From General Store to Fuel Empire: The Inspiring Journey of Ha Seotsanyana with Mr. Janmahomed Suleman
Mr. Janmahomed Suleman’s journey from a family-run general store to becoming a leading fuel supplier in Lesotho is a testament to resilience and determination. Starting in the 1980s, the business began with small fuel sales at the family store. After overcoming civil unrest in 1991, the business was revived with branding and later transitioned into the fuel industry. With a single old pump, Ha Seotsanyana grew steadily, eventually expanding to seven gas stations. Today, the company prides itself on being a proudly Lesotho-based business, leading in fuel sales and embracing new technologies like smartcards.
From Store to Station
We started the interview by asking, “Can you share how ‘Ha Seotsanyana’ transitioned from a general store to a leading fuel supplier?”
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “Ha seotsanyana dates back from the early days of my dad and possibly earlier from his forefathers. In my school days of 80’s I used to help my parents in the known stores of ha seotsanyana. I used to fill up fuels in cars and illuminating paraffin in bottles. Then in the days, there was never any branding. In the year 1991 civil unrest broke up in lesotho and we were completely looted.
I restarted the business in 1991 with branding and handed over back to my father whilst I pursued my studies and marriage. I came back in 1997 with my wife and we had the business going as furniture and hardware then.
Later on we were struggling with cash flow and I decided to try an old pump with paraffin again. I prepared the same old manual machine and pursued a supply from then shell.
A cash account was finally opened after a lot of struggle but after the 1st load I was able to save a 500.00 with a 10 cents margin.
I then added diesel later and finally petrol. I then had a fully funtional garage. With this garage i managed to build 7 more gas/filling stations with stable growth year after year. We are proudly lesotho company with leading sales in the north.”
Challenges and Triumphs
The Africa Times: What challenges did you face moving from furniture to fuel, and how did you overcome them?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “We had come to a point where there was a sale in a week or no sale at all. We had to move to a business with no deliveries, no fixing delivery vehicles every day as we had to deliver in remote villages without roads. We basically had no extra challenge as we had one old pump of 1960s laying there unused. The only thing was we had to start off small with advance or upfront payments to order our fuel. There was no cash then so we saved every penny then and paid more attention to the sales and collections. Later on I was joined by my brother in law who contributed more into the business.”
Talent and Teamwork
The Africa Times: How has your skilled team contributed to Ha Seotsanyana’s success?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “As my company was growing I had to look for juniors to help grow business. I then offered my nephew to work with me and he agreed and then I had one more, a friend’s son, who is also like my son, joined me. Both are my support. They both looked after the business and its growth. One’s more on its side so we often had it and software related problems and he would make sure we are never down for long.”
A Foundation for Business
The Africa Times: How does being a proudly Lesotho company influence your business practices?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “Being A Proudly Lesotho Company Influences My Business Practices In A Form Of Jobs Being Awarded To The Citizens Of Lesotho And From The Surrounding Communities.”
A Dynamic Duo in Business
The Africa Times: What roles do Mr. and Mrs. Suleman play in the company’s operations and strategy?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “Mrs Suleman Overlooks the Ordering and Logging Service Calls Whilst Mr. Suleman Does All the Legal with Overseeing New Projects.”
Before and After
The Africa Times: How has replacing cash with smartcards impacted your customers and operations?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “It is saving us a lot of time and admin. So we love smart technology. Hence we are pioneering towards smart cards technology. Customers now enjoy carrying and paying with cards.”
Ethical Business Practices
The Africa Times: How does Ha Seotsanyana ensure sustainable growth and maintain its market leader position?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “We have been reputable in delivering fuel during load shedding days and also give credit for deserving companies such as Executive, Hippo, lec, Telkom, Wasco, etc.”
Fueling the Future
The Africa Times: What future projects are you excited about that align with your vision of fuel delivery and franchising?
Janmahomed Suleman replied, “We are working on a future project being CNG or hydrogen fuels for future cars but most exciting is that now we are spreading our wings into south Africa and we are about to franchise our business.”
A Final Message
Lastly we asked, “Would you like to say anything else to our viewers?”
“Rome was not built in a day and it takes every penny that you can save to build your business. So don’t be shy to earn 10 cents a liter. It’s a lot of money if you push more sales.” Janmahomed Suleman Concluded
Connect with Janmahomed Suleman on Linkedin
Visit Ha Seotsanyana to learn more about it
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