Former journalist Sol Motsepe has left abject poverty far behind to join the burgeoning black entrepreneurs in South Africa.
He has superficial bruises and wounds to show from unscrupulous and greedy people, poor business decisions he’s made, and the careless lifestyle he led on his way to recognition and prominence.
Ambitious, diverse, patient and persistent: These are a set of many positive adjectives that define the character of this journalist-turned-entrepreneur.
Born in Mmakau near Ga-Rankuwa, Motsepe recalls how he once shared his grandfather’s three-roomed mud house with 15 other family members and often had to live on handouts from generous people.
However, at a young age Motsepe knew that this was not the life he was destined to live; hence he vowed that hard work, diligence and willpower would change the course of his life.
This early declaration saw Motsepe steadily craft his path to become an achiever. Today he and his wife, Evodia, own two flourishing businesses, Mega Food Supplies and the Radisol Group - with a potential annual turnover of R200 million.
The couple have a majority shareholding of 51 percent in Mega Food and 100 percent in Radisol. Mega Food imports and exports a wide range of food products to big and small companies throughout South Africa and abroad.
It was recently awarded more than 1 000 quotas to import chicken from the US through the African Growth Opportunities Act (Agoa).
Radisol is active in residential and commercial property management and development, agro-processing, distribution and retail. The company is also involved in the import and export business.
Sol and Evodia were desk-mates at Rantailane High School in Ga-Rankuwa almost 36 years ago and have been married for 26 years.
They have had several business failures since their first attempt in 2001. But Motsepe is certain that there won’t be room for failure this time around: they are now full-time in the business and have recruited specialists to help sustain their businesses.
Motsepe’s career began in earnest when the late Aggrey Klaaste and former editor Joe Latakgomo offered him an opportunity to write a youth column in the Sowetan when he was in Standard 9. The weekly column addressed issues of morality among the youth, including encouraging them to respect and honour their elders.
After completing his matric, he was invited to join the Sowetan as a sports writer.
When he became “bored” writing about Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, he joined the late Percy Qoboza at City Press as a news writer.
Thereafter he became one of the youngest national editors in South Africa when he was given the opportunity to edit Jive magazine and Motoring News International at various times between 1991 and 1994. He left the media space in 1994 after Evodia pressed him to get a “reasonably paying job”.
“We were grossly underpaid. Even while I was the editor of Jive and Motoring News, I could not afford my small family,” he says. “I gave it all up as I could not eat the byline’.”
He joined Transnet in 1994 where he was paid “five times more”. His move to Transnet and later Telkom created a trend among journalists to join the government sector, mining, telecommunications and other sectors as spin doctors and heads of communications.
Even though he left journalism, Motsepe regards it as a noble profession that has anchored him in most of his social and business activities. “It teaches you how to win friends and how to network. Perhaps that’s the reason I’d want to have my own media house soon to help uplift the profession.”
Motsepe is a founder member of Mphoentle Business Enterprises, Evodia Motsepe Properties and Bokamoso Consultants. He has participated in the corporate structures of various companies, in strategy and policy development, implementation and enforcement, public and private sector liaison across all spheres, people management and empowerment, resource and project management, and human capital management.
He also has a thorough knowledge of the public service regulatory framework and government programmes and priorities, including financial, knowledge and information management and communications.
His ambition is to grow his businesses and leave a lasting legacy for his children. He also wants to work towards the empowerment of underprivileged youth in rural areas.
“I know how it is to live in poverty, to go to school barefoot, to live on handouts and to be ridiculed by peers and adults alike. Poverty destroys your soul, it breaks your confidence and willingness to live,” he says.
“Even long after you’ve outlived poverty, some people still associate you with it. The little contribution I can make towards restoring, protecting and upholding the well-being of the rural youth in future would make me fulfilled.”
Motsepe says South Africa faces three very important challenges: the high unemployment rate, high poverty rate and high inequality.
In keeping with the government’s trends of empowering the disenfranchised, he wants his companies to give back to the communities they operate in through community empowerment, infrastructure support, and the education and training and skills transfer geared towards women, children and people with disability.
He says employments efforts will also be targeted for the local community, especially for women and the youth. He invites self-driven and enthusiastic youth, especially those who have qualifications in sales and marketing, to visit the websites of the two organisations and to submit their CVs online.
Besides having overcome an indigent life of 35 years ago, Motsepe says he has superficial bruises and wounds because of persecution by friends and family members alike; poor business decisions that saw his property projects fail; the poor choice of friends and business partners who were out for personal gain; and overstaying his welcome as a civil servant.
He says in spite of his background he managed to turn the corner as early as 1981, after joining the Sowetan. However, he says he undermined his achievements and almost lost his family and wife because of some shenanigans. He had a special liking for his tipple and says he hung around with immoral and deceitful people.
But he does not regret this in the long run as it taught him to differentiate between good and bad.
While he was a journalist he learnt the art of networking; when he was in government he rubbed shoulders with top ministers and politicians and was able to influence business decisions; while in the corporate world, his corporate governance, business management and leadership skills came to the fore; and while people were watching the World Cup, he prepared himself for the future by studying.
Motsepe has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree, among other qualifications.
He has represented his previous companies at strategic meetings, as well as having one-on-one engagements with political leaders as well as organised business and labour.
He has also presented papers and speeches at major conferences and meetings across the globe.
“It was not easy to be where we are. It was through grit and determination. You need to push and push until something happens,” he says.
He maintains most businesses fail because many people don’t want to work hard and are not persistent.
“They want to get rich quickly, but don’t want to make the necessary sacrifices, prioritise and be patient.”
Motsepe cites a hard example when it comes to prioritisation.
When South Africa was under the spell of the World Cup in 2010, he had to decide whether to prioritise acquiring an MBA or watch football. But all that has paid off.
Motsepe is now living pretty in an elite residential golf estate in Gauteng with top businessmen, politicians, celebrities and other luminaries as his neighbours.
However, he is humble and displays a respectful disposition because he always remembers where he comes from.
Sunday Independent