A growing office and household furniture manufacturing company is hoping to reach new heights after securing much-needed funding from the National Empowerment Fund (NEF).
Founded by entrepreneur Sibitiwe Pereira in 2019, Ziphiwo Group is situated in Munsieville on Gauteng’s West Rand.
The company produces office, school, and home furniture, with plans to expand into coffin production. Its furniture is manufactured, using solid timbers and veneers in classic and contemporary designs with a timeless element. It also offers interior design through Zipho Interior, providing concept design, mood boards and 3Dimension design along with interior project consultation and management.
Recollecting her journey, Pereira said the business idea presented itself as an opportunity. “We kept receiving office furniture purchase orders and then we decided to just make the furniture ourselves.”
With her background limited to interior decoration and business management, she roped in the service of seven people in the company to make the furniture at her workshop.
“Government wanted to source furniture that is locally manufactured and not imported. You would find that there were cheaper products in the market but it was imported. It got to a point where we had to declare how much of the furniture was locally manufactured. This was the main inspiration.”
While the journey has been rewarding, it was filled with challenges that ranged from COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns to funding.
On the latter, there was a reprieve when receiving funding from the NEF to purchase equipment for furniture manufacturing and to finance working capital.
The mostly self-funded business saw itself surviving through loans from friends and family and savings to fulfil purchase orders.
“Last year we started a journey in which we started applying for funding from the NEF for equipment and machinery. They did assist us with working capital but it wasn’t sufficient, unfortunately.
“We want to become a manufacturer to these big dealers until we grow ourselves. We just want a piece of the pie. We want to move from government tenders to supplying the businesses that get the projects. At least then we’ll become a cash-on-delivery business and we can stay liquid,” she concluded. ¥
For information, visit www.ziphiwogroup.co.za or call 071 092 6134. You can also email: info@ziphiwogroup.co.za or sales@ziphiwogroup.co.za
To get in touch with the NEF, call +27 (11) 305 8000 or email: info@nefcorp.co.za. For general inquiries logon to www.nefcorp.co.za.
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