Award-winning entrepreneur Gift Ndlovu is bringing much-needed technology to an impoverished local community, thanks to help from Kloof Harvest Church
story shirley williams
In Dassenhoek near Shongweni, where unemployment is rife, crime is high and the community cannot afford state-of-the-art technology, Gift Ndlovu is, quite literally, a Godsend.
As he points out, the latest computer equipment is unaffordable for poor communities, leaving those wanting to be part of the technological world to use older equipment that is usually regarded as redundant or doesn’t work, but it fills an important gap, he believes. As a result, he has established a thriving business repairing these much-needed older computers, laptops and cellphones.
Last year, Gift received the national Student of the Year Award after completing the Paradigm Shift course, a Christian church-based entrepreneurial course, through Kloof Harvest Church. He was chosen from over 900 other students across the country.
The course falls under the Cape Town based Paradigm Shift programme, which supports churches wanting to uplift local disadvantaged communities. Weekly lectures helped Gift to learn the basic skills that he says he lacked when he started his business called Gift Computer Sales and Repairs. The guidance of mentor Clive McMurray, who heads up uMhlanga-based advertising agency FCB Durban, saw him implement those skills and begin to grow his business.
McMurray is particularly proud of his protégé and gained a lot personally from sharing his journey. “He is so thirsty to learn and grow both as a person and as a business owner,” Clive says. “I love his humbleness. He just wants to share this with others and has already recruited others from his community for this year’s course.”
Ndlovu began repairing faulty electronic items in 2009 “for fun” while working in an iron fabrication factory in Pinetown, but it was only when he was retrenched that he considered opening his own business.
“I was clueless, but I am a fast learner,” he says of his attempts to set up his business in 2013. He had perfected his technical skills – thanks to basic help from others – and soon discovered he had a particular talent for repairing computers which he took further. He also began selling repaired computers which had been given to him by individuals and local companies.
It was Gift’s friend, Mduduzi Maphumumo, who has a business upholstering car seats, who told him about the Paradigm Shift course, which Gift says has completely changed his outlook. Before, he had no idea how to price his services or the items he was selling or how to handle stock. He has now branded and is marketing his business after previously simply relying on word-of-mouth.
Most importantly of all, he adds, he is now able to pass on his knowledge to others in his community and help them write their own business plans.
So what about long-term plans for the business? Gift not only wants to grow the sales and repair side, but also wants to set up an internet cafe. He points out that while his community needs both computer skills and connectivity in today’s tech savvy world, it’s very difficult for them to access the internet. He also plans to extend his customer base from his own community to surrounding townships, aiming to employ others.
However, for Gift, the most important thing he wants to achieve is to be an example for others in his community, where he believes that self-employment is the answer to the unemployment that is growing crime in the area.
“I want people from my community to follow in my footsteps. When I was retrenched I realised I had no future, so I followed my dream. Many people have talent, but know nothing. Now I can encourage them to ask people who do have the knowledge. That also applies to me – I am still asking,” he smiles.
Right now, he is also looking for companies from which he can access equipment to repair and sell on, as well as saving to get the more sophisticated tools he needs to grow his business. *
Gift Ndlovu 083 718 0463