Entrepreneur Derrick Tshivhase is living his dream.
Tshivhase, 57, began his journey after he abandoned his office job and formed his own company.
He owns Lumacon, a company that specialises in fixing and installing electrical appliances for both domestic and industrial markets.
His company installs heating, ventilation, air conditioners and refrigeration appliances, and also specialises in autoclaves, kitchen and laundry equipment, boilers, steam and hot water generation, heat pumps, calorifiers, pumps, electrical, instrumentation and control as well as lifts.
The company is based in Strijdom Park, Randburg, and employs 65 people.
"I also have a number of sub-contractors under my wing that I provide with extra jobs in time of need.
"Those companies are 100% black-owned and many of them are in the townships," said Tshivhase with a smile.
He formed his company in 1987 after he quit his marketing and sales job at a petroleum company.
"I told myself that I wanted to start my own thing. I started small by distributing shop equipment, refrigeration and air conditioning. Back then it was difficult to operate a company being a black person," he said.
"The ground was not that fertile as it is now. I started with one employee and that person has since left. We were based in Tshiawelo, Soweto, then."
As his company started growing, Tshivhase moved from one space to another until he settled in Randburg.
He prides himself with changing the lives of not only his employees but also of their families and those of his sub-contractors.
"As I grow in this business, I don't want to grow alone. I want others to succeed and change their lives too."
His clients include various government departments, municipalities and private companies.
"One of the challenges I faced when I started was [limited access]. Prior to 1994 I was forced to sell my products to township-based people. But, after 1994, things changed and we then got into government space.
"The private sector remains difficult to penetrate. This [private] sector is still white dominated. It is very hostile.
"As we grow we are faced with many different sets of challenges such as compliance issues with statutory requirements, infrastructure, technology, (lack of) skilled people and quality requirements. Government should have a way of filling the gap in some of the challenges faced by black businesses."
He appealed to the government to support small businesses to help them grow into medium-size businesses.
His future plan is to become one of the large contracting companies in his sector by being a significant player in both private and government sectors.
ntwagaes@sowetan.co.za
Tshivhase wants to empower other black entrepreneurs
Entrepreneur Derrick Tshivhase is living his dream.
Tshivhase, 57, began his journey after he abandoned his office job and formed his own company.
He owns Lumacon, a company that specialises in fixing and installing electrical appliances for both domestic and industrial markets.
His company installs heating, ventilation, air conditioners and refrigeration appliances, and also specialises in autoclaves, kitchen and laundry equipment, boilers, steam and hot water generation, heat pumps, calorifiers, pumps, electrical, instrumentation and control as well as lifts.
The company is based in Strijdom Park, Randburg, and employs 65 people.
"I also have a number of sub-contractors under my wing that I provide with extra jobs in time of need.
"Those companies are 100% black-owned and many of them are in the townships," said Tshivhase with a smile.
He formed his company in 1987 after he quit his marketing and sales job at a petroleum company.
"I told myself that I wanted to start my own thing. I started small by distributing shop equipment, refrigeration and air conditioning. Back then it was difficult to operate a company being a black person," he said.
"The ground was not that fertile as it is now. I started with one employee and that person has since left. We were based in Tshiawelo, Soweto, then."
As his company started growing, Tshivhase moved from one space to another until he settled in Randburg.
He prides himself with changing the lives of not only his employees but also of their families and those of his sub-contractors.
"As I grow in this business, I don't want to grow alone. I want others to succeed and change their lives too."
His clients include various government departments, municipalities and private companies.
"One of the challenges I faced when I started was [limited access]. Prior to 1994 I was forced to sell my products to township-based people. But, after 1994, things changed and we then got into government space.
"The private sector remains difficult to penetrate. This [private] sector is still white dominated. It is very hostile.
"As we grow we are faced with many different sets of challenges such as compliance issues with statutory requirements, infrastructure, technology, (lack of) skilled people and quality requirements. Government should have a way of filling the gap in some of the challenges faced by black businesses."
He appealed to the government to support small businesses to help them grow into medium-size businesses.
His future plan is to become one of the large contracting companies in his sector by being a significant player in both private and government sectors.
ntwagaes@sowetan.co.za
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