Impact Partner Content - Absa
Exciting things are happening in South Africa’s winelands with a new generation of entrepreneurs making great wines for the local and global market place and building new brands to watch. Ses’fikile Wines, founded by Nondumiso Pikashe, is one brand making a name for itself and winning fans both locally and abroad.
Ses’fikile Wines is one of the 117 companies showcased at the Absa Lionesses Xpo. Lioness Weekender chatted to its founder, Nondumiso Pikashe, a passionate wine brand creator about her entrepreneurial journey and vision for the future.
What does your company do?
Ses’fikile is an IsiXhosa concept which means "we have arrived.” This celebratory phrase narrates a journey which is continuous. It is a story characterized by trials and tribulations yet looks positively to the future. This is a story of a teacher who got into the wine industry with her entrepreneurial spirit. Ses’fikile wines borrows from this background. We produce wines under the Ses’fikile and Matriarch labels. Our wines are for both the domestic and export markets. We collaborate with distributors for ease of access to markets. Our target market is LSM 6-10 with channels being hotels chains, restaurants and event management companies. We also cater for intimate groups for private wine tastings and food pairings. We are looking for partners to expose young people from the townships to career paths in the obscure wine industry and inversely educate them about alcohol abuse.
What inspired you to start your company?
My Grandfather raised my mother and her siblings through his struggling business in the early 30s in Langa, Cape Town. I was drawn to the wine business in particular because of its mystery. My curiosity and what I discovered made me not look back.
"Ses’fikile means ‘we have arrived’. These three words are built on a foundation of personal and communal struggle, yet they also look forward positively, with the hope of a better future."
Why should anyone use your service or product?
It begins with its name `Ses’fikile`, it is breaking down barriers and while at it, bringing people together across all spectrums. Wine is a traditionally white male French inclined and middle class terrain. My entrepreneurial story, from teaching to wine, is a draw card and inspires confidence and aspirations to many. Ses’fikile produces rare find blends using under-utilized grape varietals.
Tell us a little about your team
We are a team of marketers, viticulturists, oenologists as well as bottlers under one roof. We create a logistical arrangement that results in a beautifully crafted Ses’fikile product.
"We are a bunch of people with enthusiasm, passion and adventure. Knowledge and expertise form the basis of enterprise. We are driven by partnerships and collaborations and the continued sense of curiosity."
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To have a home for Ses’fikile Wines in the middle of the Cape Winelands where most of the Ses’fikile wine activities would take place. I foresee Ses’fikile working with school dropouts from local townships as wine ambassadors, thereby opening up the wine space in a meaningful way.
What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?
Meeting and learning from new people.
"The wines of Ses’fikile aim to sparkle with the mysterious allure of adventure and trumpet the African Renaissance."
What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?
Be open minded.
Contact or follow Ses’fikile Wines
WEBSITE | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | EMAIL sesfikile@gmail.com
* This story was originally published in 2017 and has since been updated.
