Mpumalanga Business 2021-22

FOCUS
Steel products company
powers ahead after Seda boost
Mboshini Engineering has gained new markets and
is making new products as a result of partnering with Seda.
Sbusiso Sibuyi started Mboshini
Engineering Steel (Pty) Ltd in 2016
after the company he worked for in
Lillydale closed its doors. The company
belonged to his father and manufactured
trailers, dumpers and burglar gates. Sbusiso
bought the company from his father and
hired him as a manager. With the skills he had
acquired, he started manufacturing burglar
doors and gates for the local community and
the Kruger National Park.
When the demand for burglar doors and
gates increased, Sbusiso expanded his product
range to steel window frames, door frames,
trailers, steel structures, bull bars, aluminium
frames and palisades. Few businesses were
offering these products at that time in the
local community and neighbouring villages.
The business has increased its business assets
by buying a tipper truck and a tracker-loaderbackhoe
(TLB).
Mboshini Engineering Steel operates from a
warehouse in Lillydale in the Ehlanzeni District
Municipality and employs three people (the
owner included).
Challenges
• Lack of funding to develop the business
• No business plan to access finance
• Lack of marketing tools
• The business lacked adequate business
management skills or systems
Interventions and solutions
The client started working with Seda in
September 2017 and the following interventions
were commissioned:
• Business management skills training
• A bankable business plan was developed to
enable the business to gain access to funding
• Financial management training was facilitated
by First National Bank
• Seda facilitated the development of signage to
advertise, promote and increase business visibility
• Referral to ABSA Bank for funding
• Advised to use digital marketing to market the
company’s products and services
• The client attended a five-day Empretec
training course.
Seda’s interventions benefited the client in
the following ways:
• The business created one permanent job,
leading to a staff complement of four and
sustained three jobs.
• Turnover increased by 55%.
• The business secured sub-tenders from the
Department of Education.
• Increase in client number and sales to such an
extent that the company has had to open a
business bank account and hire an accountant.
• Submitted a business plan to ABSA Bank and
received significant funding. The money was
used to buy a TLB.
• Accessed funding from the NYDA.
• Received a sub-tender from the Bushbuckridge
Local Municipality for the leasing of a watertank
truck.
Sbusiso Sibuyi says of the work done by Seda
Mpumalanga in assisting him gain access to
funding and to create the conditions for the
growth of his business, “Seda is doing wonderful
work in assisting even rural entrepreneurs.”
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