“I am not someone who believes in failure,” businessman and music promoter Ndlovu (43) told The Zimbabwean this week. “Once I commit myself to something, I really want to push it to the final lap and I know that no matter how difficult a challenge it might seem, there will always be a way of negotiating the bend and finally getting there.”
The soft-spoken Ndlovu is Managing Director of 11-year-old Usizo Water and Accessories, a company that deals with civil engineering. Ndlovu’s business mainly deals with the supply and distribution of water reticulation and irrigation material across all sectors – both in South Africa and Zimbabwe.
“We deal with schools, non-governmental organisations, private businesses and farms,” said the Johannesburg-based businessman. “We also drill boreholes and install various types of pumps and water tanks at farms, municipalities and private properties. In a nutshell, we supply all types of irrigation systems.”
First priority
Simultaneously, he promotes and sponsors a number of highly-regarded Zimbabwean musicians, most of them based in neighbouring South Africa, but it is his business that is his first priority.
When Ndlovu arrived in South Africa, he worked as a verification officer for a South African company for a number of years, where his duties partly involved laboratory tests of water metres to check their status and efficiency in measuring. That way, he acquired practical knowledge of civil engineering.
“The company I worked for was later liquidated and with a number of people calling me to inquire about where they could get some water reticulation equipment, I decided that instead of being a referrer, I should start my own business that would help out,” he explained.
That was 11 years ago and the company is now one of the most well-known in the business.
“When we started, we had problems sourcing material and that was mainly due to capital. So, I decided to do part-time jobs as a verification officer, so that I could raise enough money to get the business on its feet.
“The other challenge we had was with companies that failed to honour their debts to us, but with a strong legal representation, we managed to overcome most of that.”
Determined to see his business succeed, Ndlovu says that he saw every new challenge as part of the learning curve.
“I learnt from each mistake I made and part of the remedial action was to tighten my documentation in order to get rid of loopholes that big companies could use to get away with failing to honour debts. There are big sharks out there who would take advantage of every loophole to nail you and I got to learn and grow as I went on in the business.
“Financial discipline also saw me go this far and remain in the game, while my wife’s encouragement has also given me more strength to succeed.”
A born promoter
In 2006, Ndlovu’s interest in the music business grew and he began to promote Zimbabwean musicians. His first step was to promote a show – Bulawayo Comes Alive, which drew a number of top Matabeleland-based musical outfits to Bulawayo for a show that still ranks one of the best in Zimbabwe.
“My wife (gospel musician Tholakele Ngomayabo) has always been a singer, having developed that interest at a tender age, and that extended to our home,” he said.
Ndlovu then began Usizo Promotions, a company that now has a number of talented gospel musicians in its ranks.
Amakholwa Amahle, the company’s flagship gospel group that has been highly successful in South Africa, recorded its first album in 2007, with Tholakele as one of its co-lead singers. Tornado Heroes, a rumba group, was added on last year.
“I have also promoted a number of shows by Zimbabwean artists here and these include Jeys Marabini, Mokis Connection, the late Beatar Mangethe, Tongai Moyo and Sandra Ndebele.”
Ndlovu’s main aim is to see his musicians grow into big names on the continent and get international recognition.
“I want to be sitting down one day and have people calling me from as far as the UK inviting my artists to perform there. I also want to see these musicians, especially the young people, earn a living from their talents. The main trick will be for me to be hands-on in terms of marketing and promoting this music, especially in Zimbabwe, where airplay is not that good for us at the moment.”
In terms of his business, Ndlovu wants to have a strong presence in his homeland, where he wants to open branches in all major cities.
“We will not be in South Africa permanently. We will return to Zimbabwe one day and we must grow our business there, so that we give the new generation reasons to live in their own country and work there. We cannot continue to leave our own country in search of employment.”
Ndlovu’s advice to fellow Zimbabweans is to “stop the tendency of relying on employment to make a living, but strive to be your own person and start an extra something for yourself”.
Post published in: News