Johannesburg – If you have ever questioned the importance of toilet paper, just think about the last time you went to the loo and discovered the person before you did not replace the roll after using the last of it.
This is partly the reason why Shane Malatji (32) started selling and then manufacturing toilet paper through his company, Phumula Toilet Paper, after he was retrenched as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. He also saw a gap in the market when the panic buying of toilet paper caused a shortage at the beginning of lockdown.
Malatji, by his own admission, is very passionate about his chosen line of business.
“Back in 2018, I got a job at a toilet paper manufacturing company, and that is where I fell in love with this manufacturing thing. I got retrenched due to Covid-19,” said Malatji.
Malatji did not wallow in his misery, though; he started buying toilet paper in bulk and selling it to his neighbours in the township of Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
“I started selling toilet paper, [using] a trolley, door-to-door around Alex. I didn't have money at the time, so I would go to the manufacturers and buy from them, then I started selling, one by one, individual rolls of toilet paper,” he said.
Things would change for Malatji after he attended a three-day business summit, hosted by the Alexandra Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Khulisa Social Solutions, an NPO that aims to empower vulnerable children, youth and those who are marginalised, and communities at large.
“Remember, at that time I was doing door-to-door sales, so when I pitched my business idea on the third day, that’s when I got advice on how to go about growing my business,” said Malatji.
Malatji leveraged his relationship with a former colleague, who had worked with him previously at the toilet paper manufacturing company.
‘There was a lady I was working with and she got retrenched as well; luckily for her she got a large sum of money, so she managed to buy herself a toilet paper-making machine.
“So what I'm doing right now, I'm outsourcing because... I don't have my own machine. So I buy my raw material, produce my product, and then go out and sell it,” said Malatji.
Malatji is grateful that he started off by selling the individual rolls door-to-door because – unbeknownst to him at the time – he was already creating a market for himself and his product. His customers are more than happy to continue supporting him.
“I didn't change my price because people are used to that price and they don't have a problem with it,” he said
The savvy township entrepreneur has now set his sights on becoming the main supplier of toilet paper to the schools in and around Alexandra.
“There is a project that I’m currently busy with. I’m approaching local schools… I already have five of them, but it is a project that will start next year when schools reopen… they have agreed to work with me; we just need to sign a contract.
“I'm still looking for more schools and I intend to approach the police stations and clinics that are around here,” said Malatji.
Malatji attributes his entrepreneurial nous to seeing his parents trying their hands at various businesses to make ends meet.
“This thing of business is in my genes. My father was a police officer, but at the same time he was selling meat with his van... he even tried this toilet paper thing as well,” he said.
Malatji has big dreams for the future of his business, but more importantly he wants to help alleviate the impact of unemployment on his community. He hopes to be able to give internships to graduates from a local college in Alexandra.
“I have been unemployed, I know the feeling. Sitting around in the hood doing nothing is something else, brother. You end up with the wrong crew, doing drugs, alcohol and everything.
“So in order for them to not do that, I must give them something to aspire to,” he concludes.
vusi.adonis@inl.co.za
IOL Business
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