Focus on diversity: Southern African immigrants succeeding in the Bay of Plenty

“Since leaving Zimbabwe, we’ve lived in Christchurch, Australia’s Sunshine Coast and four years ago, settled in Tauranga – hopefully, this is the last move!”

There are four facets/divisions to the n-Gon Group – Sanyati Print, Savant Creative, Ezy Supply and Align Publishing (focus magazine falls under this umbrella). So, in essence, we are a one-stop-shop for your marketing requirements – design, print, packaging, signage, advertising and websites.

We are a group of industry-specific people who provide full solutions to our clients utilising each other’s skills and expertise. Each of us contributes our best work, supports others, and enables the highest quality, timely service and cost-effective completion for our customers.

07 578 6838
ngongroup.com

Honesty, Integrity, Respect – these values should form the backbone of all successful relationships.

As a highly motivated, empathetic and reliable person with 16 years of management experience in the hospitality industry and a very successful real estate background, you can be sure of my absolute commitment to making you top of my priorities when it comes to service.

Being a devoted family man and dad to three
amazing daughters, I know what it’s like to bear the huge responsibility of finding a new home and settling a family in as seamlessly as possible. Although the process of buying and selling is stressful, I will do absolutely everything in my power to make the transition as stress-free and happy as possible by carefully listening to and respecting your requirements. My track record proves that I do accomplish this!

Discipline will achieve success and balance is the key to a happy life.

021 023 81472
frans.lokker@raywhite.com
rwmountmaunganui.co.nz

Vanessa Laval Glad, founder, photographer and videographer at Laval Photo & Video, is the embodiment of the statement “people don’t care what you do, they care about how you make them feel”.

Starting her photography business early in life, Vanessa followed her heart (literally) to New Zealand in 2004, where she has honed her photography skills, bringing that same passion and heart to her work, and drawing it from her subjects.

Fast-forward to today and Vanessa has shot countless projects and travelled extensively to build a varied and robust portfolio of work in creative, professional and personal photography and videography.

Vanessa’s personal touch is evident in all her work, with her subjects exuding a sense of confidence and comfort seldom found in the vulnerable space in front of the camera, often inspired behind the scenes, in the open and airy feel of her studio.

Her South African warmth, combined with a Kiwi charm, creates a sense of connection with the subjects she photographs, enabling her to bring out the best in them and tell their unique business and personal stories through high-quality, crisp and stylish visuals.

07 808 0464
vanessa@laval.nz
laval.nz

Originally from Springs, South Africa, Craig, his wife and three daughters spent two years in Auckland before moving to Tauranga where, with his passion for motor vehicles, Craig started importing cars from Japan.

Craig’s focus is on quality, price, customer service and competitive interest rates. Below are his tips on buying a second-hand car:

• Make sure it comes with a warranty. This is one of the pitfalls of a private sale.
• Cheapest isn’t always best, stay clear of vehicles under 5K.
• It must have a WOF and current registration.
• Imports have in-depth check-ups, odometers are certified and a compliance certificate issued.
• If imported, replace the snow tyres.

Craig knows what it’s like to be a new arrival and always goes the extra mile to ensure his customers leave happy. He can also organise finance for newly arrived migrants, as long as they have a work visa and employment contract. On a deposit of $1,000, he can organise finance over 36 months, for as little as $50 a week.

07 542 2579
craig@importacar.nz
importacar.nz

Owners Athol and Lorraine Potterill ran a popular guest house, travel agency and safari company in South Africa before moving to Tauranga in 2009. Initially, they ran a large motel and conference centre before purchasing Harbour View Motel in 2012 as a renovations project. “We fell in love with the location on the water’s edge of Tauranga’s inner harbour. We decided to renovate, refurbish and restyle the motel into a Cape Cod waterside motel.” Its location, in a quiet cul-de-sac, 40m from the water’s edge and only a few minutes’ walk into the city centre, as well as easy access to the numerous walkways around the estuary and harbour, are popular features for most of their guests who also have free use of kayaks, paddleboards and mountain bikes during their stay.

Since 2016, the couple has gone on to win multiple awards and Certificates of Excellence for Harbour View. “We love the lifestyle that this motel offers, the opportunity to host guests and to share the highlights of Tauranga and our wonderful Bay of Plenty.”

7 578 8621
stay@harbourviewmotel.co.nz
harbourviewmotel.co.nz

Dentists with a difference – Estée and Riaan Kriek, both South African-trained dentists who ran their own practices in Pretoria and Thabazimbi, came to Tauranga in 2008 with their two children. In 2015, after initially working for other dentists, they set up their own practice, Pyes Pa Dentists, and later added Omokoroa Dental Surgery to their portfolio.

What makes them different from other dentists is their constant commitment to the use of modern technology. They take pride in using the most advanced equipment and the latest techniques to design and create affordable solutions specific to their patients’ needs and preferences.

Riaan Kriek isn’t too proud to admit that he grew up with a fear of dentists. He and Estée decided to make it their goal in life to change the way dental service and care are delivered. Their team of dentists and support staff, some of whom are also from South Africa, all share the same vision and are committed to delivering exceptional dental experiences.

Read our article about Estée Kriek.

07 577 1478
reception@pyespadentists.nz
pyespadentists.nz

The Creative Collective is the brainchild of South African expat and digital communications aficionado, Clarissa van Emmenes. After moving to New Zealand with her husband in 2016, Clarissa decided to turn her passion for writing and content strategy into a business.

In a noisy digital world where content is king, it has become increasingly important for businesses
to differentiate themselves by telling stories that resonate with their audiences on a more personal level than ever before – businesses need a brand story that helps excite their customers and increase sales.

Clarissa noted that, while traditional strategies do hold value, small businesses and startups often don’t have the resources or tools to help them create and execute these strategies. The Creative Collective is focused on just that: helping brands dig deep to find their core story and message, and crafting a strategy that tells their story in a compelling way that resonates with their audience and increases their bottom line.

From detailed Brand Story guides and workshops, through to website copywriting, content and campaign management, The Creative Collective offers bespoke content services for businesses who want to stand out without splashing out.

027 210 4851
hello@thecreativecollective.co.nz thecreativecollective.co.nz

New Zealand’s natural beauty, friendly people and exciting opportunities have made settling into this country a great success for Ziegfried and Haidee Kritzinger. They love the opportunities they now have to travel through the South Pacific, firstly exploring New Zealand, then visiting places such as the Cook Islands and Australia.

The Kritzingers ran a successful accounting practice in their home country but had to start from scratch when they moved to New Zealand. Initially, Haidee worked for a chartered accounting firm while Ziegfried started Cloud Based Services Accountants Ltd.

Ziegfried’s strategy was to start providing accountancy services to friends and relatives whilst he spent time actively networking to promote his practice. All these efforts paid off, and now the practice provides more than 300 satisfied clients all over New Zealand with specialist tax advice and accounting services.

021 203 4118
ziegfried@cbservices.co.nz
cbservices.co.nz