By: Sizakele Nduli
Lebogang Mashigo from Kwaggafontein in Mpumalanga refused to let the high production costs associated with farming fresh eggs stop her from establishing her business. Instead, she chose to start off small by reselling eggs in 2019. A year later, she took a significant step by officially registering her business, Eggsellent by Lebo. It now includes a laying farm that produces quality eggs from 100% grain-fed Hy-Line Brown hens. “I needed to find a way to start small and build for the future. Producing is high maintenance and it is very expensive. I didn’t have the resources to venture into producing, but I was able to afford starting as a reseller,” Mashigo said.
She told Vutivi News that she found herself in a situation where she had to finance her venture while being unemployed. And at the time, the 33-year-old entrepreneur had to convince people in her community to believe in her product and brand because many of them supported large-scale enterprises. Before she established her poultry business, Mashigo ran the NuBreed Music Institute. It is a non-profit organisation that partners with professional musicians to teach children how to read and write music.
But when she fell pregnant in 2018, she returned home because she needed support from her mother to help raise her child after being in Johannesburg for two years. What started out as a means to keep her busy after she fell into depression, ended up putting food on the table. “Eggsellent wasn’t a choice. Selling eggs was by chance, and when the opportunity presented itself, I went in with all the resources… I had,” the businesswoman said.
Despite only having four full-time employees, Mashigo intends to hire 10 more people once the construction of two poultry layer houses for 15,000 chickens each, is completed. She expects the construction to be completed around October. “I try to give back. Unfortunately, I don’t give people money. I try to transfer knowledge,” she said. “In 2020 I received a R50,000 business grant from the NYDA and other development training. In 2023 we secured the biggest funding which has helped to move us from a small player to a commercial laying farm. And all this was made possible by the department of agriculture in Mpumalanga.”
Since launching Eggsellent by Lebo, Mashigo has witnessed her business grow in leaps and bounds. Among the many successes, was securing a five-year contract for a government department. “You don’t have to always start as a farmer or producer. You can start as a reseller and build a market. While doing that, get a mentor or volunteer at a farm to learn the day-to-day operations and get training. You’ll need to be resilient and persistent to stay in the industry,” she said.
The company has two outlets in KwaMhlanga and outside Phola Mall in Kwaggafontein. It also supplies fresh eggs to boarding schools, individuals, and small businesses like bed and breakfasts, and kota shops in Mpumalanga. However, its primary focus now is on business-to-business sales.
