Day 1: Meeting with Naomi and day at the farm

Naomi  Makgolo is the founder and CEO of FoodNet Holdings Inc. 

We met Naomi at our apartment and learned the story of FoodNet over instant coffee. She got the idea to start a pig farm after her husband spontaneously bought 4 pigs at an auction in 2010 and kept them in the family garage.

Excited pigs at feeding time

After the initial shock of coming home to the porkers, she recognized an opportunity; Botswana demands 1520 tons of pork but only produces 443 tons. The cultural focus is on beef production and pork is traditionally only produced by a minority as supplement to primary sources of livelihood, like subsistence agriculture.

She purchased 30 sows (baby-making lady pigs) and old dilapidated pork farm, which she renovated. Never having raised pigs before, there has been a learning curve and she has had to teach herself as the business grew. Luckily, she hired Dieho as her farm manager. This man knows pigs! He handles all daily operations including feeding, cleaning, slaughtering, and sale of the pork.

Dieho with the aptly named Mugabe, one of the 3 boars

We visited the farm after our interview and arrived at feeding time. Hungry pigs are CRAZY.



Dieho briefed us on the opportunities and challenges of the pork sector. The market - a combination of supermarket retailers and individual customers - want more pork than FoodNet can produce. Naomi has personally funded the operation to date, but new sources of financing are needed for more piglets and to expand into processing. This is no easy task because more pigs require more feed, more space, and more management, and this is costly. 

FoodNet must plan a growth strategy and our SMART team is here to help. Over the next two weeks, we will investigate the pork sector and Naomi's business to help her decide what's next. We'll be writing a case study on the whole experience next semester, so stay tuned and prepare for a whole lotta Botswana pork.

Pike out.