South African multi-award-winning entrepreneur and founder of Bathu, Theo Baloyi says the biggest motivation behind establishing the sneaker brand was to drive inclusivity through a business that would create jobs and improve his community.
Baloyi disclosed this when delivering his keynote address at the Standard Bank Eswatini Luju Festival and Enterprise Banking Business Round table.
The highly decorated entrepreneur notes that his motivation has always been to create a business that can employ people thereby reducing unemployment.
The South African entrepreneur detailed his story noting that his ambition to build a business coincided with his love for sneakers.
“I recall at one point looking at my sneaker collection and thinking to myself I love my sneakers but there was no soul as I could not relate to them. And most importantly, I thought to myself, if I love sneakers so much, why not start a sneaker business?”
The Bathu founder further disclosed the other pressing issue which is close to his heart and one he could not run away from.
“While my career was taking off working for PwC in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) I would always be saddened whenever I came back home and noticed that most of my peers were unemployed. Most of them had lost hope in life.”
He further states that his dream was to ignite hope among young people in a dignified way.
He said the worst part is that there is a strong misconception that young black people do not want to work or lack ambition.
“The assumption that young black people do not work or are lazy, is heavily misguided. I implore people to go into townships and have conversations with young people to at least get an idea of what is happening on the ground. The reality is that there are no opportunities. There are no jobs, no bursaries, and sadly these are daily realities. It is, therefore, incumbent upon us, the ones with access to opportunities to pay it forward.”
Baloyi notes that when you dig deeper you then realize that most young black people aren’t lazy, but are starved of opportunities.
He acknowledged that quitting his job was a tough decision but he had to follow and listen to his intuition. He urged EmaSwati to listen and follow their intuition, which is something he also battled with.
“I must confess I also avoided listening to my intuition but it got to a point when I could not run away from it. It kept on whispering to me that I had to move the needle forward, I had to punch above my weight.”
Fortunately, trusting his intuition paid off as Bathu is thriving today. Theo reveals that they have opened more than 35 stores and employed more than 400 people.
”I am pleased to say that as it stands, we employ more than 400 people which is a dream come true. This speaks to our mission and vision which is to create an African shoe brand that people on the continent can affiliate with, and mostly importantly, employ hundreds of people.”
Baloyi observed that the most significant achievement in the Bathu story is the fact that hundreds of South Africans were able to achieve their dreams through the business.
“My proudest moment is that through Bathu people have progressed in their lives. For instance, we have people that started out as drivers who are now store managers, employees who bought their first cars through the brand, others who have purchased homes, and others generally financially helping out at home.”
He concluded by encouraging entrepreneurs in the continent to ensure that they build companies that are sustainable and impactful in the communities they reside in or grew up in.