Township entrepreneur brings business to people

By Derrick Spies

RICHMOND Vantyi is the head of the Vantyi family and, at 71 years young, still controls the family businesses in Port Elizabeth’s townships.

These include the well-known funeral services division Vantyi and Vantyi, Uncle Rich’s office block and supermarket, as well as service stations and butcheries in Motherwell.

Vantyi says he entered the business world by accident after Ford motor company pulled out of South Africa and he lost his job as a workshop supervisor.

“I thought about what I could do. I had no capital; no property of my own. The house my wife Thembisa and I lived in was owned by the municipality and no financial institution was interested in backing me,” he remembered.

Despite this, Vantyi opened a funeral parlour in Zwide in 1985, where he waited for six months before his first customer approached him.

The funeral services division was a success and in 1993 Vantyi opened up a convenience shop in Motherwell, which he converted to a Spar in 1996. He ran this business venture for 10 years before selling it to start up a service station and Uncle Rich’s office block.

Vantyi, a former Eastern Cape National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc) president, says that he has seen business in the townships decline in recent years.

“There are many reasons for this. For instance, I feel there are a number of working class people in the townships who are working in town and as a result are buying their groceries in town.

“If the same facilities that are in town could be provided to these people in the townships, they could shop in their free time near to where they live,” Vantyi observed.

He said his dream had always been to bring business into the townships.

Vantyi believes human beings are the product of their environment and that this environment in turn depends on the person to improve it.

“I would like to see big business like Pick ‘n Pay and Shoprite Checkers being mentors to small business in terms of developing programmes and training our youth.”

Vantyi also believes that, as a business person, it is important to take time out to relax, as relaxation gives one the time to plan.

Now living in Summerstrand with his wife and daughters, Vantyi is also very proud of his family.

“My family is my treasure. I am blessed because all my children have had the opportunity to go to university and have graduated and come back to the business,” he said.

He admits that, for him, his businesses have become places where he can socialise with the people who have supported him over the years, while the more complex tasks are dealt with by the next generation of Vantyis.

But don’t be fooled, Richmond Vantyi is still making plans, with another Spar for Motherwell on its way later this year.

Business