DIVERSIFICATION AND EXPANSION EQUALS SURVIVAL

George, Sales and Administration Manager, and Tebogo, Sales Director, share the view that the last two years were a challenge. “It was not that lockdown impacted us, as we were granted permission to trade as an essential service. The lockdown effect on school and many of our clients were the biggest problem” says George. Schools and other educational and learning facilities were closed and as such, sales were impacted.

NFB was established in 1986, so it has a firm history. “Initially the business was created to fill a void in the stationery and paper market in Botswana. From there the business has diversified into ICT as we have noted a trend of digitalisation and soon realised that we would need to evolve the business to stay relevant,” says Tebogo. According to him, their diversification continued as they started to offer a furniture line as well. “We realised that Gaborone in particular, but Botswana as a whole, was undergoing rapid growth in the late 90’s and early 2000’s,” he says. They realised that with growth comes capital and more buildings and all of them would require furnishings, so NFB stepped into that role too.

Diversification and expansion are vital strategies to the survival of any business, according to the two gentlemen. NFB have outlets in Gaborone, Palapye and Francistown, with a satellite branch in the far north in Maun. They also have a 4 500m² warehouse that is capable of stocking and storing 30 000 different stock items. “This is very important to the business as it allows us to always have stock on hand and to very rarely be unable to assist a customer, “says George.

NFB considered themselves fortunate to have clients like the Botswana Government and parastatals as well as financial institutions like banks, all of whom use a lot of stationery and peripherals aside from ICT. “Government is our largest client with revenue being generated through the sales of paper and toners. We supply Mondi paper in Botswana and have seen that HP is the favoured brand for laptops and printers. Dell is more popular with the Parastatals,” explained Tebogo.

According to George, NFB have seen a reduction in the demand for stationery post-Covid and have noted an increase in digitisation. He explained that

Government fortunately still uses a volume that more than makes up for this.

“With our diversification into ICT, we feel confident that we will be able to evolve into a more digital role should the time come where Government goes digital, says Tebogo. He added that NFB would like to see the business grow and to extend their current reach.

To this end, a need for affordable stationery was identified. The Zebra brand, offering affordable stationery, was registered by NFB on 30 May 2014. This was mainly targeted at scholars and students, but unsurprisingly, Government and Parastatals also took great interest. The line is one of their best-selling stationery brands at present and is a staple brand for most households with schoolgoing children.

“Remember, Botswana has a small population of a little over two million, but luckily the vast majority of the people is under the age of 55. Though there are an abundance of consumers in the right age group, and the general GDP of Botswana is such that most people can afford stationery and supplies, there is also an abundance of competition,” George explained. He added that there are many small companies that operate in the stationery and ICT space. “NFB is well established and has been operating for more than three decades, supplying both the private sector as well as Government. We are a company that will deliver, and have a very client-centric approach,” Tebogo added.

George and Tebogo are pleasant, committed and engaging people, and they are fantastic representatives for NFB. Their enthusiasm and drive are contagious. My Office wishes NFB all the success and hope that they will achieve remarkable things in the future. �