Makhathini found a niche in making money out of waste

KHETHUKUTHULA XULU khethukuthula.xulu@inl.co.za

FINDING a niche market and sticking with it has proved to be the winning formula for Makhathini Medical Waste.

Founder and managing director Bonginkosi Makhathini said the idea for the medical-waste firm came about as he initially had a transport company which transported human specimens collected in clinics and hospitals to laboratories in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN).

Makhathini said after being in the collecting and transporting space for a while, he asked himself: “What happens to the human specimens after they are tested in the lab?”, and that is when Makhathini Medical Waste was born.

The waste management business is based in Cato Ridge. The firm also launched a new medical-waste treatment facility earlier this year, and has a fleet of over 120 bakkies and trucks operating in KZN and Gauteng,

Makhathini said he grew up with an entrepreneurial mindset as his father owned and ran a general dealership in Mafakatini, outside Pietermaritzburg.

“I grew up always wanting to become an entrepreneur, but after studying business administration I went to work in the banking sector before starting my first business.”

He said he left the sector to open a liquor store in Msinga at the age of 25, which failed.

He said he lost everything, even his family home when the business failed, as he had used it as collateral when he obtained a loan to start up.

“After losing everything, I took a break from business and applied for a job and was hired as a clerk, which gave me an opportunity to clear my head and think of ways to gain it all back.”

That was when Makhathini started his logistics company, NNK Logistics, which grew to become the wastemanagement firm it is today.

The 52-year-old said the medicalwaste industry was not an easy one to get into as there was not a lot of transformation in the industry.

He added that even now he felt that black people were still not well represented in the space.

Makhathini also attributed the lack of representation to the fact that black people sometimes fail to find a niche or target unique markets.

“I believe that in most cases, black people follow a trend when going into business, they invest in what everyone else is doing, which may overpopulate certain fields, and that may put them at a disadvantage.

“I encourage black people to enter the business space but especially to find their niche markets.”

Makhathini said his trick to staying successful was to focus on one thing at a time before venturing into other things, and also being hands-on.

“On top of being hands-on, every entrepreneur must believe in their product and invest in their business, first by ploughing profits into growing the business.

“Minimise your costs to maximise your profits,” he said.

The businessman emphasised that failing was also vital to succeeding in business, as it was the only way to learn.

“If my liquor store business had succeeded, I wouldn’t have learnt or grown to be the businessman I am today, and I wouldn’t have heeded the call from God to start this business.”

BONGINKOSI Makhathini, founder and owner of Makhathini Medical Waste in Cato Ridge. | DOCTOR NGCOBO African News Agency (ANA)

5 TIPS FOR ENTREPRENEURS

Makhathini offered the following advice for budding entrepreneurs:

◆ Do something that excites you

◆ Start small – you do not need to get funding if you start small

◆ Have a vision and plan. This 5- to 10-year plan must be written down

◆ Make God the centre of your business

◆ Pay yourself a salary