Page 12 - 25 Reasons

1 2

PORTIA KEFILWE AND
MNGOMEZULU JOMO KHOMO
PORTIA M KELE MINING
SKIN SOLUTIONS SOLUTIONS

ortia Mngomezulu once almost set her mum’s home alight product of Anglo American’s iron ore business, Kumba Iron
when she used the microwave to mix ingredients to create Ore’s enterprise and supplier development programme’s
Pskincare products. Aclass of 2016, Kefilwe and Jomo Khomo’s company Kele
Despite that and other early setbacks, her company, Portia M Skin Mining Solutions (KMS) swiftly moved from three employees back
Solutions, now distributes 250 000 units of skincare products every then to 250 today.
month to more than 2 000 stores nationwide. KMS is a shining example of the company supplier development
Portia M has become a name synonymous with business excellence initiatives, which the company uses to help businesses push
and great skincare products thanks to assistance from Anglo American through the hard times of making it in the contract mining sector.
Zimele. Life before KMS’ first contract with Anglo American’s Kumba Iron
Born in Nelspruit and raised by her grandmother in rural Phalaborwa, Ore was “very tough, with business barely coming by”, says
Limpopo, Mngomezulu decided to quit her full-time job as a system Kefilwe.
engineer in 2013 to manufacture skincare products using marula oils. “At the time, we were doing work for a small private client. It
To do this, she has partnered with a co-operative of rural women was hard in the beginning, but then we started working with
who grow the indigenous African nuts, making a living from the land Kumba Iron Ore. They were looking for local businesses to provide
and building a value chain from the rural community to the bathroom services and supply products, and we saw an opportunity to enter
shelves of consumers. the contract mining space.”
Although she had registered her company in 2011, she resigned from Through Kumba Iron Ore’s supplier development programme,
her full-time job as she wanted to give her fledgling company a chance Jomo – who is in business with his wife, Kefilwe Khomo – learnt
to succeed and get all the attention it deserved. how to run business operations and how to market the company,
“This began as a cry to get rid of my stretch marks after I gave birth as well as other business principles.
to my child, and it has turned out to be a successful cosmetics “Things changed and, suddenly, we were getting more and more
business,” Mngomezulu says. mining contracts,” Kefilwe says.
Her range of products and facilities are all clinically tested and She explains that their partnership with Kumba Iron Ore inspired
approved by the SA Bureau of Standards through the Sefako Makgatho them to empower smaller businesses in their municipal area of
Health Sciences University in Pretoria. Her products cater for all skin John Taolo Gaetsewe District Municipality, which includes the
types. Initially, the range included body lotions, face creams and face towns of Kuruman and Kathu in the Northern Cape.
washes. Now she has added baby care products to the list. “We give local businesses contracts and help them so that they
“I want to use all African herbs to make quality skincare products for have the skills we need. We provide them with equipment and
all people under the African sun,” she says. knowledge so that they are able to compete,” she says.
Although she was determined that her business would succeed, she KMS has grown beyond the power couple’s expectations in
inevitably found herself facing some challenges. terms of capacity and the services it can provide.
There were times when she had to use a two-plate stove and a On its website, KMS celebrates spreading its wings beyond the
kitchen mixer to make her products. Without any experimental Northern Cape, into North West and Limpopo. And there’s more
background in making a successful product from scratch, she growth to come – the company is even exploring opportunities in
remembers that microwave. Botswana.
“The microwave got so hot that I almost burnt down my mother’s A brief explanation online gives its history: “Kele Mining was
house!” established in 2007 as a mining consultancy company. We then
With her background in IT, she managed to build a following on converted into contract mining in 2014 with our first big contract
social media, but her dream was to put her products on the shelves to obtained in 2016.
garner a larger customer base. “The Northern Cape region was and continues to be a key focus
“I wanted us to be leading brand in Africa,” says Mngomezulu. area with a staff complement of two in 2016 to 200 in 2018. With
Now she has come full circle – a successful businesswoman who the strong relationship established and large opportunities within
employs 32 people. The people who work for her come from the BEE framework, growth in the staff complement is also
disadvantaged areas such as Diepsloot and Atteridgeville in expected in newer areas, including Limpopo and North West.”
Johannesburg and Pretoria. KMS largely attributes its success to understanding what its
This huge shift in the business was made possible by Anglo customers need.
American Zimele. Communications manager at Kumba Iron Ore, Sinah Phochana,
Zimele is an Nguni word that means to stand on one’s own feet. The says that Kumba has earmarked R2 billion specifically for local
programme offers support to small businesses and creates sustainability procurement and supplier development in 2019.
with the intention of enabling them to compete in the South African “Our focus on supplier development is rooted in lending a hand
economy. This is part of Anglo American’s Sustainable Mining Plan to to grow small and medium-sized businesses in our mining
create jobs and grow small businesses. communities.
“And that is the life-changing difference that we make to their “Kele Mining is a shining example of this commitment, and it is
families through job creation,” says Larisha Naidoo, head of Anglo heart-warming to see the multiplier effect its success has had on
American Zimele. the surrounding community and other businesses,” Phochana says.
12 ANGLO AMERICAN 25 REASONS TO BELIEVE