Founder Of Siwela Wines Siwela Masoga Highlights The Difficulty Of Getting Into The Alcohol Industry As A Black Female

For a small business that is starting out, rising above the challenges that one faces in the alcohol industry can be a difficult task especially if the business owners come from disadvantaged backgrounds. In an interview with Standard Bank Siwela Wines founder Siwela Masoga explained how difficult it is for people without the right knowledge or resources to enter the alcohol industry and actually be successful in it.

“I’ve never been exposed to what wine is, I never really thought so hard about what really goes into making a bottle of wine. I actually never saw it as an actual industry, when you grow up in the similar conditions or similar backgrounds…you only see alcohol at a shebeen or tarven, because that’s what we know, we don’t think of alcohol as an actual industry or potential business opportunity.” She also highlighted that the industry is male dominated and that it was hard for her to find fellow black females in the sector.

This is largely due to the lack of knowledge/information in areas where black people reside. Black people only access information later in their lives or they do not at all due to the difficulty of accessing the internet in townships or accessing companies that are already in the industry for mentorship. Another factor that can hinder black females from entering the alcohol industry can be finances. In order to produce quality alcohol that can be sold nationally or internationally requires a lot of capital as the starting costs are very high. This can also be the reason why the industry is dominated by people who have significant funds at their disposal.

The alcohol industry is a very hard industry to enter and be successful in as it is a very competitive industry with companies in the sector that were established a long time ago. These companies have easy market access as they have entrenched their brands in the industry thereby controlling the market share. There is a lot that still needs to be done in order to see significant changes in the industry and this might take many years to come.

By Thomas Chiothamisi