A prominent local businessman, Ishmael Nshakazhogwe has advised young entrepreneurs not to be afraid of failure when doing business, saying failure will provide them with an opportunity to learn from their mistakes and improve on their weaknesses.
Speaking during a youth empowerment event held in Butale village in the North East District last week, Nshakazhogwe said if the youth aspire to be successful entrepreneurs, they should be ready for challenges that come with entrepreneurship.
“Mistakes are proof that you are trying, without making a mistake you would never know your weaknesses. A smooth road never teaches you anything. Business without challenges never hardens you,” he said.
Nshakazhogwe is the Managing Director of Zambezi Group of Companies, a successful local business. He praised government for coming up with a number of financial assistance institutions such as CEDA, National Development Bank (NDB), Botswana Development Corporation (BDC) and Local Enterprise Authority (LEA). He urged the youth to take advantage of the services offered by these organizations to start businesses and create a bright future for themselves.
“Idleness, laziness, irresponsibility, bad company, excessive alcohol intake, lack of adherence to parents advice and drug addiction breeds poverty and brings unnecessary suffering not only to you but to those associated with you,” he said. He added that Botswana is highly considerate in terms of supporting, empowering, assisting the youth and even the transferring skills to ensure sustainability and growth of the economy.
“I want to encourage the youth who have not yet ventured into entrepreneurship to do so. Entrepreneurship can start at any age. One should have passion to do business. Passion never fails. There is no minimum age of starting a business, however you need to be at least 18 years to sign contracts and legal documents,” said Nshakazhogwe.
Touching on his success as a businessman, Nshakazhogwe said he is a businessman who has remained afloat for many years despite many challenges. He further said that he was inspired by his parents who were hard workers.
“I was not born a businessman; I did not know I was going to be a businessman until I witnessed the struggle, agony and pain my parents went through as they tried to make ends meet in order to bring food to the table every day. This inspired me to start my own business and work even harder,” he said.
The Youth Empowerment event was held in order to empower youth with business skills. The event was attended by young entrepreneurs from different villages in the North East District.
