15/07/2022
“One of my most vivid childhood memories is that of my father, a truck driver, being paged on his walkie-talkie: ‘Unit 7, control, come in’. I didn’t know what it meant. But knew that when that call came through, it was the cue for my father to leave for work.
My dad passed on in 2003, but his memory lives on. My truck company is called Unit 7 Logistics. I hope wherever he is, he is looking down proudly on me.
Six years ago, I was still working as an insurance retention & sales adviser in Midrand. In 2012, my manager told me that I had the work ethic of an entrepreneur,& two years later, I won a top performer award. But it took me until January 2016 to leave my full-time job to go after my dream.
It was a massive struggle at first. I had no logistics experience, capital, or the necessary documentation needed to qualify for Request For Proposals (RFP). I didn’t know how to tender successfully, and it becomes very technical.
In 2018, after I joined the Zimele Enterprise Development programme, things started looking up. I started developing the knowledge & gaining experience I needed to bid for contracts. But even with that I had to borrow money from my sister to get the certificates of good standing needed to bid for Anglo American Platinum business.
I formed a joint venture with Evelyn, who had the necessary logistics experience required for the tender. She is now the director & has helped strengthen our B-BBEE standing.
About 176 companies applied for the tender to transport concentrate from Anglo American Platinum’s operations to its processing operations in Polokwane. Starting with only 2 trucks in October 2021, I have financed 4 more trucks through Zimele & now have 28 staff members, all from local communities.
I’m not even close to done yet. I’m doing supplier training through Zimele & would like to add more trucks to my fleet. I also want to grow out of Mogalakwena into other areas.
Logistics is not an easy business. I hardly sleep as an owner! I don't have a manager yet, so when trucks break down, I attend to everything. But it's worth all the hard work."
- Sammy Mmotlana, Unit 7 Logistics
