When professional electrical engineer Theko Letsie started a small control and instrumentation company back in 2016, it was the fulfilment of a dream of owning his own business.
But then reality began to set in. By his own admission, the first three years were tough.
It took the business almost eight months to get its first order – and this was after he’d taken himself and three others out of the comfort zone of a monthly salary.
There were times when he wondered if he’d done the right thing.
Seven years later, Letsie’s 3E Group is made up of three successful small businesses working in the digital transformation space.
The Group is a team of seasoned construction and engineering professionals who work across its operations in Rustenburg and Fourways, with a satellite office in Limpopo as it looks to diversify into new sectors.
Letsie’s fortunes started to change when he joined Anglo American’s enterprise development initiative, Zimele, in 2018.
There, he benefited from three key elements that every small business needs to be successful: business mentorship, access to markets, and funding to help fulfil big orders.
“Working with different engineering consulting companies throughout my career, I always felt that there was a way to do things better. During my postgraduate studies, groups would run with my business ideas. But I told myself that if I want to start a company, I must be able to sell. So, I joined an instrumentation company as a salesperson, which was incredibly challenging, before finally talking the leap to start my own business,” said Letsie.
“At the time, we naively thought that we would simply walk into boardrooms and get orders. Life doesn’t work like that. Entrepreneurship is not as simple as you think. You must find ways to offer real value to your customers. That was our first big ‘aha’ moment.”
The business secured their first contract with Anglo American Platinum focusing on the supply of control and instrumentation equipment. Since 2019, 3E Group shifted to its new business model which includes assisting with digitising Anglo American Platinum plants and providing digitised design and engineering services.
But the company’s challenges weren’t over.
Just when the business started getting on its feet, Covid-19 came along and the world closed down.
Letsie had diversified into engineering consulting in 2018, and this decision carried the company through the darkest days of the pandemic.
He then had to liquidate the instrumentation supply side of the business. His partner died of Covid, and the division had simply accumulated too much debt.
By luck, he was copied on an email talking about the huge need within the mining industry for digital transformation and automation.
He started a new subsidiary that helps digitalise mining operations, and last year, launched another business that uses data to help businesses reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
Business is moving in the right direction, but Letsie will never forget the helping hand extended by Zimele at a time when he needed it most.
Zimele – which means ‘Stand on your own’ in the Nguni languages – has been developing emerging black businesses, empowering entrepreneurs and facilitating job creation since 1989, said Anglo American’s head of Zimele, Larisha Naidoo.
“Theko’s story demonstrates how Anglo American Platinum is working to increase local economic development and job creation for the Rustenburg community. In 2022 alone, the company spent R25 billion in local procurement as part of our ongoing commitment to building thriving communities aligned to our Sustainable Mining Plan. Our partnership with the 3E Group is a shining example of how entrepreneur development and support can drive sustainable local procurement activity, create jobs, develop skills and contribute to the growth of more prosperous communities,” said Naidoo.
For Letsie, the future has never been brighter as his business looks to further bridge the gap between its service offering and customer understanding. His business is helping clients reap real value from digitalisation and is currently building its own platform to offer services to other sectors.
“We have been lucky to be able to service almost all the Anglo American Platinum sites in South Africa. One of our divisions, the Industrial DigitalTwin Service Provider, puts us in a strategic position to serve the requirements of Anglo American’s FutureSmart Mining strategy,” said Letsie.
“Find somebody that believes in you. Find what you are passionate about and do well and stick to that. Be prepared to deal with adversity along the way. And of course, every entrepreneur needs a bit of luck. You need a break. But you need to put in the hard work to make sure you’re able to take advantage of the opportunities when they come along,” he said.
BUSINESS REPORT