Cheetah behind sprint couriers
Source : Kutlwano
Author : Ludo Chube
Location : Gaborone
Event : Interview
Those who know a thing or two about cheetahs recognize the fact that they are built for speed besides being a symbol of focus. Cheetahs are described as the fastest animals on earth. They are shrewd in nature, fearless and fierce. That is the symbol on the logo of Sprint Couriers, a citizen owned Courier Company cofounded by two Batswana women. When former colleagues, Pinkie Setlalekgosi and Michelle Gabriel coincidentally met at a coffee outlet at Molapo Crossing six years ago, they casually spoke about going into business together.
Chances are that none of them could ever have fathomed the extent to which such would become a reality. Perhaps Gabriel did. Three days later she called Setlalekgosi to inform her that she had registered their company and wanted them to launch it in a month’s time. It suddenly dawned on Setlalekgosi that meant “serious business.” By then she was only 10 months into her job as African Express general manager.
The new venture sounded mouthwatering. She resigned immediately and joined Gabriel in establishing what she says is the only courier company co-owned by women in the whole of Africa. “This is a man’s industry, they aren’t a lot of women who are into it, so we are one of a kind,” she shares in an interview with Kutlwano at her home in Block 7. That cheetah on the company’s logo might as well be a graphic representation of Pinkie Setlalekgosi’s character because she is fearless as a businesswoman, shrewd in her dealings and fast in her thinking.
Outtoafrica website says of a cheetah’s hunting tactics: “The cheetah gets as close to the prey as possible, then in a burst of speed tries to outrun its quarry. Once the cheetah closes in, it knocks the prey to the ground with its paws and suffocates the animal with a little bite to the neck.”
That is how Setlalekgosi entered the local courier market. She went straight for the jugular and it paid off. Hardly 10 months after launching their business, Setlalekgosi and her partner Gabriel started generating profits, something that is totally unheard of for a nascent company.
They currently enjoy a lion’s share of 70 per cent of the local courier market, she reveals. Twenty-seven years, it has been for Setlalekgosi in the courier world. She has worked for some of the industry’s big players notably DHL and Botswana Couriers, and beat them at their own game.
Her secret? Passion. “I am passionate about everything that I do. The nature of my business is one that I love so much. I can’t even sleep when there is work to be done, when there are orders to be delivered,” she quips animatedly as she chats about her job. Born in Mookane, Setlalekgosi grew up believing in herself.
She knew she did not want “go sotlega.” After completing her Cambridge at Materspei College she was not admitted at any university. “Ga ke a tsena university but I have a Degree in common sense,” she says with a straight face. Her failure to go to university did not dampen her spirit. Instead she enrolled for short courses such as typing and sales.
Setlalekgosi’s career began as a receptionist with Gaborone Sun at the age of 24 in 1977. She worked for three years before joining Avis as sales executive. Four years later she landed her first job in the courier industry at DHL. This marked the beginning of a career she would fall deeply in love with. “As operations manager at DHL, I got international exposure. I worked in New York for a month and another six months in the UK.” She was with DHL for 13 years before leaving for Botswana Couriers in 2001. At that time, she says she was full of youthful exuberance and worked tirelessly for the organisation. “I was the first general manager for Botswana Couriers,” she reveals. Gabriel and Setlalekgosi once worked together at DHL.
When they launched Sprint Couriers Setlalekgosi says there was a lot of work to do - they had to hire staff, buy uniforms, look for offices and most importantly look for new clients. “Every morning Michelle and I would cover different parts of Gaborone going to companies looking for business, we’d meet at lunch time and Michelle would take care of the financial part of things while I focused on operations.
We worked 12 to 13 hours a day,” she recalls. Those were tough times according to Setlalekgosi because even though she had the experience, people still regarded her as an amateur. However, her experience saw her win over more clients. Soon business started booming as more customers began to recognise their fortitude and valour. “I have never been afraid of anybody, not even my fellow competitors because I believe in myself. My partner is also somebody who believes in herself,” she declares boldly.
One of the virtues Setlalekgosi swears by is timeliness. In the courier industry it seems timeliness is what keeps one in business. Part of the reason the media hardly ever gets hold of her, she says, is that she is very particular about time and does not entertain late coming. Her normal day starts around 4am and she usually reports for duty around 5:30am or 6am depending on how much work needs to be done.
The nature of her business dictates that some packages or mail must be delivered to customers at the beginning of business at around 7am. Therefore, she makes sure that without fail this is done. Though she would not reveal how much she is worth monetarily during our interview, it seems money is not an object of her desires. “My life is not about money, my life is about passion.
Even at home, my family knows that I want things done in a particular way and done at the right time,” the self proclaimed perfectionist shares.
“Ga ke utlwane le bo ke lebetse, bo ga keitsi, bo ga senna, bo ke lapile, I have no room for lazy people In fact I have a phobia for laziness.” That would explain why Setlalekgosi is always hands-on as a commercial manager. “I am not the kind of manager that gets told about problems. I identify them myself. I am always aware of what is happening within the company at all times,” she asserts strongly.
Setlalekgosi finds her drive from her love for people. She refers to herself as a people’s person and believes that everyone has something to offer, that one can learn something from anyone, be it a cleaner or a driver. The businesswoman gives credit to her late mother for her mentorship to be the thorough, hard working and diligent person she is today. “I work in orderliness and discipline. That is how I even manage my own family.
There has to be order and things must be done when they need to be done,” states Setlalekgosi.So passionate is she that when her sons got married she was the one who planned and organised their weddings. Setlalekgosi planned way in advance what she would be doing and when. “Ga ke motho wa last minute,” shares the proud mother of three boys. She will be playing wedding planner once more when he last-born son gets married next month. “I never send anyone to do anything for me. Ga nke ke roma. If a customer calls me for service,
I don’t send anyone to attend the customer on my behalf. I get up and do it. My belief is that everyone should ask themselves when they wake up in the morning why they are doing so. What do you want to achieve that day?” Setlalekgosi runs the business more like her family - a firm hand.
Her management approach is not being a boss but a parent as well. “Ga go iterelelwe hela mo Sprint Couriers, ebile ga go iterelelwe mo game, I don’t entertain disorder,” she says loudly to emphasise her point. With a staff complement of 128 in Botswana, Sprint Couriers is the first company to employ women drivers in the couriers industry, according to Setlalekgosi. “I believe a lot in women, I have eight of them employed as drivers who work around Gaborone and neighbouring areas.
However I am grooming two of them to start working night shifts because women are much more cautious and more responsible than men.”It comes as no surprise that Setlalekgosi has no plans of retiring anytime soon and it is easy to see why. She has way too much life flowing through her.
Amazingly, though she exudes youthful energy and drive. She reveals she has not worked out in the past five years. It is the running around at work that keeps her physically fit, she quips. Setlalekgosi functions with the energy of a 20 something year old yet she is in her 50s and moreover a grandmother to seven grand children.
That is her first passion - family. And by family she refers to her immediate and extended family and perhaps Gabriel, her business partner come-sister. She warns that if anyone touches her family, then there will be war. It is an asset she will jealously guard with her life if needs be.
During the interview it becomes apparent that Gabriel is more than just Setlalekgosi’s business partner. She is also her sister and best friend. She speaks fondly of someone whom she has come to rely on for almost everything. “Michelle and I have a very special bond.
When we travel we share a room together!” she continues “Our mothers advised us not to bring a third person into our lives. We have one goal - to be the most successful businesswomen this country has ever seen.” She hails her as a very intelligent woman who is excellent with crunching numbers. That part of the business she does not have to worry about as Gabriel is the financial brains behind the company. She even credits her for managing her (Setlalekgosi’s) personal finances. But even the composed and powerful Setlalekgosi has had her fair share of ups and downs in life. She recalls the lowest moment in her life as the day she resigned from Botswana Couriers.
The tone of her voice suddenly changes, as she seems to be travelling back in time re-living that moment all over again. “I felt there were personal issues surrounding my resignation. Some people wanted to bring me down for reasons best known to them. I remember lying on my couch, crying and wondering why they were doing this to me. That was my lowest moment at which point I finally woke up one morning and wrote the resignation letter,” she says with a very soft voice.
That resignation opened doors for her elevation given she was immediately snatched by a rival company, African Express, giving her the top post of general manager. She brought in a lot of changes, reviewing employees’ salaries and restoring order and discipline in the company. However, her stay there was brief as on November 11, 2006 hers and Gabriel’s company took off. A few months down the line, African Express closed shop. Setlalekgosi’s stay had been a short-lived 10 months.
The one thing people may not be aware of? “People think gore ke bogale but they don’t know that behind facade is a good heart. I just want things to be done the way they are supposed to be done. Mathata ke gore Batswana ga ba rate go kgalemelwa.” Currently Sprint Couriers has offices in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa and plans are to expanding to Zambia.
Teaser:
"I work in orderliness and disciopline. That is how i even manage tomy own family. There has to be order and things muct be done when they need to be done!"
