Sphiwe Ithemba Empire (Pty) Ltd.
| Business Location: | Rural area - Farms |
| Province | Mpumalanga |
| Branch: | Nkangala |
| Business Start Date: | 2023-03-22 |
| Busniess Type: | Company |
Business Dynamics and Challenges
Business Activities:
Ms. Iris Nompumelelo Nkosi is the founding Director of the business enterprise called Sphiwe Ithemba Empire (Pty) Ltd t/a Sphiwe Ithemba Farm Produces & Processing founded and registered with the Registrar of Companies in 2023. Ms. Nkosi stated her business journey in 2018, initial planting different crops at the backyard of her residential place mainly to feed her family and support her life-partner who is also self-employed.
For the few months while she was still operating at the backyard of her place, Miss. Nkosi will receive complements from her impressed neighbours, on how fresh are her produce and recommended that she produce to supply the informal market. It was on this advised that Ms. Nkosi started her informal business which she operated until 2023 when she finally decided to formal register the business. The very same year (2023), the business successfully applied for 4.5-hector plot in Kroomdraai Farm located on the outskirt KwaGuqa township in Witbank, under the local municipality of Emalahleni and it is where the business is currently operating.
To date, Miss. Nkosi’s business has grown not to only to supply individual households and informal vendors but also franchised grocery retail chain stores, including Pick ‘n Pay and Boxer.
Challenges/Needs:
Lack of Access to Market and Market Linkage.
1. The business was still new, with no market base and client
lacking strategy on how to successfully infiltrate the already
closely contested market, link the business product offering
with the business target market while expanding the
business existing informal market to supply other more
formal franchised business chain stores.
Intervention Insights and Results
Intervention Details:
Market Facilitation – Company Profile, Pamphlets & Business Cards.
1. Seda assisted the business with Marketing and Promotional
Materials to the business successfully enter the more
formal market while also improving its existing market
share, mainly made of Private Individual Households and
Informal Business such as Street Vendors.
1. Seda assisted the business with Marketing and Promotional
Materials to the business successfully enter the more
formal market while also improving its existing market
share, mainly made of Private Individual Households and
Informal Business such as Street Vendors.
Outcome Details:
Following the SEDA’s market facilitation intervention support, the business was able to:
1. Increased its turnover from R37 800,00 (as at the previous
Assessment date) to R181 800,00 (as at the current
Improvement Assessment date).
2. Increase employment from 01 employees (as at the
previous assessment date) to 03 employees (as at the
current Improvement Assessment date).
1. Increased its turnover from R37 800,00 (as at the previous
Assessment date) to R181 800,00 (as at the current
Improvement Assessment date).
2. Increase employment from 01 employees (as at the
previous assessment date) to 03 employees (as at the
current Improvement Assessment date).
Client Feedback
Client Comments:
“Thank you for the support, the guidance”
