The dire unemployment situation in South Africa is increasingly compelling the country’s youth to constantly be on the lookout for entrepreneurial opportunities and to seize them, and this is exactly what Durban University of Technology alumni and entrepreneur Terry Mavundla has done over the past decade.
Mavundla is the founder and CEO of Durban-based mobile apps development and software programming company Wisolve, and his company currently employs eight young people permanently, with another four temporarily hired.
Mavundla, alongside his partners founded Wisolve in 2015 in a DUT student residence dormitory, and a decade later the company has some of the country’s biggest companies as its clientele.
Although Wisolve has its focus on Information Technology (I.T), his eye for opportunity saw him and his partners establish the Wisolve Family Group, which was a vehicle used to seek other entrepreneurial opportunities and provide solutions.
As part of diversifying his portfolio, the Wisolve Group now also has Pine Industrial currently operating at the Port of Durban in the vessel discharging space, where the company provides trucks that discharge commodities such as Manganese, Iron Ore, and Mill Scale from vessels at the port.
Another incredible example of the parent group’s versatility is its marketing and branding wing, which is responsible for Bidvest’s image, from their business cards, website, I.T services, and social media while their pest control division services AT&F towers at airports in KwaZulu-Natal and several restaurants in Durban.
Speaking to the innobiz DUT team, Mavundla explains that it was incumbent upon him to employ young people because they are the next generation, with an idea of what is happening on the ground that people of a certain age might not be privy to.
He shares that for small businesses and start-ups to address unemployment, they need to spread their wings and diversify because when an entrepreneur interacts with a lot of individuals they get exposed to a lot of opportunities that can then open doors for young people.
“We must push for growth because the more we scale, the more opportunities we get, the more we are able to employ young people, give them opportunities and sustain those jobs.
“Young people always bring fresh energy to the room, and it’s nice to also help younger people to try to avoid the mistakes that one has had to go through in navigating life in general,” Mavundla explains.
Delving into the intricacies of having a young workforce, Mavundla speaks of how difficult it can sometimes be as the expectation that they are learning from him on how not to make mistakes is not met.
“Sometimes it’s agitating seeing them not wanting to live up to their full potential. In life there are things that stop some people from dreaming enough, we are afraid of our dreams.
“There are internet and social media platforms teaching people how to be skilled without going to an actual university. They are missing out on such opportunities, yet they can learn without any borders in any sectors, for instance YouTube has a lot of mentors, but I just feel that young people are not in that frame of mind, and I include myself in that as I’m still under 35,” Mavundla highlights.
He also raises the significant issue of culture within an organisation, saying that at Wisolve Family Group the culture is on a peer level not an age or position level, with no emphasis on rank and hierarchy, which creates a space where the entire team is able to contribute freely.
“If you sit down and listen to people’s ideas and ambitions, there are some great ideas from there. We all have a culture of not giving up, so when faced with circumstances, that’s the strength of the current group I am working with,” Mavundla said.
He also reiterates his encouragement to young people to skill themselves with the opportunities available to them, be it through the internet or short courses at institutions of higher learning.
With the tough economic environment faced by a lot of up-and-coming enterprises, Mavundla said that it was important for him to keep his team always motivated to ensure maximum output.
“Motivation is us producing, we celebrate our wins, we are always enthusiastic and that goes back to the culture that says in whatever we do we do it to the best of our ability and when issues arise, we can come up with solutions without having to go through a lot of consultative channels. If an employee feels that a decision that they are making is in the best interest of the business, we will support it because we view it as that employee having taken a decision which is in the best interest of the business that enables us to be more progressive, get more clients,” Mavundla explains.
Additionally, he says that as an employer one of the most satisfying moments is when he must give a call to the temporary workers to give them a job.
“Every time we give them a call and we says there is work and we need them tomorrow, the gratitude, the energy, the excitement of them having to wake up to go to work, is one of the greatest joys in regards to opportunities to young because there are a lot of young people who want to work, who want jobs, to put food on the table, who want to feel like a man and provide for their families,” Mavundla said.
He also shares that one of his dreams is that when the company grows it can grow to a level whereby it can employ a lot of young people, because they are hungry for opportunities to work and hate sitting at home and want to make money.
“I would be very grateful to achieve a big employment of youth, and I hope to do, I know we are capable to do that,” added Mavundla.
Pictured: DUT alumni and entrepreneur Terry Mavundla, founder and CEO of the Wisolve Family Group.
Samkelo Mtshali
