Page 35 - IDC

8 CITY PRESS, 25 SEPTEMBER, 2016

business Thomas Edison: The value of

an idea lies in the using of it

It is a gamble Opportunities up for grabs

TALK
TO US

Are you a young
person starting out in
business? Tell us your
story. Email us at
mybusiness@idc.co.za
using ‘Young business’
A in the subject
PROJECT IN line
PARTNERSHIP
WITH THE
IDC THE EXPERT SAYS:

Focus

before

funding

FUMANI MTHEMBI – PELE TECHNOLOGIES (32) MASASA MAKHETHA – CEO THASASA (35)
tarting a business is taking a risk because you don’t know if it will work. It is a gamble. thought it would be easy to get contracts because I had worked for the mines. It was not
You just make that difficult call. But a businessperson has to have a genuine passion that easy – there are reputable companies that have been there for years. Who are you to go
‘Sneeds to be backed by hard work. You need to have a lot of tenacity and perseverance. ‘Iin during your first month and get a contract ahead of companies with 30 years of
You can’t give up,” says Fumani Mthembi. experience? When I was outside, I realised things were very different,” says Masasa Makhetha of
Five years ago, five young professionals left their jobs in the corporate banking sector to follow how he started Thasasa five years ago. The company now employs more than 80 people and CAIPHUS KGOSANA
a dream. But, unsure about where this dream would take them, they mostly decided to give up their has supply contracts with mines in Secunda, Mpumalanga. It has also scored a lucrative contract projects@citypress.co.za
homes and move back in with their parents. The money they would save would be invested directly with oil giant Sasol in the same area.
into the business. Makhetha is frustrated that youth in the Secunda area are not fully using the ample Young entrepreneurs who have great ideas often battle
Their company, situated in Sandton, is called Pele – a Sesotho word meaning forward. Pele is an opportunities that are available for them in the mining and energy sector in that town. to find funding to turn them into profitable enterprises
independent power producer (IPP) that develops, owns and operates renewable power plants. In “The youth around here have a lot of opportunities, but they are only focusing on completing because they are not “funding-ready”. This is according
simpler terms, they put together propositions for power plants that produce electricity using alternative matric or Grade 10. But as a young person, you can open a business around here – it’s easy for to small business expert Donna Rachelson, who is
energy. IPPs are important in terms of the government’s energy mix. you to get opportunities from Sasol. Bursaries are available, but they [the youth] don’t value the CEO of Seed Academy, an agency that provides
“We literally put everything on the line and made a lot of sacrifices with no guarantee about what opportunities they have. The opportunities are being taken by black people from outside of entrepreneurial training, incubation and mentoring to
would happen next,” says Mthembi. Secunda, and most businesses that supply things here are white owned,” says Makhetha. start-ups.
“While [funding agencies] do need to do a better job
Young voices are not adequately prepared to pitch for funding and
of marketing themselves, many young entrepreneurs
are often not ‘funding-ready’. Businesses need access to
funding and access to markets. These are two key
criteria for success,” she said.
Rachelson says young entrepreneurs should focus on
a specific and attainable growth target, and not be
distracted by too many things.
talk business options and look for low-hanging fruit. Once they select
“Entrepreneurs need to think deeply, consider all the
a path, they need a singular focus on that growth path
and should not be distracted by other opportunities,
because a sure-fire way to achieve mediocrity is to
allocate limited resources across too many medium-
term plans,” she said.
Rachelson said entrepreneurs needed to be as lean as
possible and try to run small experiments that validate
Four young entrepreneurs in very different sectors of the their ideas, rather than big and expensive ones that
would burn them if they prove unworkable.
“They need to understand what they are doing and
economy – energy, mining, film and manufacturing – share their why they are doing it.”

perspectives on the challenges of starting a business KEY

5 AREAS TO

Wanted: women in film Fast-track black industrialists SUCCEED
AND GROW

BUSINESSES

1. MARKET PENETRATION
Selling more of your current products to your current
customers
2. MARKET DEVELOPMENT
Sell your current product into a new market
3. NEW CHANNELS
Sell your product in a different way (such as online)
4. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
New products to sell to existing customers
5. INTEGRATION
Buy a competitor (horizontal), buy a supplier (backward),
buy a customer (forward)
GET

FUNDED!

LWAZI MVUSI – FILM MAKER (27) MATSHELA MALOKA and KATE MACHABA – PARTNERS The Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) can help
had to pitch to different funders in one room, including the Industrial Development in MALOKA MACHABA SURFACING (BOTH 29) you get your business idea off the ground or take your
existing business to the next level. Call 0860 693 888 or
Corporation [IDC]. It was nerve-racking. I also had to present the visualisation of the e are both from a civil engineering background. I worked in the private and public email callcentre@idc.co.za or visit www.idc.co.za
‘Ifilm, how it would be executed and where it would be shot. I basically had to convince sectors, but I always wanted to start an asphalt business. When we met again at a
them that we could make this film work within the set budget,” says 27-year-old film maker ‘Wlater stage, we found that we always wanted to do the same thing. It was around The sectors the IDC operates in are:
Lwazi Mvusi. Her company, Free Women Features, has secured more than R5.2 million from 2014 that we started the business,” says Kate Machaba of her partnership with longtime friend . Agroprocessing and agriculture
the IDC and other funders for the making of a film that has been in the works for a long time. and fellow civil engineer Matshela Maloka. . Automotive and transport equipment
Sitting in her small studio office in Linden, north of Johannesburg, Mvusi says she The pair started a company that manufactures asphalt, the product that is used to tar roads. . Basic metal and mining
responded to a call by the National Film and Video Foundation for young women to Their Polokwane-based company manufactures the asphalt, does quality control at its own . Basic and speciality chemicals
participate in the film industry in 2013, and she submitted work that she had compiled for her laboratory and supplies this material to road construction firms in Limpopo. It is the only black- . Chemical products and pharmaceuticals
master’s degree in film. owned manufacturer of this material in the country. . Clothing and textiles
As Mvusi moves closer to her dream, she says she hopes that other aspiring young women To make it as young entrepreneurs in an industry dominated by construction giants, Maloka . Heavy manufacturing
will benefit from opportunities like these in future. says they are inspired by the fact that most contractors who win tenders to build roads in . Industrial infrastructure
“Young people need to stay ahead of what is happening around them. Many are not aware Limpopo are black, and want to work with black suppliers of a product that is difficult to source. . Light manufacturing and tourism
of the IDC and how it can help them. In everything, you must choose your happiness. If you “The black contractors are pleased there are black industrialists they can support. They are . Machinery and capital equipment
know where you are going or what you want in life, then follow your happiness. It will lead saying that what we fought for – for black people to be involved in the industry – is happening . Media and motion pictures
you there.” and it’s good,” Maloka says. . New industries