Evotel supports & upskills local contactors in 2022
Evotel helps small contractors grow and succeed
Fibre Network Operator (FNO), Evotel, is putting its support squarely behind its appointed contractors in the various regions and smaller towns across South Africa, with the express aim to develop these small and medium enterprises and their employees, providing an opportunity for these SME’s to grow and expand.
“Evotel is a company that goes out of its way to assist customers and communities to better their lives by, first of all, providing fast and reliable fibre internet access to them, but also through the development of small businesses in all the areas we build and operate in,” says Bradley Bekker, Head of Brand at Evotel.
Amongst the numerous small businesses Evotel supports, there are three contractors that are prime examples of what can be achieved when a larger organisation fully puts its backing and investment behind them.
Mosia Ke Mosia
Rustenburg contractor, Mosai ke Mosia Projects and Construction was contracted by Evotel in March this year (2021) to assist with the civil building of the Evotel network in the town. Through Evotel’s commitment and investment in the company Mosia ke Mosia has grown into a full turnkey company in less than six months.
“In March we were employed to assist with labour in the civil build of the Evotel network in Rustenburg. Evotel invested the time to help me to develop myself and grow my company by transferring skills to me, as the CEO, as well as all my employees. They went out of their way to assist in training us all to better understand the fibre business, which involves much more than just a civil build,” says Ivan Mosiah, CEO of Mosia ke Mosia.
“Because of Evotel and their training and support, they took me from a company with 10 or so builders to a company with over 100 employees in less than half a year,” Mosiah adds.
From only providing labour to build the Evotel fibre network, Mosia ke Mosia now handles almost the entire process of the build, including the sourcing of building material and sorting out building and business compliance issues, like Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) certifications – growing the company from a mere labour supplier for constructions to a more advanced building company.
“We immediately saw the talent Ivan and his builders showed and were really impressed. The skill that was presented and the willingness to do the work and get involved and learn is incredible. Ivan and his labourers drive to educate themselves made us eager to invest in and develop a very small black-owned SME,” Bekker explains.
What lies ahead for the contractor, Mosiah says: “My dream is working towards building Mosia ke Mosia into a registered Internet Service Provider (ISP) in the next three to five years. And I want my company to be like Evotel; trustworthy, giving back to communities and helping other small black-owned companies to develop and grow into bigger companies that contribute to bettering people’s lives.”
Being a company that is focused on the improvement of people’s lives, Evotel wants to uplift communities in any way other than just providing fast and reliable fibre internet. “We have made it a point to involve local contractors and train them to continue the maintenance and upkeep of our network in those areas,” says Bekker.
Somali Investments
The other small contractor, operating in Upington, that also grabbed Evotel’s attention is Somali Investments. Once again, the contractor was employed to assist Evotel building its fibre infrastructure in the Northern Cape town and has since then only grown from strength to strength.
Says Nonhlanhla Nxumalo, owner and director of Somali Investments: “The relationship with Evotel is phenomenal. I feel blessed to have crossed paths with the company. The lines of communication between Evotel and Somali Investments are clear and transparent, and there are no grey areas.”
Somali Investments is a turnkey solutions company for building fibre to the home (FTTH), fibre to the area (FTTA), fibre to the business (FTTB); infrastructure that is then transferred to an FNO (Fibre Network Operator) who will use it to provide high-speed access to the internet.
“Being a business woman, my mission and value in life has always been about uplifting and empowering communities through employment opportunities. In essence, the same as Evotel. Evotel can be proud of being a company that empowers disadvantaged communities prevalently with job creation – that resides in my heart of hearts.”
Says Bradley Bekker, Head of Brand at Evotel: “Working with Somali Investments is a pleasure. We share similar values and beliefs and what stands out is owner, Nonhlanhla Nxumalo’s, drive, professionalism and genuine commitment towards empowering those around her.”
Nxumalo says that Somali Investments has experienced significant growth as a result of working with Evotel. “Since I have embarked on a journey with Evotel my business has grown significantly. I started off with 10 permanent employees and two teams of 20 contractors in each. Through my relationship and working together with Evotel this grew by 72% and we now boast 178 employees including SMME’s.”
Somali Investments also grew its revenue by leaps and bounds. In 2018 the company recorded a revenue of R300k and through the opportunity of working with Evotel for four months, Nxumalos says: “My turnover is over 6 digits, moving from 30% to 70% and well over the R1.1 million mark.”
She attributes the growth directly to working with Evotel. “All the credit definitely goes to Evotel! Somali Investment is currently where it is because of the opportunity Evotel awarded us,” she adds.
Says Bekker: “This is exactly what we aim to achieve when partnering with small and upcoming companies. We want to share knowledge with these companies and their leadership to grow and expand; to create and supply more employment opportunities and to grow these businesses into financially secure companies and then to continue sharing the wealth and carrying it forward to grow the industry and smaller organisations,” says Bekker.
Nxumalo is confident in Somali Investments’ future and says that the sky’s the limit. “I have learnt that when making a decision, never make it solely for financial gain. Always look out for the long-term effects, which will always stand you in good stead.”
“We are glad to have contributed to the immense growth Somali Investments has experienced as a result of working with Evotel. We trust that our partnership will continue to make a positive impact on the lives of others as we continue this journey,” Bekker says.
All of these contractors have expressed their sincere appreciation for Evotel’s trust and belief in them. They have individually thanked the company for its training, skills transfers, guidance and general upliftment, and assisting their growth and success. They committed to also pay it forward, as gratitude for the opportunities Evotel has afforded them.
“Evotel is a company that is focussed on improving people’s lives. We want to do all we can to uplift communities, not only by providing reliable fibre internet in these areas, but also by investing in the communities and by training youths and sharing skills to small businesses to create a prosperous local economy. What we aim to achieve is already becoming reality as can be seen through the significant growth Mosia ke Mosia, Somali Investment and Badlani Projects has shown in less than a year. Helping grow these small businesses into secure companies in our industry to ultimately provide Fibre for Everyone,” concludes Evotel’s Bekker.
Podcast links:
Upington: https://pod.link/Evotel/episode/edddf386a109ae97cd89d9e6e17567bf
Rustenburg: https://pod.link/Evotel/episode/eff4a10595fd421c648d5bf281421d4a
YouTube links:
Upington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWDze7fRN0o&t=10s
Rustenburg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ5_1iMZVO8
