Small, micro- and medium-sized enterprises (SMMEs) are doing more than their share of heavy lifting, contributing just under 40% towards South Africa’s gross domestic product.
The country is home to about 2.7 million SMMEs, of which only 792 000 are formalised.
Venturing into entrepreneurship is not easy but for many it’s a last resort, given the high rate of unemployment in South Africa.
Ndivhuwo Malise’s story, however, is unusual in this regard – he went from being employed as a mining surveyor to a successful entrepreneur.
With an Honours degree in mining surveying, Malise’s working life took an unexpected turn when he stepped in to take over the reins of his mother’s business, Malise Vegetation Management and Environmental Projects, and ended up opening his own construction business, Vhukoni Trading Enterprise, in the process.
Today, the businesses boast a combined staff complement of 24 employees from the community, and he hires part-time workers for Vhukoni, depending on what each project requires.
“I realised that my mother was unable to do some of the things she needed to do as she was ageing, and I’m her only child. So, I resigned and went to help with her business,” Malise said.
The company specialises in environmental services such as wetland rehabilitation, invasive alien clearing, bush clearing and recycling, and helped the family to survive as well as put Malise through tertiary schooling.
Inspired by his mother’s entrepreneurial spirit, he decided to start Vhukoni in 2020, specialising in construction and provision of general supplies. Despite his entrepreneurial passion and professional expertise, however, he struggled to win contracts for his business.
“I used to bid on jobs before, but there were many things in the documents I did not understand, which meant my bids were not successful,” he said.
The turning point came when Malise discovered Anglo American Zimele’s tender training programme.
“I heard from a friend that there was training taking place, so I went to the Northam Zimele hub to join the training,” he said.
This decision would help to transform his mother’s business as well as his own, Malise said.
Zimele is Anglo American’s enterprise development arm focused on developing sustainable growth through meaningful skilling of SMMEs and entrepreneurs from its host communities.
This is part of the company’s commitment and contribution to the socio-economic development of South Africa.
The Zimele training didn’t just improve Malise’s bidding skills; it changed his entire perspective on securing contracts.
“I used to think that in order to get the project I should have connections – that you had to know someone to get the job,. But after the training, I tried again – because there were a lot of details that you have to go through, which I didn’t really do before,” Malise added.
“After I attended the training, I realised that I needed to prioritise administrative elements when it comes to tender applications. All information needed to process the application is important and all questions should be answered.”
The results of the training were significant, as he won his first project a few months later, then another, then a third… And with each win, the size of the project grew, allowing him to grow both businesses.
Malise also shares his skills with other entrepreneurs as he helps them with their tender documents. This also allows him to partner with those businesses on projects.
“My mother is skilled at managing the money side of the business, which is crucial for keeping a business afloat and growing it, especially since we currently depend on contract work,” Malise said.
He has ambitious plans to diversify his business interests.
“I want to get to a point where my business is sustainable to expand my staff complement with additional administrative staff,” he said.
His goal is to establish a recycling business, starting with a buyback centre, and eventually moving into manufacturing plastic products.
BUSINESS REPORT