Wela Boerdery is 100% black owned farming enterprise founded in 2017 by Ndivhuwo Rambau and Fulufhelo Tshivhula. The company is based in Rondebosch in Makhado local municipality, Limpopo.

Ndivhuwo’s passion for farming started at the very tender age of 9 years old when he started planting tomatoes in his family garden for fun. After his first harvest, he proudly wheeled around his produce in a wheelbarrow in his village which garnered a lot of interest from community members and indicated the potential to make some extra pocket money.

After a number of years studying Agricultural courses and venturing into livestock and crop farming, Ndivhuwo identified a gap in the granadilla pulp market in the local industry. Wela Boerdery planted a successful trial of a hectare of granadillas in 2018 to determine sustainability of climate and conditions which yielded 15 tons of passion fruit and proving the need to diversify their business model.

Seeking an opportunity to grow in their overall business management skills and financial acumen, Ndivhuwo decided to join the Black Umbrellas programme in October 2018.

When asked about how the programme has help his business, Ndivhuwo remarked: “The mentoring we are getting is very helpful by simplifying our activities and helping us to identify and handle potential pitfalls. BU has also linked us to potential funders in order to secure grants and other funding opportunities””

Today, Wela Boerdery is a proud recipient of a R5 million grant from Mintirho Coca Cola Foundation to support for their expansion plans to purchase a bigger farm and establish an agro-processing plant. With Service Lease Agreements (SLAs) in place with the Sir Juice Company, Golden Pine Trading Trust as well as Coca Cola and an estimated harvest of 850 tons of fresh fruit in January 2020 and a further 2000 tons in 2021, Wela Boerdery has all the right ingredients for a winning formula!

Black Umbrellas’ Lephalale incubator is proud of having Wela Boerdery as a client on the full incubation program. The growth prospects for SME clients such as Wela Boerdery continues to inspire our resolve and give credence to the incredible work that our teams are involved in.