"I and six others learnt our skills from American volunteers who were in the country on the Peace Corps program. After four years we were skilled enough to either find work or strike it on our own. We had learnt the basics of leather design theory and practice. I opted to start my own business and have never regretted the decision", she said.
KgomotsoTamasiga of Leather Products Botswana learned leather working skills from American volunteers who were in the country on the Peace Corps program
TURNING LEATHER INTO BUSINESS
By Dubani-wa-Dubani
KgomotsoTamasiga of Leather Products Botswana in Pilane has come a long way since she started off making belts, sandals and key holders on a National Development bank loan and a little help from the Swedish Development fund in 1975.
Speaking to Your Money on Tuesday the 60-year-old mother of five said she got into the leather product manufacturing business after completing a four year training program at the Mochudi Craft Centre.
[LEATHER TEAM: Tamasiga and son Emmanuel] "I and six others learnt our skills from American volunteers who were in the country on the Peace Corps program. After four years we were skilled enough to either find work or strike it on our own. We had learnt the basics of leather design theory and practice. I opted to start my own business and have never regretted the decision", she said.
"I got a room at the Botswana Enterprises Development Unit complex in Pilane, borrowed some money from NDB and set things up. I was fortunate in that when I started the Swedes had just started advising local business people on how to properly run business and they helped me a lot", Tamasiga continued.
Tamasiga's relationship with the Swedes continued to grow along with her business and in 1983 she was part of a group of business people from all over Africa who went to Sweden for an eight week leather products training.
"I learnt a lot as we visited factories and I was able to appreciate the amount of work and skill needed to make it in business. I was also exposed to important aspects of business such as production planning, keeping records and customer care. This was a useful experience and I guess it influenced my decision to expand a few years later", the ambitious business woman said.
After deciding to grow her operation, Tamasiga got financial help from the now defunct Financial Assistance policy and bought more machinery. In 1989 she decided to build a place of her own and again acquired a loan from the National Development Bank.
As her business grew Tamasiga attended business symposiums and trade fairs all over the world and has been to amongst other countries Germany, England, Tunisia, Morocco and Kenya.
During her travels she learnt a lot about the leather business and she now makes jackets, shoes, safety boots, sandals, fashionable hand bags, traditional attire and an assortment of other leather products.
At the moment her biggest customers are the central government and local governments. She also sells her products to individuals especially tourists and Batswana living abroad. South Africa is her biggest export market. Her company also dresses the most celebrated local traditional music celebrities amongst them the likes of Matsieng, Dikakapa, Culture Spears and Shumba Ratshega.
The shoes side of things is doing so well that Tamasiga whose company employs 20 people including her son, Emmanuel, a business management graduate from the University of Botswana, has invested close to a million pula in a mass shoes production machine which she expects to arrive from Italy soon.
"I will keep expanding this business as long as I live and I am confident my children will grow it further", she told Your Money.
