Volume 65 December 2026-January 2026 : Business

 

Serefete Ramantsima had a strong desire to run a bee-keeping business. The desire to see himself on his own two feet was so strong it felt like a fire burning deep at the core of his being. Even when he sought employment and got a job as a process controller at Jwaneng’s Debswana mine, the voice within him never really went quiet. It incessantly shredded the threads of his heart, urging him to realise his dream.

When Kutlwano reporters met him at the just-ended agriculture show, he was keen to share the story of his journey into the world of business. He told of how he had always wanted to be his own boss ever since he was a teenager. In 2003, Ramantsima could no longer fight the fierce fire inside him, and thus took the great leap forward by starting up a bee-keeping business. This was despite resentment by critics who held that bee- keeping was too low a project for his great passion for business.

He had better be dreaming of bigger multi-million Pula projects. However, neither amount of persuasion nor any setbacks would derail him from his dream. After all many entrepreneurs started small, he convinced himself. Three years down the line in 2006, as luck would have it, Ramantsima met a like- minded man in Gothatamang Tukisi, a cashier at the Jwaneng Shell fuel station. As Tukisi was already in the bee-keeping business, their relationship took off like a bird.

Unlike the Biblical Abel and Cain, they literally became each other’s keeper, anchoring and supporting each other through thick and thin. Ramantsima and Tukisi did not become business partners though; they decided to work side-by-side with each running his own business. However, Ramantsima says today they are both looking forward to forming a joint venture. This, they believe, will help them grow and move towards commercialising their businesses.    For Ramantsima, having a job is neither destiny nor the story of  “living happily ever after” as one can get retrenched or fired any time. It is running one’s own business that engenders contentment and true satisfaction, he opines.

“Being someone else’s employee provides no security because you can lose your job anytime for whatever reason. It is a good thing to have something to fall back on in case such a disadvantage befalls you,” he notes. He strongly believes that for one to survive the challenges of life, individuals must have something that they are extremely good at that they can rely upon to put bread on the table. Ramantsima is content with the progress his business is making as the demand for his products, which include honey, soap, and lip gloss, is so high. In particular, he is happy with the support his business receives from the community.

“Even the shops want our products; unfortunately we are not in a position to supply them yet because we do not produce much. What’s more, our customers are happy with the quality of our products, and this is pleasing as they constantly give us feedback and we use this to improve our products,” he says. However, troubled by the possibility that his bee-keeping business might clash with his job at the mine, Ramantsima’s strategy has been to build a positive relationship characterised by mutual understanding with his employer. The strategy also involves respecting his employer’s time, while using his own free time effectively. To have come this far with his business, Ramantsima credits the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) for its support.

The mentoring and training LEA offers has ensured that he packages and markets his products professionally. And the awards that he has won from various LEA exhibitions have helped him stay afloat. This year he won P15 000 for being the best agricultural exhibitor at a LEA exhibition. Ramantsima and Tukisi also got funding to the tune of P20 000 from ISPAAD, to buy beekeeping equipment. “They bought us materials and we made our own bee boxes. We started with 50 beehives but right now we have only 45 hives,” he says; attributing the drop to the drought which caused some of the swarms to escape in search of food. The agriculture show was, however, not only for the likes of Ramantsima and Tukisi who have already cut their teeth into the world of business. Wannabe entrepreneurs as well as consumers in search of where they could source agricultural produce also graced the week-long event.

Since it was open to the public, the just-ended agriculture show attracted people from all walks of life. For teachers at Maikano Junior Secondary School in Gaborone, it provided a golden opportunity for their students to see first hand some of the things they learnt about in their agriculture lessons. According to Onthusitse Seadimo, an agriculture teacher at the school, the show came at the right time when Form Three students were preparing for their final examinations.

Seadimo notes that if events of the nature of the show could be held more frequently, their school would benefit greatly as they offer them the opportunity to take their students there at lower costs. He says visiting farms has proved quite costly and with their school lacking enough resources, it had always been difficult to visit farms. As for 15-year-old Moemedi Legae, a student at the school, the show motivated him to embark agriculture even beyond his schooling days. He now sees himself making a career out of agriculture in future. ENDS

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