and corruption, she is against the idea of paying bribes.

"Unfortunately, we've not been getting any work from government but I'm
glad that the kind of customers that we targeted in the first place - the
high-end, the multinationals, the blue-chip companies - they also do their
procurement by the book.

"We never give a bribe because the moment you start giving somebody a bribe
today, they expect you to give them a bribe every other time. And, you know,
you cannot do business that way."

So what advice does she have for budding entrepreneurs around Africa?

If you're there, you're visible, you're exemplary, you show that you're
also working - then people will buy into your vision

"I always say there is no easy road to anywhere worth going. One's got to
apply themselves. One's got to put in that extra effort. One's got to have
the discipline to be able to say: Look, I've made a bit of money, invest
back the money into the business so that it grows," Ms Ndhlukula said.

"I think that is the folly of many of our people. You make a bit of money
and you think you've arrived. You start spending the money and the business
does not grow".

She also pointed out that when one is starting a business, one should not
delegate too much.

"You delegate but you obviously have got to have that hands-on approach for
a while, and then you develop people that will eventually take over from
you.

"I literally used to work about 16 hours a day. I still do it occasionally,
though we've got about 22 managers - we've got MBAs and so on - but they
still require your input. I'm still the MD [managing director], I still give
that strategic direction. If you're there, you're visible, you're exemplary,
you show that you're also working - then people will buy into your
vision."--BBC

 



 

 

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