How Africa News
Letty Ngobeni is from a small village in the Limpopo province of South Africa. She, like many other entrepreneurs, came from a low-income family where her parents struggled to pay her school fees and feed her.
Despite the difficulties she faced as a child, Ngobeni refused to let them define her. She overcame the obstacles, graduated as a teacher, and later became a serial entrepreneur. According to her LinkedIn profile, she specialized in Accounting, Business Economics, Economics, and Organizational Management as a teacher.
Her teaching background gave her an excellent foundation on which to build and grow her own business. Integrico Trading was her first venture (previously known as Nwa Nkomeni Trading). The company specializes in construction and building maintenance, cleaning services, and lawn and garden care.
City Power, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, MTN, Broll, Redifine, the City of Tshwane, Munaca Technologies, and Merseta are among its clients.
Ngobeni also entered the butchery and grocery sectors with the establishment of OBC Vosloorus, which has locations in Midrand and Johannesburg. She also runs a guesthouse called RNB Boutique Guesthouse.
“We are also adding a culinary school, which is called RNB culinary school, accredited by SETA,” she told Forbes Africa about her future plans. She hopes to open the school this year. Her culinary school does not only seek to train chefs but to employ them after training them.
Ngobeni was confronted with COVID-19 at the height of her entrepreneurship, and she, like many other businesses, was not spared. However, thanks to her businesses’ strategic management, she survived the pandemic admirably.
As if COVID-19 wasn’t enough, her retail store has been impacted by rolling blackouts in South Africa. Her profits have suffered as a result of her use of a generator at times.
In discussing her entrepreneurial journey, Ngobeni stated that the most important lesson she has learned thus far is that one should not allow one’s background to define them or their destiny.
“I don’t believe in victims, only victors. Don’t grant poverty the authority to define your destiny. You were made for greatness,” she said. “There is no champion without a fight, the obstacles you face are the stepping stones that are guiding you to your great destiny.”
