LIMPOPO – Born and raised in Dopeni village,Venda, Lufuno Hulisani Nengovhela (29), founder and CEO of Vuntsi Shuttle Services (Pty) Ltd, plans to create employment for over one thousand citizens in the province with the aim to empower them as well as provide them with the skills and knowledge required to become their own bosses one day.
This entrepreneur in the passenger transport and tourism sector, says life was easy and smooth as a child as his father and uncles were businessmen and therefore provided for the family.
“I was raised in a family that always had interests in business and they enjoyed being self-employed.
“My father owned a construction company, timber delivery trucks and a mini shop, he is the reason why I decided to venture into this type of business. I also farm, I have goats and grow vegetables which I supply to school feeding schemes and plan to sell to local businesses such as Spar and the likes.
“Failure is the best teacher in business, and the journey to success is through the stairs, not an elevator”
Above all else, my interest in becoming a businessman is mainly to support my mother and my siblings, as life did become rough for us at one point,” he said.
Lufuno says it took him many years to acquire the right team for his business and to get the business off the ground.
They now provide services such as airport transfers, door-to-door services, metered taxi shuttles, monthly shuttle transfers, chauffeur- driven and leisure transfers, scholar transport, limousine hire, tour operators and many more.
He has an office in the CBD and prioritises rendering services that are reliable, convenient, safe and comfortable to all his clients.
“I now laugh when I think how I used to wash our neighbours’ cars to make money for school and lunch, drove an old Toyota Cressida as a taxi after school, and now I own this thriving business, I am my own boss and I work with other reputable businesses.
“I’ve employed about 10 people and plan to grow my business further so that I can create employment opportunities for the people in my community,” he explained.
Lufuno advises anyone looking to follow the same path that he did, to never give up and to believe in their dreams.