Tag: Mighty Comms

Opportunities ripe for female entrepreneurs to shatter glass ceiling

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The entrepreneurial gender gap is slowly closing in many countries, and in these days, women are as likely as men to start a small business. In hot pursuit of such gender parity is South Africa, where seven women are engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship for every ten male entrepreneurs, according to the recently released 2016/2017 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

However, it is imperative for both the public and private sectors in South Africa to band together in order to create an environment where woman entrepreneurs feel well-supported in terms of business growth and development.

We sat down with the female finalists of the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition who said that although there are highly capable and talented female entrepreneurs in the country, the landscape could still be more conducive. In light of this, they provided insight into how women entrepreneurship can be better supported in South Africa:

Nelisiwe Magubane, chairperson of Matleng Energy, says that the current economic downturn is presenting a number of opportunities and realisations that more women need to be job creators rather than job seekers. However, in order to truly realise this potential and assist female entrepreneurs to flourish, the utilisation of preferential policies as well as the prioritisation of female entrepreneurship should be maximised.

Echoing this sentiment is Refilwe Marumo, director of Mighty Comms, who says that the opportunities for female entrepreneurs in South Africa are slowly improving, thanks to the latest Preferential Procurement Policy which includes the proposed new Preferential Procurement Regulations, an introduction of a compulsory sub-contracting clause stating that a minimum of 30% of the value of all contracts above R 30 million should be undertaken by SMMEs, women, youth, black persons or persons with disabilities.  

“In light of this, the ‘big’ companies in need of subcontractors will be making use of a lot more women owned businesses. However, even with these sorts of measures in place, it really is up to women to market their businesses effectively,” continues Refilwe.

Lindy Scott, Managing & Creative Director of Conceptual Eyes says that although entrepreneurship is seen as high risk to many, in an emerging and dynamic market like South Africa, opportunity is everywhere.  “The market is equally diverse and women should not be scared to work in traditionally male industries; if your service or product adds value – be brave and go for it,” she adds.

“There is no doubt that the number of women entrepreneurs in South Africa is on the rise, despite an unlevelled battle ground,” agrees Ouma Tema founder of Plus-Fab. “South Africa is slowly but surely embracing the new era of women in leadership, and it is imperative for these leaders to be female role models in order for younger women to see the possibility of translating their entrepreneurial aspirations into reality.”

Whilst female entrepreneurship is on the increase in South Africa, it is crucial for these women to speak out against impediments to their development and learn from each other in order to promote entrepreneurship amongst women in South Africa even further.

To get the ball rolling, the finalists provided the following tips for aspiring female entrepreneurs to consider:

  • Maximise networks: This is a great way for entrepreneurs to further extend their knowledge within their field, as well as draw support and inspiration from likeminded individuals. 
  • Learn from mistakes: The path to success will be full of failures, however entrepreneurs should not let this deter them from their goals. Instead, use these failures as lessons and stepping stones to success.
  • Persevere: Although entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, don’t lose sight of why you started. Remember, that in the end, the reward will be worth the risk.

Innovative entrepreneur taking the local ICT sector by storm

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100% black female owned company – Mighty Comms – is a broadband solutions company that has carved out a niche for itself in the South African ICT sector. The company offers clients across various sectors broadband and network design services, deployments, installations and maintenance services.

Mighty Comms founder, Refilwe Marumo, says she has encountered many twists and turns during her entrepreneurial journey. “My first business venture was a corporate cleaning business established in 2005 named Mighty Care, which traded for about three or four years. This was followed by a period of broadcasting service applications with a consortium, but after two rounds of applications, we were still not successful and the business had to evolve in order to survive.

“In 2014, we underwent a name change, from Mighty Care to Mighty Comms, and armed with a new vision we focused on the ICT industry, and offered a selection of products that we had experience in. With a staff complement of only four, we started small and the growth has since been organic.”

Today, Mighty Comms employs 10 people, the bulk of which are female technicians and ICT specialists. “We broadened our scope to deployments in 2016, which meant a greater focus on Core Network designs, LAN installations and maintenance, which led to the additional job creation for six technicians. We are passionate about empowering women in the ICT sector and have upskilled all new employees through various courses offered to the ICT industry.

Having recently embarked on machine monitoring innovation with our partner IoT NxT, Marumo says that further employment will be created over the coming year. “Machine monitoring innovation is truly the cutting edge of the Internet of Things (IoT), where analogue equipment is ‘transformed’ into digital, for easier monitoring and asset tracing.

“We believe we are at the crux of the future and in order to scale accordingly, are taking in 20 new learners, who will receive the necessary ICT industry training and exposure. The idea is that some of these learners will be employed by Mighty Comms on a full-time basis in the future,” she explains.

Accredited with global original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Alcatel Lucent, Huawei and Ruckus, and boasting an impressive list of Government and private clients, Mighty Comms seems set for great things. “The business has shown significant growth in the past year, increasing revenue by a whopping 147%,” says Marumo. “We have also been approached by three multinational companies in the past year – one that offers hospital management solutions and another that supplies two-way radio trunking products and a swift messaging platform for the banking sector – to be their local partner.

“These partnerships have led to an even greater focus on the upskilling and training of our employees, as our technicians will need to learn the ropes on how we can take these new products to market,” she concludes.

Refilwe Marumo is a finalist in the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS. For more information on her business, please visit the Mighty Comms website: mightycomms.co.za.

Opportunities ripe for female entrepreneurs to shatter glass ceiling

Posted on by Webmaster

The entrepreneurial gender gap is slowly closing in many countries, and in these countries women as likely as men to start a small business. In hot pursuit of such gender parity is South Africa, where seven women are engaged in early-stage entrepreneurship for every ten male entrepreneurs, according to the recently released 2016/2017 Global Entrepreneurship Monitor.

Speaking in light of National Women’s Month, Gugu Mjadu, spokesperson for the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, sponsored by Sanlam and BUSINESS/PARTNERS, says that it is important for both the public and private sectors to band together in order to create an environment where women entrepreneurs feel well-supported in terms of business growth and development. “According to some of the top female entrepreneurs in South Africa, and finalists of the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® competition, although there are highly capable and talented female entrepreneurs in the country, the landscape could be more conducive,” she says.

These female leaders offer their insights into how women entrepreneurship can be better supported in South Africa:

Nelisiwe Magubane, chairperson of Matleng Energy, says that the current economic downturn is presenting a number of opportunities and realisations that more women need to be job creators rather than job seekers. However, in order to truly realise this potential and assist female entrepreneurs to flourish, the utilisation of preferential policies as well as the prioritisation of female entrepreneurship should be maximised.

Echoing this sentiment is Refilwe Marumo, director of Mighty Comms, who says that the opportunities for female entrepreneurs in South Africa are slowly improving, thanks to the latest Preferential Procurement Policy which includes the proposed new Preferential Procurement Regulations, an introduction of a compulsory sub-contracting clause stating that a minimum of 30% of the value of all contracts above R 30 million should be undertaken by SMMEs, women, youth, black persons or persons with disabilities.  

“In light of this, the ‘big’ companies in need of subcontractors are expected to make use of a lot more women owned businesses. However, even with these sorts of measures in place, it really is up to women to market their businesses effectively,” continues Refilwe.

Lindy Scott, Managing & Creative Director of Conceptual Eyes says that although entrepreneurship is seen as high risk to many, in an emerging and dynamic market like South Africa, opportunity is everywhere.  “The market is equally diverse and women should not be scared to work in traditionally male industries; if your service or product adds value – be brave and go for it,” she adds.

“There is no doubt that the number of women entrepreneurs in South Africa is on the rise, despite an unlevelled battle ground,” agrees Ouma Tema founder of Plus-Fab. “South Africa is slowly but surely embracing the new era of women in leadership, and it is imperative for these leaders to be female role models in order for younger women to see the possibility of translating their entrepreneurial aspirations into reality.”

Mjadu points out that the recently released Sage report – The Hidden Factors: Fostering Entrepreneurship – revealed that 56% of women agreed that being an entrepreneur is a lonely endeavour which lacks support, and that only 14% of women have a business mentor or role model. “Whilst female entrepreneurship is on the increase in South Africa, it is crucial for female entrepreneurs to speak out against the impediments to their development and learn from each other in order to promote entrepreneurship amongst women in South Africa even further,” she adds.

To get the ball rolling, the 2017 Entrepreneur of the Year® finalists provide the following tips for aspiring female entrepreneurs to consider:

  • Maximise networks: This is a great way for entrepreneurs to further extend their knowledge within their field, as well draw support and inspiration from likeminded individuals. 
  • Learn from mistakes: The path to success will be full of failures, however entrepreneurs should not let this deter them from their goals. Instead, use these failures as lessons and stepping stones to success.
  • Persevere: Although entrepreneurship can be a lonely journey, don’t lose sight of why you started. Remember, that in the end, the reward will be worth the risk.