#WIB-Q&A With Nomandla Ngcoya Founder Of D Chem Group -

1. Can you please tell us more about your business?

A. D Chem Group is a diversified chemical manufacturing company based in Pietermaritzburg. It distinguishes itself in the market place through the production of innovative products that are in high demand in daily life.

We have focused on the manufacturing of detergents since 2017 and we manufacture 23 products in total which includes household detergents, industrial detergents, laundry detergents, automotive products, air fresheners, and sanitizers. In 2019 we went into manufacturing perfumes and body butters. We also work with traditional healers to refine and repackage traditional medicine. The founder Miss Nomandla Ngcoya is an acclaimed black chemist having featured in the Mail and Guardian Top 200 young South Africans (Science and Technology) in 2016.

2. When, how and why did you start your business?

A. I grew up in a rural area called Hlabeni in Bulwer. In Hlabeni we used the green bar soap for everything. We used it for cleaning the floor, washing dishes, washing clothes and bathing. Sometimes when you cannot find the soap used for washing dishes you would just take the one for bathing and use it. I thought this was very unhygienic and in 2016 when I was halfway through my masters, I wanted to give back to my community by improving their sanitation needs by providing them with affordable products without them having to sacrifice quality.

I am proud to say that although I have not developed a washing powder and bathing soap many have the dishwashing liquid and floor detergents in their households. I started the company in 2016 with my stipend that I was getting for demonstrating at UKZN (helping first-year chemistry students with their practicals). The company was officially registered as D Chem Group in April 2017.

3. What is your role in the business?

A. I am the CEO and founder of the company. I am also the one doing the blends for the company.

4. Where did you study and what did you study?

A. I studied at the University of Kwazulu-Natal (UKZN). I did a BSC. In Chemistry and chemical technology, Honours in Chemistry, Masters in Medicinal chemistry and I am currently doing a Ph.D. in Medicinal and natural product chemistry.

5. How did you finance your business?

A. In 2016 I had a part-time job at UKZN which was paying me R1200 per month. I used the R1200 to make my initial stock. I started with making dishwashing liquid only. In 2017 I invested R50000 from my Ph.D. scholarship. We attracted private investors in 2020. SEDA also assisted us with paying for barcodes for our products.

6. Describe your average workday, if such a thing exists.

A. My day starts just before 8:00am. My biggest wish after not having to check the price tag when I shop was not setting an alarm so I wake up when I run out sleep. I know they say “the earliest bird catches the worm” but I say “the only bird that does not catch the worm is the bird that does not wake up at all”. When I do run out of sleep, I have to start with going to school to start an experiment in the lab because we do experimental work as part of PhD. I leave the reaction to run and then I go to work around 10:00-11:00am. At work I do blends for the different detergents (it depends on the production plan for the day) and then I approach more supermarkets or retailers trying to get more deals to supply them.

That part of the day is filled with many “No’s’ or “we have too many detergents on the shelves” but the few yeses are the ones that matter the most and they keep me going. After that, I go back to school to work-up my reactions and I process data I received for the experiments I ran the previous day. After that, I go home and respond to emails and I try to write at least 2 pages of my Ph.D. thesis.

7. How do you balance your home life and your work life?

A. I think I am very far from balancing my work and home life. My home life is suffering, sometimes I see my mom when she starts complaining that she has not seen me for weeks and she lives 15 minutes away from where I live. I spend like 12-15 hours of my day at work.

8. What drives you and inspires you?

A. I am driven by my wish to give back to my community by improving their health and sanitation needs by providing them with affordable and good quality detergents and cosmetics. I am also driven by my love of independence and fear of mediocrity. I am inspired by people like Dr. Judy Dlamini who is a medical doctor by profession and an entrepreneur by choice.

9. Where and when do you have your best ideas?

A. I get my best ideas at home between 20:00pm and 03:00am.

10. Where and how do you market/advertise your business for sales leads?

A. We do mall promotions where we bring products and have a setup with some banners. We do demos and allow people to test the products. We also do social media marketing and we promote our posts on Facebook and Instagram. We also advertise on newsletters and we do email marketing. We also do ads in newspapers.

11. What is next for your business?

A. In December 2020 we made it into one of the local Spars and two weeks back we made it into another Spar. This year we will be putting more effort into our Spar sales with the hope that we can be listed by Spar at national level so we can have our products all over South Africa. We will also be branching into the hair industry with a conditioner, conditioning lotion for dry hair, and conditioning shampoo.

12. What advice would you give to female entrepreneurs hoping to start their own business?

Most entrepreneurs struggle with finding funding, whether they are female or male. If you are a female you will meet people who make you feel like you will not get funding unless you offer your looks or body. No, we all struggled with finding funding and please don’t allow anybody to bring you down to that level. I also didn’t get funding until the business was in its 4^th year and I never gave up on finding funding because I believe that it is easy to fund a moving car than a still car. Get moving and funding will find you on your way up, nobody expects you to build an empire in a day.

My banker once asked me to sell my car to fund the expansion of the business and I was like “are you mad?” and he asked me if he was mad since I wanted him to put money into my business that I am not willing to put my money in. He said me not wanting to put my money into the business means I do not believe in myself and what I wanted to do. The lesson I got from this is is that you have to put your money into your business to show potential investors that you believe in yourself and what you are doing, you are even willing to risk your own money.

That is how you get them to trust you with their money. Secondly, most women are always looking for men who oppress women. As women, we suppress each other more than men try to oppress us by thinking other women are our competition but in reality when another woman wins all women win. Be on a lookout for such women and most importantly don’t become that woman who suppresses other women especially when you are at the top.

Lastly, back then women were not allowed to attend community meetings but their husbands spoke to them about what was going on in community meetings. Women would give their opinions about what was discussed by their husbands and their husbands would go back to the meetings and share ideas given by the wives but they didn’t say it was from the wives.

The fact that they were not allowed to attend meetings showed that men have always known that we have great potential which is why women were suppressed by men for a long because they feared the fire that burns inside us therefore I would like to ask “my fellow women do not suppress yourselves by not believing in yourselves. Release all the power that you possess into the universe and the universe will reward you.”

Short-bio:

Miss Nomandla Ngcoya (27) is an acclaimed Black Chemist having featured in the Mail and Guardians Top 200 young South Africans(Science and Technology) in 2016. She is the founder of D Chem Group which is a detergent and cosmetic manufacturing company. We also refine and repackage traditional medicine. A Chemist at Ph.D. level, Ms. Ngcoya possesses the necessary business acumen and skills to operate a business of this complexity. She was also the only female who has made it into the top 5 for the KZN Ithala bank Inkunzi isematholeni youth in business competition in the last 5 years.