Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa August 2018 | Page 10

MASTER INVESTOR
a good start in life; her mother was a doctor, her father an at-
torney, and she was taught invaluable lessons in professionalism
and entrepreneurship. Most importantly, she was taught to have
confidence, and was unconditionally supported by her family. She
says: “Affirmation and confidence are two peas in a pod. If you
are an affirmed individual, by those who love you, it boosts your
confidence and tells you that you are good at something. One of
the most fundamental ingredients in life is confidence. When I
started my business I was confident enough to walk into scary
situations, but I would open my mouth, set about presenting the
story of my life and why I needed their business. No schooling
system can teach you that but you need that affirmation at home,
from people who believe in you.”
Mkhari completed her studies in Industrial Psychology and
Sociology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in 1996. During
university holidays, she worked for Eskom’s marketing depart-
ment, which gave her a solid introduction to, and appetite for,
the business world. Fresh out of university, she landed a job as
marketing director at Phosa Iso CCTV – an electronic security
systems company.
“When I met the owners of the company, the power question
the gentlemen asked me was, ‘Do you want to be an employer or
do you want to be an employee?’ I said I want to be an employ-
er.” Her entrepreneurial skills served as a catalyst for her black
economic empowerment partnership with the company, and less
than a year later, she started her own CCTV business.
“I operated out of my father’s study in the beginning. I landed
a CCTV contract with Kunene Brothers and with no credit and
no money to buy equipment I had to get bridging finance. I ap-
proached one of the banks and said ‘Here I am, with a business
plan and a contract.’ The contract was what secured the finance.
The bank was also impressed that I had something other than a
hair salon or a catering business in mind. I had to pay the money
back within a month, so I made sure the installation was absolute-
ly perfect.” The proceeds from this particular first deal served as
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
the seed capital for Motseng. And the rest is history.
At 23, Mkhari attended meetings, often being the only young,
black woman amongst groups of well-established, older business
men with years of experience in their fields. Instead of being in-
timidated, she embraced the challenge head on. She says when
speaking about this time in her journey, “When you are 23, you
look and sound young and it takes a lot to convince people you are
serious. It was hugely interesting to go to tender meetings where
I was the only black woman present. But I had an idea and a car,
and I was ready to take on the challenges. As an entrepreneur you
have to remember that success requires sacrifice and hard work
– don’t ever believe anyone who tells you different. There is no
success without struggle.”
“Success is a terrible teacher,” she quotes self-made billionaire,
Bill Gates.
In September 1998 she teamed up with former schoolmate
and friend, Sandile Nomvete, to found Motseng Investment
Holdings and currently owns 70% of the shares in this solely
black-owned property management company. When asked what
her biggest achievement is, she reminds that there is no single
achievement, but that achievement lies in the journey as an en-
trepreneur.
“We are creating a legacy. I want to be able to influence the way
South Africans do business, and inspire young people to crack it
in the business world. We are a good example to others. We have
created a business that will survive without us. Today we have the
right synergies, the right people.”
Ipeleng Mkhari is not only a formidable business woman, a vi-
sionary entrepreneur and an inspirational leader, but also the wife
of media mogul Gavin Mkhari, and the mother of four daugh-
ters. With a penchant for taking calculated risks and an insatiable
appetite for the development of young, female entrepreneurs, it is
not only apt, but serendipitous to have Ipeleng Mkhari as Master
Investor in this Women’s Month issue.