Farirai Nandipa Mabodza is a 36 years old events professional from Gweru. She is a wife and mother of three, the owner of Farirai Nandipa Events (Pvt) Ltd and the founder of Institute of Events Professionals in Zimbabwe. We reached out to Farirai to find out more about her entrepreneurial journey.
Tell us more about your journey to starting your events company.
I’ve always loved weddings from an early age, so as soon as I got a chance, I went to South Africa just after completing my business management degree from Midlands State University.
One day during a random conversation, a lady I was serving at a restaurant asked me what I really wanted to do, and I told her I wanted to be an events planner. Her advice was ‘No one will ever teach you what they know. You need to learn as much as you can from various areas to do with events.’
At the time, I was waitressing, so she said I was on the right path. So from there, I learnt mostly about the food and beverage side of things. I was fortunate to meet people who believed in what I wanted to do, one of whom was Marina Topalo, owner of the Bridal Room in Brooklyn, Pretoria. I worked with her for about 2.5 years, firstly as her bookkeeper then as a bridal consultant. Through her, I was introduced to Enzoani and Mori Lee Africa distributors and started Nandie’s Couture Weddings in 2011.
I moved back to Zimbabwe, and because I had been working with the two brands in SA, I was offered a distributor agreement. I didn’t have capital to stock, but one bride believed in me and ordered a Mori Lee gown. I delivered her dress in Mutare and that was the beginning of a bridal business. With the one dress and catalogues from HQ, I opened a small boutique in Avondale West. We specialized in bespoke wedding gowns and I always made sure I delivered on my promise. After a while, China happened, and we had to close the bridal side of business.
I was now back in Gweru, and since gowns were not moving anymore, I thought, ‘Let me start baking.’ So I started Cakes by Nandie in 2014. Nandie’s Couture Weddings was also operating, but now we also did catering. In 2016, I decided to consolidate the two and operate under one name, Farirai Nandipa Events, where we were now doing bridal wear, stationery, catering, cakes and event planning.
What motivated you to begin this journey?
Wanting to be my own boss and realizing that I can earn a living doing something that I love doing.
What are the challenges you faced starting up?
I have been fortunate in that I have a supportive family who are my number one cheerleaders. Some challenges included:
- Access to finance. At the time, rates were not favourable, so I’d end up getting loans with microfinance companies. We hear that there are favourable loans and funding for women businesses, but accessing them is a nightmare. You just give up and end up going to microfinancing guys, which I learnt never to do again.
- Our economy stifles growth. You mostly work from hand to mouth. There is little room for really growing the way you want.
- Access to information. You really have to dig deep to get the information you need.
- Companies want to deal with registered individuals. In the beginning, because I wasn’t registered, I’d partner with others. As a result, I’d give up a big percent of the job.
What keeps you going on tough days?
God gave me a gift for a reason. With it I can make someone’s day memorable. If I give up, I’d be wasting an opportunity to touch someone’s life with the gift I was given.
My family. When my son sees I’m under pressure, he sometimes sits with me while I’m working.
What is your advice to young women who want to venture into the world of business?
- You only need one person to believe in your dream. I started a bridal wear collection with one dress because someone believed I could deliver her dress. I started the cakes business because one person believed I could bake their cake how they wanted it. From it all I took every experience as a learning platform and grew from that. Try to learn something from every encounter you have.
- Search deep within and find your purpose, your area, your niche. Align it with God’s plan for you, and everything will fall into place.
- Never give up, remain focused and know why you started in the first place. Above all do it for yourself, not for the next person.
- Try as much as you can to avoid borrowing to start.
You can see more of Farirai via:
Facebook: @farirainandipaevents
: @eventsproszw
Website: www.iepz.org.zw
