Hulisani Neswiswi — Showing how to land softly in unchartered territory
When Hulisani was getting her industrial psychology degree at Wits University, she found an interesting way to fund her education. She started a soup business with two of her friends, shelling out soya dishes to students, just to get money to pay her fees. The business failed miserably.
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She has been profiled as one of South Africa’s most influential women in business and government, and has recently turned down a tempting offer to sell part of her young company for millions of United States dollars. That decision can be described as true to form.
Ask her advice for upcoming entrepreneurs and her first words are sure to implore them to be very patient, give their businesses time to grow into significant value, before letting a part of it go, no matter the fee. Likely, that conditioning comes from the potential she has seen for businesses across the continent.
Understanding the African terrain
After graduating from Wits University, she got a job at a leading financial services firm, initially to raise money to pay off some student debts. The job did more than that: it took her around Africa, giving her a chance to see the inner workings of business and government in different countries.
Years later, she would build her international trade services business, Loranico Group, on that experience, and the ambition it afforded her. In simple terms, her business now is to open doors for other businesses.
The road from a failed soup seller to here passes through Wits University. In retrospect, she is reliving a past life of sorts. Back at Wits, she was a very active member of student politics, using her influence to open doors for other less fortunate students. You would find her leading strike actions or demonstrations to press cases for students who couldn’t afford to pay fees, or couldn’t access suitable accommodation. She did that very well, enough to ensure a fast rise through the ranks.
On the flip side, it was enough to bring her to an important realisation: “I became quite jaded and frustrated. I felt as though politicians are at the mercy of those who own the financial resources to put the desired changes into effect” she recalls.
Politics and business
She promptly resigned from all her positions within the university and regional political structures. ”The change I wanted to see in our world will only happen when those who want to build a better world actually do the work, make the money and institute better systems. Politics and the business world should have a systemically harmonious and unified relationship because the aims should be the same; economic development,” she explained.
“Right now the relationship is predatory from both sides of the spectrum and thus most economies in Africa have a very stunted growth. We should be doing so much better, and structurally we are poised to do so much better but we lack the leadership and patience on both sides to make that great ‘African economic emancipation’ happen”.
That relationship is what Loranico spends part of its time and resources doing. It has offices in South Africa, Uganda and the United States, doing work for clients in several more countries. A Ghana office is imminent. For businesses with a global focus, Loranico provides products and services to reduce the risk of trading internationally.
There’s a global sales office for businesses who want their products in front of distributors and buyers in key markets. There’s the Market Entry and Intelligence Report offering for companies that seek a soft landing in a new market. There are partnerships with governments, to lessen the burden of bureaucracy. Loranico, in addition, produces premium publications that offer good information for businesses entering new markets.
To do something well enough, the popular sentiment is that one must like it. To help businesses build global operations, Hulisani herself came from an attachment to a global focus. In fact, it has just cost her an expensive process, both in relationships and finances. She has had to split from her previous business partners in an earlier venture, just so she could direct the vision and focus of her new company towards international trade. It was a messy split, but one she considers to be totally worth it.
Scaling traditional barriers
Well, going through that and the resultant pressure wasn’t unknown territory for her. Being a woman running a business in South Africa, she has borne a lot of pressure, some of which are down to tradition.
She’s gone through that unfazed, successfully brushing them aside and following on an educational drive to demystify the possibilities of international trade for businesses of all sizes. She leads workshops and information sessions in different parts of the world, showing businesses how global growth can be achieved at minimal risk.
But what is the risk for herself? “A smile and a little bit of attitude,” she laughs out.
