Armed with a BTech degree in logistics management, Siphokazi Matsha made her dreams come true when she established her own company, Go Girl Logistics.
Matsha, from Mdantsane in Eastern Cape, used her savings to establish Go Girl Logistics, which is based in Randburg in north of Johannesburg.
The business was established in 2018, after she spent several years in the logistics industry where she learnt the ropes. Go Girl Logistics is a 100% black female-owned business with a proud mandate to empower women within the sector and to build a successful company through hiring, training and offering leadership programmes to women, helping them to thrive.
It was not a walk in the park to get to where she is today. “My first role was to become a Go Girl driver, and this was a huge challenge in the beginning as I had to make sure that I always arrive on time to gain credibility.
“It took me time to understand and get to know the short cuts and how to beat traffic as a driver. I also had to do route planning, which helps to save time,” she said.
Matsha also said that in any kind of business you embark on, you need to be unique.
“There are a lot of courier companies around the world, therefore I needed to find our unique approach because you do not want to be a copy-and-paste kind of a business.
“Once you have a business model that works for you and your clients, all else will fall in place and you will see progress and reach your ultimate goal and succeed.”
The company now employs seven women and three men.
Go Girl Logistics provides services such as international container shipping services, chilled and frozen goods supply, medical equipment transportation, pharmaceutical and medical distribution, inter-office mail and records delivery, among others.
“We work with women who are goal-driven and who love what they do and do it so well.
“The plan is to have a footprint all over the country and to create more jobs for young women and the youth as a whole, should they have a passion for the logistic industry. We also outsource services from outside our business and we mainly acquire women in that regard to do the work,” said Matsha.
Matsha said she saw a gap in the logistics industry as there are only a few black females who own logistics companies.
“Through my experience and working for other companies for 15 years, I noticed that there were few female logistics owners and it felt important to establish a business that will include other women. What stood out for me was that there were just a lot of men in these companies. It is even worse when it comes to managerial positions. Women were, and to some extent in the present day are still not considered for top positions in the industry,” she said.
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