Black-led business has to be prepared to roll-up its sleeves and take action if it is to succeed, says Lechabile MD Winston Mosiako, a finalist in last year`s Black IT Achievers awards.
Government tenders can take months to be finalised. During this time, a company must still pay its staff.
Winston Mosiako, MD, Lechabile
Speaking ahead of this year`s Black ICT Achievers awards, Mosiako says black-led businesses still face unique challenges in the new SA. "White businesses still control the economy, and there is still a measure of mistrust against black-led business. Banks, in particular, seem to be reluctant to back black-led companies because they feel they will not succeed."
Mosiako adds that while the government does support black-led ICT companies, the State cannot be relied on as the only source of income for a black-led company.
"Government tenders can take months to be finalised. During this time, a company must still pay its staff, " he points out. "In addition, the government tries to 'share out the pie` to as many companies as possible. This means that each one may get only a small part of a total project." Therefore, black businesses must deal mostly with the private sector if it is to succeed.
Mosiako speaks from experience - he and a handful of fellow IBM systems engineers and professionals founded Lechabile in 1998. The government had made opportunities available for black businesses, and Mosiako and his colleagues leapt at it. "It was a good window of opportunity," he says, "of course, we took advantage of it."
Within a year, the company`s employee base had grown from seven to 38, with an asset base of R50 million. Lechabile is still solid, with a growing reputation.
Mosiako says establishing Lechabile`s good reputation took years of hard work and focused marketing. The company made the most of every chance it got. "If we were given a small, 'token`, contract, we sent out the best possible contractors and did the best possible job, to ensure that we developed a good relationship with the company and did our marketing 'on the job`," he says. "We take every opportunity to prove ourselves, and this pays off in the long run."
You must [...] learn to speak the business language - having the ICT skills is not enough.
Winston Mosiako, MD, Lechabile
A case in point is one of Lechabile`s first clients, a large corporate that refused to pay for a major contract upfront, unless Lechabile produced a bank surety bond to prove that it would stay in business. Securing this surety bond wasn`t easy, but Lechabile managed it. The company made sure that its work was of the highest standards, and that the contractors developed excellent relations with the client. Mosiako says the client in question is still one of Lechabile`s top clients.
"You have to sell yourself as a credible, professional operation," says Mosiako. "To do this, you must develop your business management skills and learn to speak the business language - having the ICT skills is not enough."
Mosiako feels that staff skills development is an important step towards ensuring that a company builds credibility and stays on top of new developments.
To put something back into the community, Lechabile operates an IT training facility at its Sandton premises, and provides not-for-profit training to students and clients` staff. One of its training programmes produces students with both corporate and IT skills. These candidates are then placed in client companies. This not only serves to "put something back", it also helps to build client relations.
Lechabile also gives ongoing support to schools, and is in the process of 'adopting` a cr`eche in Midrand. Mosiako happened to pass the cr`eche recently, and noticed that it was also named Lechabile ("The sun is rising"). He stopped to investigate, and found it sadly lacking in facilities. "So we are going to improve the school and provide it with computers, to give the kids there an early start in IT," he says.
Mosiako`s no-nonsense business ethics and perseverance, as well as his commitment to improving skills levels, were among the reasons he was nominated for last year`s Black ICT Achievers awards.
Mosiako says the awards can serve as an inspiration to other would-be black entrepreneurs. The nominees and winners have all faced daunting challenges to beat the odds. "The awards build credibility for its nominees too," he says. "Personally, I have had many offers from head-hunters as a result of my being nominated."
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