Senwes Scenario Desember 2015 / Januarie 2016 | Page 16

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NUUS

milling plant. After initially
struggling to obtain financing,
he eventually obtained it and
decided upon the operation
in Ventersburg, called
Ventersburg Boeremeule.
He set up Lethabo Milling
with a loan from Absa and
he used the plant to produce
about 10 000 tons of maize per
annum for Massmart selling
his maize at Makro, Cash &
Carry and Cambridge. He even
passed the food safety audit at
the very first attempt this year
on 27 August. His successes
made headlines in numerous
publications and he even visited
parliament earlier this year.
ANOTHER FIRST
Another first for Xolani is that
53% of his staff are women - a
first in the industry. What’s more,
all his employees are local people.
The 50-year-old Xolani also
invests in his staff and some are in
the process of becoming qualified
millers. He also does motivational
talks at organisations and schools.
This included a visit with the
graduates of Senwes recently. In
addition he has identified four
black millers and offers them
help and advice along the way.

LETHABO MILLING LOGO
His face lights up as I ask about
the logo of Lethabo Milling.
He starts by saying “It means
happiness or joy”. The logo
is a maize cob with the leaves
opening up to the sun shining
over it. The red in the logo
represents the blood of Jesus.
“I asked God to lead and
guide me. I prayed for it.”
CHRISTMAS MESSAGE
“Christmas is a peaceful and
joyous (lethabo) time. Let’s not
indulge in negative substances.
Let’s walk and drive safely.”
MESSAGE FROM THE GRADUATES UPON
MEETING XOLANI NDZABA:
“The meeting with Xolani and Eddie was quite interesting in the
sense that we learned a lot about the challenges which entrepreneurs
in South Africa face and the way to overcome the obstacles that
might discourage you on the road to success. We found his AKA
(Attitude, Knowledge and Ability) motto very inspiring and he
is living proof that a positive attitude will get you far in life. We
also learned more about possible sustainability programmes that
businesses must have in terms of skills transfer and mentorship.”
Xolani stated that his success is as a result of the skills
and knowledge that he managed to acquire over the years
through different jobs that he took and business exposure.
He is passionate about mentoring and giving young people
an opportunity to develop relevant skills in his business.

PURE WHITE GOODNESS
Xolani is very confident about
his maize meal as it compares
very well with competitive
products. “Once people taste
our maize meal, they don’t
want to eat any other maize.”
FAMILY MAN
Xolani’s family lives in
Roodepoort. He has been married
to his wife Thembi for 8 years but
has known her for two decades.
They have two children, Mpilo
(10) and Nonkululeko (7).

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Visit to Senwes! At the back are Henno Bakker (Web Developer), Eddie
Morris (Xolani’s business partner) with Xolani Ndzaba (Founder/CEO of
Lethabo Milling). In front are Ikageng Mokhuane (Graduate), Lerato Sekgobela
(Civil Technician) and Boipelo Leeuw (Graduate).

Desember 2015/Januarie 2016 • SENWES Scenario