Piggery takes a dip, BBB winner compelled to change concept

MBABANE – With problems engulfing the piggery industry, Bongani Dlamini has had to change his business concept to goat production.

Dlamini was one of the top six winners in the Believe Begin Become (BBB) business plan competition when it started in 2006, where he scooped the Agri-business category prize of E75 000 seed capital to establish his business.

Throughout the competition, piggery was a viable concept but market forces changed; there was an influx of imported pork, feed prices shot up and suddenly piggery was no longer a profitable business, he said.

This was one of the challenges Dlamini had to deal with.

"I had to make a decision to change the entire concept and with the advice of TechnoServe, I opted to venture into goat production. That meant doing a feasibility study to determine if the proposed area was suitable for this new concept," he explained.

According to Dlamini, the change in business concept posed a challenge for him as he had to adjust and try to understand the whole goat production industry.

Trading as Abba Investments a company he registered in 2002, Dlamini is now set to start breeding and selling live goats to local and export markets.

His business is based at Endzingeni, but obtaining the rights to use the land was another challenge for the aspiring entrepreneur.

"Initially it was an open land used for grazing livestock. Although I had been granted permission to use this piece of land for business purposes by local authorities, I encountered strong objections from the residents who were not pleased with the usage of grazing fields for business purposes," he said.

He disclosed that local authorities advised him to suspend fencing the area until the issue was sorted out – for the benefit of the business. He said it was frustrating that he could not continue working despite that he had followed all the processes to get the land. However, he had to follow the authorities’ advice to avoid a volatile situation.

The matter was resolved and Dlamini resumed fencing the area and putting up the necessary infrastructure. He has also begun purchasing the livestock and to date has secured 40 goats, although he said there was still a need to buy more as per the requirements of the business.

He has utilized a better part of his E75 000 seed capital towards the infrastructure.

Dlamini attributes the milestones he has made so far to TechnoServe.

"I have received tremendous support from TechnoServe business advisors, who have accorded hands on assistance in many instances and their continued business advisory. There were times when I even considered giving up but I knew TechnoServe was always on my back to get me moving," he said.

Meanwhile dealing with all these issues, Dlamini was still enrolling for his Bachelor of Social Science Degree at the University of Swaziland and therefore he had to juggle the two. He said he has learnt a lot and has come to understand the importance of dedicating and committing oneself to his/her business. As a result, he envisions himself being a key player in the goat industry.