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Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
DESPITE being visually impaired, Mr Chance Ndlovu has proven to be a force to reckon with in the corporate world.
Mr Ndlovu is the co-owner and founder of Chase Textiles Private Limited in Gwanda which is one of the major suppliers of schoolwear in the mining town.
He did not only stop at empowering himself. Mr Ndlovu also founded the Chase Disability Empowerment Foundation Trust which seeks to facilitate empowerment of people living with disabilities.
Mr Ndlovu said he started his textile business which he owns with his wife Mrs Sehliselwe Ndlovu on August 1, 2003. He retired from work as a civil servant on October 31, 2004 on medical grounds. This gave him an opportunity to direct his attention towards expanding his textile business.
He said the name of the business, Chase Textiles, was a combination of the first three letters of his name and the first two letters of his wife’s name.
“My retirement was a blessing in disguise as it gave me the opportunity to focus all my attention towards my business. I have a diploma in Business Studies while my wife has a diploma in cutting and designing. I have always been business minded, even during the time I was employed.
“I then saw it best for my wife and I to combine our expertise to form our business and that’s how we started our textile business. When we started, we were operating from a small shop which we were renting. My wife was the only one doing the sewing and we only had one hand machine,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said they were now operating from two shops in the city centre with four heavy duty machines. He said one of the shops is a workshop where all the sewing takes place while the other one is a retail shop where they sell clothing and groceries.
Mr Ndlovu and his wife also owns a building at Phakama Business Centre in Gwanda which they are renting out.
“We are the major suppliers of school wear throughout Gwanda District and in a few other districts in Matabeleland South Province. We manufacture and sell school uniforms, sports wear, hats, jerseys, tracksuits and t-shirts. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, we have identified a new market and we now manufacture and sell masks.
“My wife is responsible for managing the manufacturing side while I do the administrative work. I handle the clients. We now have four people working for us as our business has grown. When we started off, my wife was doing the sewing alone but she now has two people who are assisting her with the sewing as demand is now high,” he said.
Mr Ndlovu said they could produce about 40 masks a day. He said he has managed to buy three houses using the money he was getting from his business. He said since they started manufacturing face masks in April, they have managed to sell over 2 000 masks.
He said he was ever grateful to the community of Gwanda for supporting his business. He said as part of efforts to plough back to the community he has sponsored several schools within Gwanda District. He also recently donated face masks to inmates at the Gwanda Old People’s Home.
Mr Ndlovu said he had also assisted a number of vulnerable people within the community of Gwanda. He has also assisted orphans with school fees and uniforms.
Just like any business Mr Ndlovu has been severely affected by the prevailing pandemic. He said with schools remaining closed, it meant they could not supply their major market.
He said closing of borders had also affected his retail business as he usually buys clothing from South Africa for resale. He said there was need for Government to come through and assist businesses with the grants which were promised.
Mr Ndlovu said the urge to give back to the community led him to open a trust for people living with disabilities.
“I launched the Chase Disability Empowerment Foundation Trust on 30 August last year. I started this trust as I wanted an organisation outside my line of business which will focus mainly on assisting the needy. The trust has eight board members and 40 members. The trust seeks to empower and capacitate people living with disabilities, orphans and the vulnerable with life skills across all sectors of the economy. For now we are focusing on people in Gwanda District but my desire is for trust to expand to the entire province.
“The trust is also focused on empowering people with disabilities. We conduct workshops where people living with disabilities are equipped with different skills such as building or carpentry so that they can have a source of income. The trust also seeks to advocate for inclusion of people with disabilities as we continue to call for representation in various platforms and structures in society. However, this is a process and we continue to lobby,” he said.
Some of the objectives of the trust are to lobby for the eradication of all forms of discrimination against people living with disabilities, to advocate for the rights of people living with disabilities and orphans and facilitate dialogue with policy makers, to mobilise resources and finances for the benefit of people living with disabilities, to facilitate and increase the mobility of people living with disabilities, to assist orphaned and vulnerable children in acquisition of crucial documentation such as birth certificates, to facilitate participation of people living with disabilities in various platforms such as sporting, elections among others.
Mr Ndlovu said people had to develop a culture of being hard working whether they were able-bodied or living with a disability.
His wife and co-owner of Chase Textiles Private Limited, Mrs Sehliselwe Ndlovu said they had managed to record success in their business because of hard work.
“My husband’s knowledge of the corporate field and my designing skills have helped us expand our business. We have encountered a number of challenges just like any other business but that has not deterred us from achieving our goal. My husband is a focused and hard working businessman and he has not allowed his disability to get in the way of his success. Our hard work has paid off and our wish is to continue expanding our business,” she said. — @DubeMatutu
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