Nonkosi Dyantyi |Lebama Group Logistics (Pty) Ltd

Nonkosi Dyantyi | Lebama Group Logistics (Pty) Ltd

Programme sponsor: Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company

“The programme has helped me prepare my business for the real world in terms of how I position myself with investors”

Nonkosi Dyantyi is the proud owner of Lebama Group Logistics (Pty) Ltd.  Lebama offers logistics and cargo transportation services to various industries. “We offer a supply chain solution that bridges the gap between the manufacturer and their customers. We bring administrative efficiencies as a value-add by means of the technology we supply,” she explains. Lebama’s technology not only offers visibility of the value chain but also solves payment issues for both manufacturers and their customers.

When she started her business based on her experience in the logistics field, her biggest challenge was market penetration. “Potential customers want to see a proven track record which I did not have. They also wanted a list of our fleet but we didn’t have that either. As a start-up, we didn’t have the capacity to acquire trucks with no work coming in,” she says.

Lebama’s luck changed when it was selected to take part in a Goodyear Tyre and Rubber Company business-development programme. Through this programme, powered by Raizcorp, she had access to a personal and strategy guide (mentor) as well as essential business learning. “The programme has helped me prepare my business for the real world in terms of how I position myself with investors,” she says. By the end of the programme, Lebama had its first customer. Using what she had learned on the Goodyear programme, Nonkosi was able to secure an interest-free loan and expand her fleet to three trucks and also employ three drivers. “The programme really helped me identify the challenges and pitfalls that I might encounter in my industry. It also helped me identify mitigating factors to deal with these pitfalls if I encounter them,” she says.

Her advice to other entrepreneurs is, “When you hit the low stage of your entrepreneurial journey and are tempted to give up: don’t! This phase is usually the calm before the storm. Hold on to the reason why you started your journey and make it count.”

To her sponsors, she says, “Thank you for your contribution to my development as a businessperson. I can position and market my business, even in difficult situations, because I have gained the confidence I need. I know that with the skills I have learned I will make great strides in this industry.”