Nelson Mandela Bay based leather-shoe company named NG footwear by Ncedisa Goniwe is growing to be one of South Africa’s favorite lifestyle brands. We chat to the man behind the brand about the state of his business currently and possible future collaborations.
Ncedisa Goniwe is a Gqeberha born entrepreneur from a township called Veeplaas. He grew up in a home where entrepreneurship was a day-to-day experience until he was involved in a car accident that led him to be in the hospital for about 7 months. After the incident his parents decided that they go back home which is Peddie, trying to move away from busy urban life and the school riots that were popular back then. “I spent better time of my life at Peddie, finishing my lower and high school grades there. My life was better there because of all the activities of the rural setup, stick fighting, looking after livestock, riding horses, playing soccer and rugby", he added.
Before we get to business let’s talk about which brand in Mzansi does it for you? “Without a doubt it has to be Maxhosa. I really admire the journey of this brand and how it has managed to create its niche market".
And from where you standing do you think we can own back the township economy as locals? “Firstly, I think the word township economy need to be unpacked and the society need to be schooled about this term. Secondly, the society should be educated about its benefits and that vision once understood by the society it will create an opportunity for the community to own the term and develop themselves to create services or products that can be consumed by the society. It should be noted that township economy is already existing but it needs to be modernized and not only focus on the traditional business”.
So when did you commence with your shoe business and what inspired you to start? “I started this business last year around June. The idea was started by one shoe, the first step was the design and the business started with only that one shoe. I have always wanted to create a product that talks to lifestyle. The shoes were an ideal commodity because almost every outfit need a shoe”.
What does it take to build a brand from scratch? And what makes NG Goniwe shoes unique? “Starting a business from only the idea is always challenging, because you don’t know how the market is going to respond from your product, and because of the history of SMMEs in South Africa people are skeptical about new brands, especially the brands that are local manufactured and owned by an ordinary black person. What makes it challenging as well it’s the issue of starting a business without the resources and at the same time you want to make or produce a quality product. Starting a business requires a lot of patience, hardworking, positive mindset and energy that has no internal and external limitation. You also need to believe in your product and one of the most important lessons is to be able to communicate with the clients to kill doubts from your customers. NG most competitive advantage is the quality of the product, and the product is made of the local raw material because most of the leather is coming from the cow skin”.
What are your business highlights so far? “NG Footwear highlights so far is that in the space of less than a year we have managed to grow the brand into a national brand. As we speak now, we can safely say in every province in South Africa there is an NG shoe. Another highlight is that the brand is offering variety of products, men’s leather shoes, ladies leather shoes, sneakers, and smart shoes”.
Who or which company you would be interested to collaborate with in future and why that person/company? “The company will love to partner with corporate companies especially in the automotive sector. Also it will be great to work with the local established company like MaXhosa, because it is a company that has work a similar journey starting from the humble beginnings. Meeting the owner of this great Maxhosa Laduma Ngxokolo will add value to our brand. I think it’s worth mentioning that currently the most important collaboration comes from people that have bought the shoes, and people that are continually sharing the products in their WhatsApp status and other social media platforms”.
When not working on your brand, what do you do to keep sane? “All I do when I am not directly involved in production is providing excellent customer service, whether in person or via social media”.