When he started his business Keaobaka was washing cars and running a restaurant.
Keaobaka Ziggy Seupe is a young entrepreneur from Kuruman in Maruping, Northern Cape of South Africa. He got his start in business in his family business at the age of 10. It was in 1996 when his father lost a job and as a result the family started to face financial challenges for 5 years .This led to his parents opening the fruits and vegetable market in 2001..Keaobaka used to help in the family business after school and on weekends and that’s when his love for business developed. His passion for business led him to choose accounting and economics as his majors at school.to further his studies, Keaobaka studies and obtained N6 in Marker management from Kimberly College.
After finishing his studies, Keaobaka together with Tebogo Ramashe opened a company called frost bite in 2016, but due to unforeseen challenges the two were forced to separate .In 2018 Keaobaka opened his own business called Ziggy’s infinity general trading in Maruping, he first started with a car wash and later expanded his business into few businesses, first a restaurant, secondly selling water with a truck as well as recycling plastics and boxes. Starting business from a scratch can be difficult for many but the success of young businesses is critical to the country’s economy .Today, Maruping is a place of great opportunities for young people and will remains so for as long as Keaobaka’s business continues to grow. Many young people in Kuruman are faced with poverty and unemployment and entrepreneurship can be one of the effective responses to these challenges. With his business, Keaobaka develop innovative solutions to address the needs of his and surrounding communities. When he started his business Keaobaka was washing cars and running a restaurant. He has also came up with meaningful business ideas such selling water to create more jobs for young people.
“Our people do not have access to water and until everyone has access to water supply, people will continue to suffer. So since I have a truck that I can use to transport water, I thought it was a good idea to also sell water to people who do not have water. I am getting this water for free and my prices are not ridiculously high, I charge at a reasonable price, so that I can also make a living as well as compensate those who help me” said Keaobaka.
Recycling does not just help the environment, it also helps with job creation. Among other businesses, keaobaka’s main focus is on recycling, which is his hope to grow his business. Keaobaka has about 5 youths working with him in recycling. His dream is to be a successful business man one day and his secret is working with long and short term goals. “Every year I make myself a long term goal and every month I create short term goals, which help me to achieve my main goal. Being a business owner is not easy as some people may think, I face challenges everyday but I always make sure that I make a better turn over every year”, Keaobaka said.
Keaobaka has advised young people who want to start business, to never take it for granted .That they should always keep it simple, do research before they start and always talk about their businesses as well as listening to what others have to say.“I would like to say to someone who wants to start a business, that don’t let any challenges you faced brings you down to your knees or give up along the journey. Being an entrepreneur involves a lot of risk taking, one gets the chance to make decisions as his own boss and when you work really hard, it pays off. Young people should emphasis creating jobs instead of fighting for jobs”, concluded Keaobaka.
What we learn from this young entrepreneur is that one can change the situation he finds himself in. We wish him all the best and may he continue to create jobs for the unemployed and achieve his dreams.