Sakhumnotho - Building wealth in South Africa and around the world

Composed of two Zulu terms, ‘Siyakha – meaning, building or creating” and “Umnotho – meaning, wealth or the economy”, Sakhumnotho is a company geared towards giving back to communities whilst uplifting the South African economy, Africa and the world.

South Africa based, Pan-African investment holding company, Sakhumnotho Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd., has thrived year in and year out – since 2000 – as a diversified investment firm with interests in financial services, mining, property, oil and gas, education, surveillance and security systems, ICT, document storage, aviation and other strategic sectors.

Under the leadership of Founder and Executive Chairman, Prof. Sipho Mseleku, and the guidance of the Head of Energy, Bradley Cerff, Sakhumnotho has continuously invested in the experience, track record and sound management of well-run businesses, prioritising minorities and influencing decision-making to accelerate the growth of enterprises.

Big on impact

Born and raised in the East Rand township known as Katlehong, in Gauteng, Prof. Mseleku attributes his strong work ethic and unique business acumen to his God-fearing parents and Christian family upbringing. “My parents brought us up, as children, in prayer, the church, and with an overall Christian orientation. This became a big part of our lifestyle. And I thank God that I was brought up by such a great family, and with such great parents”, says Mseleku. Today, Prof. Mseleku has ingrained his faith and values into the foundation and upholding of Sakhumnotho, making it a “God centred organisation”. Thus, the company is underpinned by the notion of “From self to others”.

Personal success, to me, is just making a difference in other people’s lives

Mseleku is clear that the company’s largest focus remains on ‘impact’, and making a positive influence on society and communities in South Africa. At the forefront, business facilitation, entrepreneurial education, mentorship and training, and youth development are of highest importance for the organisation. Through the Global School of Entrepreneurship (GBSE) and Global Business Roundtable (GBR), the Sakhumnotho Group remains dedicated to the creation of conducive environments needed for SMEs to flourish across the continent.

“We’re very big on impact. We [Sakhumnotho] believe that the very reason for our existence, as a company, is to make an impact in the lives of many people. Through global organisations, we’ve impacted millions of people around the world, and our future is about those organisations. We exist as a business to support those organisations - to see the lives of many people change and to see them contribute meaningfully to the economy”, explains Mseleku.

“Consistently, over the past eleven years, we’ve invested more than R200-million supporting the work of the Global Business Roundtable, The Global Fund for Jesus, the expansion programmes across the globe, the activities and the events, TV programmes, leadership academy”, Mseleku continues. “ To see many lives transformed has been very rewarding”.

SAKHUMNOTHO’S SUCCESS:

- Agility

- Quick adaptation

- Good team & great work ethic

- Strong unity

- Strong investment teams

- Give as much as we can

- Understanding that ‘for every seed there is a harvest’

- We put God first

Secrets to success

As a seasoned business professional and academic, Prof. Mseleku holds many titles and has contributed to multiple sector Boards, both public and private - at national and international levels. With an impressive background as a business expert, he is the immediate past President of the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, representing commerce and industry from all 46 African countries. Mseleku is highly passionate about African business, and feels strongly about intra- African trade.

In 2009, he established the Global Business Roundtable, of which he is the Convener, which has a significant impact in close to 60 different countries. Prof. Mseleku also holds multiple academic qualifications, namely, BA (Hons), LLB, LLM (Tax Law), and H.Dip Company Law - all of which was obtained at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg. Mseleku is also a Fellow of the Institute of Directors, and an Admitted Attorney of the High Court of South Africa.

Additionally, Prof.. Mseleku is the chairman of the Global Fund for Christ - uplifting the disadvantaged through education, health, infrastructure development, poverty alleviation, food security and employment creation programmes.

When asked about all the success he has achieved thus far, Prof. Mseleku explains that he maintains an understanding of personal success that is “not quite traditional”.

“Personal success, to me, is just making a difference in other people’s lives, living for a purpose, and understanding why you exist - why God created you. Once you find your meaning, you begin to succeed in life”.

PROF. MSELEKU’S INVESTMENT ADVICE FOR AFRICA

1. We will see a trend in investment in innovative start-ups, from real transformers and changemakers.

2. In order to truly invest in SMEs, we need to have training and entrepreneurship introduced in schools from as early as grade 8

3. Green Energy is the future: Renewable Energy Investment in South Africa is on the rise.

4. Fintech is going to be big, globally, and is one of the biggest ‘future industries’ that we need to be following carefully.

5. Society needs to prepare for ‘meaningful participation’ in the economy.

6. BBEE must be made more impactful: we need to celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit.

7. We also need to prioritise inclusivity in terms of jobs and social impact projects.

When it comes to facing hurdles in all spheres of his life, Prof. Mseleku’s approach is to “have faith, trust and hope in God”. He emphasises that it is prayer which assists him with focus and resilience which retains his drive to succeed and overcome obstacles. “Try to focus on transforming one additional life per day”, he urges. “When you’re confronted with hurdles and bad situations, you need to focus and be persistent - do not lose focus of your purpose”.

With such drive and commitment to all pillars of life, it’s no surprise as to why Prof. Mseleku was just recently appointed as an Adjunct Professor in the College of Economics and Management Sciences at the University of South Africa (UNISA). He will be inspiring and teaching young students, as a guest expert, providing industry insight and key thought leadership ideas.

Conquering Covid strategically

As the pandemic has had negative effects on all businesses worldwide, Mseleku explains that as a diversified investment holdings company, Sakhumnotho has investments in many sectors (including mining, energy, real estate, ICT, agriculture etc.) which felt the pain of Covid-19, for the 2019-2020 period. However, most of these sectors are bouncing back and making a great recovery.

“It [Covid-19] did, however, create opportunities amidst these challenges, in that we had to adapt quickly, learn new ways of doing business, and we became more efficient in terms of using our time to focus on business”, explains Prof. Mseleku. Mseleku shares that despite Sakhumnotho being ‘cushioned’ by all its diversified investments, pain was felt and many had to pivot.

“In business, if the first approach doesn’t work out, take a different approach, and know when to move on and work towards something else”, he encourages.

Prof. Mseleku is excited about the road ahead for the Sakhumnotho Group, indicating that the focus will still be on making a significant, positive impact on people, despite taking a knock during this pandemic. At present, there are plans put in place for better integration, reaching 200 nations through new projects and initiatives, and facilitating a training camp geared towards ‘linking people to opportunities and mentors’.

Sakhumnotho energy in focus A key member of the Sakhumnotho Group and the Head of Energy, Bradley Cerff, has been with the organisation for almost 5 years, making critical contributions to the group’s energy investments - with a particular focus on power, oil and gas. He Is responsible for strategic portfolio management, investment review, cash flow and delivery. A member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), Southern African Institute for Business Accountants (SAIBA), and an Advisory Board member for the South African Institute for Advanced Materials Chemistry (SAIAMC), at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), Bradley has previously obtained a BSc and BSc (Hons) degree, as well as an MSc from UWC), and a BBA (Hons) and MBA from Stellenbosch University. He is currently pursuing his Doctor of Philosophy degree in the Western Cape.

The energy mix Cerff began his journey in the energy space as a geo-physicist from the Cape Flats, with a bright future ahead of him. As a graduate, he worked for De Beers, and then went on to work for a JSE-listed company, known as SacOil Holdings (now Efora Energy), as a Senior Executive. He was instrumental in contributing to the drafting of the JSE Gas Codes (tracking codes used to list companies). Cerff’s work at Sakhumnotho, then, began in 2016. His passion for Sakhumnotho’s Energy division stems from his core belief: “South Africa is where the opportunities are in the energy business”.

“Sakhumnotho is a global business with various subsidiaries. We have footprints in various countries; our focus is in South Africa, but we have an outlook globally”, he says.

“My ‘why’ comes from wanting to make a positive contribution through everything I do - life, family or career… Be positive and make a positive difference”.

Green energy is here to stay

If there’s one thing that this pandemic has taught us all, is that we need to change our approach to how we deal with hurdles. As Prof. Mseleku stated, though Sakhumnotho was cushioned, there were farreaching consequences to face and manage. “We need to look at the opportunities in energy”, says Cerff. “For example, loadshedding is seen as negative, but yet the renewable energy boom came out of it...We need to believe in our abilities.”

As the Head of Energy, Cerff comments that, with renewable energy sources and cleaner living and energy production, Sakhumnotho will make a huge difference to the energy mix. “We need green, renewable energy. We cannot rely on just one source. What we do now is going to have implications tomorrow”, he continues.

“Green needs to be part of our energy mix, and our everyday habits...

"Green energy alternatives will bring more energy to the people, from a South African standpoint.” Cerff urges us to remember that “there is no planet B” at this stage. This is why it is so reassuring to see younger generations getting on board with cleaner energy lifestyles.

“We still need ‘base load’. So green energy can only get us so far. In time, things will change. We will see a change in thinking and energy perspectives in terms of creating less pollution. For example, research has shown that wind can be considered for base load as a low carbon energy source”, explains Cerff.

Major investment and value

One of Sakhomnotho’s biggest energy investments is Total - a broad energy company, which produces and markets fuels, natural gas and electricity. Total contributes to the downstream side of Southern Africa’s fuel and retail, in terms of petroleum and renewables. However, Covid-19 has had a definite impact on the energy division, as a whole. Cerff comments that many investment projects were stalled and exited.

“The impact on the reach of the South African renewable programme has various knock on effects which have had an impact on business, but with the right, new protocols in place, we will make a good comeback. Things will be improving in the next six months or so.” Even in the midst of multiple new challenges, Bradley strongly believes that many countries in the world can actually learn a thing or two for South Africa.

“They can benefit from what we’ve done and from the legislation practices”, he says.

“The move to renewables was a very necessary one. South Africa has built up renewable energy expertise. There is lot’s of synergy, now, between people and countries as we are helping others with energy infrastructure, which leads to economic cooperation”.

As Sakhumnotho Group Holdings continues to make profound and meaningful impact on people’s lives and economies around the world its growth strategy remains anchored in one goal: becoming an exemplary Pan African global company and with Prof. Mseleku at the helm the future is bright for this purpose-driven global investment company.

SAKHUMNOTHO’S ESG PRACTICES

- Zooming in in renewables and producing clean fuel

- Good Governance Structure

- Compliance with Government legislation and exceeding these expectations

- Minimizing environmental impact at all costs