Moti Group's plans will help unlock Africa's economic promise

Africa holds immense growth potential, with a young and fast-growing consumer market and abundance of natural resources to fuel its economic expansion. But to translate these opportunities into real-world successes, businesses need to renew their commitment to transformation to ensure a sustainable future. 

This is according to Dondo Mogajane, the CEO of the Moti Group, a private, black-owned investment holding company with interests in mining and mineral beneficiation, property, aviation and financial products, among other sectors. 

“At the Moti Group, transformation and sustainability are an essential part of our ethos. A lack of transformation in SA’s various sectors has increased poverty, inequality and unemployment. In turn, this has created a difficult environment for local businesses to succeed, let alone to build successful pan-African brands that can compete in the international arena,” he says.

For instance, growing pressure on fiscal budgets in the wake of the pandemic has further restricted the governments’ ability to service basic education, healthcare and infrastructure requirements. Against this backdrop, business leaders need to step into the fray to fill the gap, adopting a broad view of transformation and innovating with deeper purpose to help meet the continent’s most pressing needs.

“To rewrite Africa’s story and unlock our economic promise, businesses must take a leading role in supporting transformation and economic empowerment. We can no longer afford to continue with business as usual,” says Mogajane.

“But to be effective, transformation cannot be about tokenism. It needs to be about creating shared wealth, stimulating socioeconomic development, and inculcating a culture of entrepreneurship in local communities.”

For instance, the Moti Group is preparing to exploit the meteoric growth of the electric vehicle (EV) industry with the launch of a new lithium mining operation in Zimbabwe — a mineral used in the production of EV batteries. Drawing on its experience in mining, as well as Mogajane’s own expertise in regulatory compliance, it hopes to develop a local lithium processing plant, bringing beneficiation activities and job creation back into the country.  

Simultaneously, the company hopes to become a powerful force for social good with its new African Hero project. This project represents the Moti Group’s turnkey solution for improving public service delivery: it plans to roll out hundreds of recycled shipping containers, which have been fully renovated to create modern schools and clinics, across sub-Saharan Africa in the next few years. 

Equipped with solar power, backup generators, water purification and filtration systems, air-conditioning and security, these ready-made healthcare and education facilities are completely self-sufficient. Additionally, they can be deployed within three weeks, anywhere across the continent, even where there is little pre-existing infrastructure. 

The group has already begun rolling out African Hero facilities in Zimbabwe, and is engaged in discussions with more potential partners in neighbouring countries including SA, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique and Swaziland. 

“Overall, I believe that African businesses must prioritise transformation and governance. By doing this, businesses will inevitably create groundbreaking solutions that address the root causes of our development challenges and rebuild the African brand. Only then will we achieve true, broad-based economic empowerment.”

This article was sponsored by the Moti Group.