Failing to pass his Ordinary Level examinations largely because of the dire economic and social circumstances he found himself in did not stop Clive Ndhlala from achieving his dream of becoming an entrepreneur.
From humble beginnings that saw him navigating through life’s challenging terrains, Clive now leads Shaddai Consultancy – a South African business solutions provider dedicated to supporting entrepreneurs, leaders and organizations and helping them achieve their goals.
“I officially registered my business last year. At the moment, I am the only one on board although I always hire and collaborate with experts from different industries whenever there is need,” explains Clive.
“The company is based in Durban and currently I am working from home. In the not-so-distant future, as the company grows, the plan is to set up an office,” he adds.
A Helping Hand
Inspired by the motto ‘Transforming Your Business, Elevating Your Team, and Nurturing Your Well-being’, Shaddai Consultancy is a vehicle for small businesses to solve the challenges they face in making their entities grow towards a sustainable and profitable trajectory.
Shaddai Consultancy is a holistic business solutions provider that supports entrepreneurs, leaders, and organizations to achieve their goals. The broad range of services offered by the consultancy firm include business foundations, leadership development as well as wellbeing support.
“Our services encompass registration, tax compliance as well as helping businesses to set up FNB business accounts to enable them to establish a solid footing. We also offer transformational speaking, team development as well as leadership coaching services to elevate performance,” says Clive.
“In terms of wellbeing support we offer psycho-social support to our clients in order to nurture mental health and resilience. Broadly speaking, our mission is to empower businesses to thrive while fostering a culture of leadership excellence, teamwork and well-being,” he adds.
Challenging Childhood
Clive was born 39 years ago in the Chitungwiza area of Zimbabwe, where he did both his primary and secondary education.
“Due to a lack of enough resources, since I was raised by my single grandmother, my high school performance and results were highly affected. However, I always had this inner conviction that something extra ordinary will come from me especially in the area of leadership. Most of my peers knew me as an innovator and adviser.
“I recall very well how after I failed my Ordinary Levels, I remained determined and resolute. Together with some friends, we started an entertainment business and reached out to schools and public places to showcase our capabilities and talents.
“Later, in 2008, I enrolled at Youth With A Mission Disciple Training School. It was during this time that my potential in terms of leadership and serving others came to the fore in a very powerful way.
“During this training I also realized the needs of my own community and got an opportunity to work with like minded organizations like Viva Network Zimbabwe, The Cleft Zimbabwe, Scripture Union, Family Impact and Child Evangelism Fellowship,” says Clive.
Invaluable Experience
Working with so many organizations exposed Clive to the many attributes he managed to acquire and use to run Shaddai Consultancy.
He says the experience he gained also made him confident about his ability to not only put food on the table but to also run similar innovations that assist people by solving their challenges and helping them find their feet.
“So, our mission at Shaddai Consultancy is simple. We believe in training individuals to become exactly who they should be designed to be. When one identifies their true self, the challenges ahead become a steppingstone to a higher level.
“Every day I am working hard to change people’s lives by helping them to improve how their business operates. The individuals I help keep referring me to others, so I end getting more and more clients.
We also assist in registering businesses and startups, branding as well as helping them with regards to compliance. One of our core services is helping individuals to register their businesses with CIPC. We have also managed to assist many people, from as far afield as United Kingdom, Japan, Zimbabwe and Australia,” Clive says.
Spreading Wings
Clive, who along his journey has made it a point to keep in touch with other businesspeople working in various trades such as transport, real estate, phycological support and others, has got big dreams for his consultancy.
“The major goal for now is to acquire some land so that I can build our offices and a leadership training facility, which will be more in the form of a resource centre. This is within my Vision 2028 goals.
“In the future, I look forward to hosting a youth expo event, possibly in Zimbabwe, to create an awareness among young people as well as to encourage them to believe in themselves and to work hard towards achieving their goals.
“I advise other entrepreneurs to invest in human resources first. If they do this, they will see that afterwards, the other financial and material resources will follow. Provision follows vision. I know this because this has been my life story. The sky is not the limit, your mindset is,” Clive concludes.
