Lindiwe’s Story

Lindiwe Masango is a Pretoria based entrepreneur. She started her mineral water brand Lee Ice Cubes because she wanted to bring something new to her small township and help people live a better, healthier life. 

I’m Lindiwe, proud owner of Ice Lee Cubes in Pretoria, South Africa. We specialise in branded mineral water. We offer still, sparkling and flavoured mineral water. I can brand anything that you want for a specific occasion, be it a wedding, a party or a graduation. I also supply to little shops, street vendors, funeral parlours, and pubs and restaurants around my small township of Mamelodi in Pretoria.

I ventured into this business because I wanted to bring about a change, bring something new to the township. I was not being challenged in my previous work in the government offices. I decided I need something, I need challenges in my life. So why not start a business? That’s when I resigned and started Lee Ice.

Since then, I’ve been a role model to many in my township, especially in the water business. Most of our taps are not right. After I started, people fell in love with drinking pure water that was so unlike what they got in their households. By supplying mineral water, I changed many people’s health by helping them live a better life… Because water is life.

I came to know about HerVenture through a friend. I was interested, so I downloaded the app and then I fell in love with it! I didn’t turn back from there. What I learned from the app was accounting systems, learning to differentiate between a business account and a personal account. Previously I would mix the two, but now, after doing an exercise on the app, I was able to distinguish between the two. I learned to put boundaries between what was my personal money and what was money for my business. The app also taught me to market my business. Earlier, I would do all my marketing through word of mouth or go to other people who could do it for me. But after reading and understanding the lessons on HerVenture, I developed the skills to go online and on social media and advertise my brand. That made my sales go up. I’m even planning to sell my water online because of the lessons I got from the app.

HerVenture has carried me like a baby. The knowledge that I acquired from it is something that I didn’t have before. I can go to it for whatever information I need. Whenever I get stuck, I can go back to the app and check the things I missed. HerVenture has also made me very confident. I’m not afraid of anything at the present moment. I have invitations to be a guest speaker at a few events. I can even lead people because of the things I learned on the app.

To the founders of HerVenture, I just want to say, keep it up! It’s a good app. It encourages us to be more confident, to upgrade ourselves, to gain knowledge and opens our eyes to the world of entrepreneurship. I would recommend that all entrepreneurs, but especially female entrepreneurs, download the HerVenture app. Before you even start your businesses, even if you are only at the idea stage… It can make a great difference. I would also recommend that you keep your head up, focus and be consistent. Consistency is key.

For me, the proof of my own success would be financial independence. It would be to see myself grow in the business, to have my brand be recognised all over the country and around the world. That’s what I’m focusing on now — having other branches across the continent (I am dreaming big now!) or around the country.