By ’Mathabana Kotelo
Maseru — Born and bred in Tšenola Maseru, Lineo Motseki started beadwork back in 2008, after being trained by an Indian lady visiting Lesotho at the time.
Much as she enjoyed beadwork, she never thought of it as anything more than a hobby and never imagined she could make a living from it.
After failing to pursue her dream of enrolling for a creative arts course after high school because she could not find any institution in the country at the time, Motseki enrolled for a computer appreciation course at Quadrant in Maseru but fate dealt her another blow when she later had to drop out due to financial challenges.
While struggling to find a job, she made beaded jewellery to while away time which she enjoyed so much she bought a beading starter kit and set to work; before long she had a whole range of beaded jewellery and Doxa Creations was born.
Doxa Creations is a sole proprietor business that produces handmade beaded accessories including neck pieces, bracelets and belts.
Before she was approached by an accessory store owner at Maseru mall, she sold her products mostly at exhibitions and by order and relies on social networks like Facebook and word of mouth to market her products.
On the challenges she faces starting out as an entrepreneur, Motseki says in the jewellery and accessory business, sales are slow and therefore pose a challenge when pursuing it full-time as there is always need for a steady source of income.
By her own admission, the business still has a long way to go and needs proper marketing and pricing strategies.
“I have mastered the creative side but I need to work on the business model and find a proper marketing vehicle so I can expand,” she said.
As a field educator at PSI Lesotho, her job entails spreading awareness on HIV/Aids in rural and peri-urban areas and teaching people how to manage the disease.
Through life skills training programme initiatives by Lesotho Tourism Development Corporation and the Ministry of Gender, Youth, Sports and Recreation, she has trained youth groups in Leribe, Mokhotlong, Morija and Semonkong to make beaded jewellery.
Despite her demanding job, her unwavering determination and passion for what she does see the 27-year-old juggling both responsibilities with ease.
“I love teaching and interacting with people; the more I teach, the more I learn.
“Fortunately, I get to do that as a beadwork instructor and in my day job as a field educator”.
Although she is now employed full time, Motseki insists she wants to take her beadwork creations to new heights, venture into interior decoration using her beadwork skills and some day she hopes to see her products displayed in embassies across the world.
Not only does she plan to register her company in the near future, Motseki also hopes to expand her product line so she can offer jobs to some of her trainees.
Although she cites limited access to capital and inadequate exposure to information as some of the challenges facing aspiring youth entrepreneurs in Lesotho, Motseki insists that the “jobseeker” mentality is Basotho youth’s greatest downfall yet.
“Most of us youth have the jobseeker mentality, we study with the aim of in future working for a certain company instead of aiming to form the type of company you want to work for”
“We need to think as job creators not jobseekers,” she says.
