Company Profile: An African brand with global vision

Written by Administrator
Monday, 19 December 2011 10:33

Mosa is an African word meaning grace. “Grace is to be kind. It displays a pleasing and attractive quality, and this is what defines us and our corporate founding principles,” says Mosa founder and group chief executive Rudzani Christopher Singo.

The launch of the Mosa group and its subsequent rise to global importance tells an important African story of humility, symbolised by Christopher’s own humble roots; he grew up the rural north-eastern part of South Africa formerly known as Venda.

The Mosa group of companies represents a diverse collection of businesses in the engineering, retail and minerals sectors. Mosa also has an established Ugandan operation and an international division.

Christopher is nothing if not pragmatic, yet his successes to date are founded on his ability to dream and a desire to empower himself and others. The group’s vision embraces the dream of a self-sustainable continent. For Christopher this is not a lofty ideal, and his own rise from a rural upbringing to an international business career is proof. Clear, concise strategic statements sustaining constant improvement at every level and strong social responsibility values – these are all practical drivers supporting his goals.

Matriculating from Thohoyandou Technical High School in 1993 and completing his national diploma in mechanical engineering at Unisa in 1997, Christopher went on to complete a diploma in business management and a post-graduate diploma in management negotiation. He completed a master’s degree in business administration in 2004. He is a member of the Engineering Council of South Africa, the South African Institute of Mechanical Engineers, the Institute of Directors, the South African Mining Development Association, and the Association of South African Quantity Surveyors. Typical of successful leaders, he is currently involved in further study within the mechanical engineering field, through Unisa.

The work experience he gained before starting his own business laid a strong foundation for his future.

“From my early days, I’ve always wanted to be in business. I always wanted to have a holding company with subsidiaries,” he says. “I’ve been inspired by the Bill Lynches of this world, who in the seventies was running a bush mechanic operation in Alberton. A few years later he was based in Johannesburg when he started Imperial. Ten to 15 years later Imperial was a multi-million-rand turnover company. By the early 2000s it had become a multi-billion-rand company.”

Founding Mosa, and diversifying the company

Christopher’s experience as a quality engineer at Volkswagen SA, a logistics engineer at DaimlerChrysler and a commercial projects manager at Imperial cargo – all blue chip corporate businesses – prepared Christopher to create his own network of companies. He started Mosa Engineering Services in 2005. With expertise in mechanical, civil, and electrical engineering fields, Mosa Engineering Services has grown its operations by successfully managing government tender opportunities. Being called in to correct poorly completed work done by other contractors, Mosa Engineering’s workload – both in sub- and main contractor positions – increased, and the company established itself as the “go to” firm for projects with budgets ranging from R5 million to R10 million.

A R50 million Public Works project for the North-West province is amongst their success stories. The completion of a R10 million water-reticulation project with 12 kilometres of pipeline providing 80 000 litres of water is another. On behalf of the Gauteng Department of Education, Mosa Engineering has converted 14 further education and training workshops and is in the process of converting another 11. In projects where it has been the main contractor, Mosa Engineering has brought in the expertise of some of the world’s leading engineering firms, and there have been mutual benefits in terms of knowledge and capability improvement.

In keeping with Christopher’s original vision of creating a diversified set of subsidiaries, a retail division was created and some well-known and established franchised brands were acquired. The concept for Mosa Retail began in 2009. Whilst the engineering arm boasted a healthy order book, it was largely reliant on government, which meant that cash flow was slow. Christopher and his board identified the retail sector, specifically the food and beverage division, as providing fast cash flow in a commercial sector buoyed by consumer trends – people always need to eat, drink and buy groceries. Mosa subsequently acquired a small number of consolidated franchise outlets and in May this year opened a Cappello restaurant in Roodepoort. Shortly thereafter, Mosa acquired a Mike’s Kitchen, and most recently the group launched pub/restaurant the Brazen Head in Limpopo. In 2012 the group intends to expand into grocery outlets and encompass the petrol-station network as part of its distribution model.

A clear and critical aspect of Christopher’s vision has been to establish business interests up into the African continent. Registered in Kampala, Mosa’s Ugandan operations represents the group’s aggressive growth plan with a mandate to scout for business opportunities in the central African region – ranging from Southern Sudan through Burundi, Rwanda to the Democratic Republic of the Congo – be it in manufacturing, minerals or retail. There are plans to create a similar base in West Africa, which will allow the group to focus on the length and breadth of that region.

The fourth subsidiary of the Group is Mosa Mineral Resources. Its focus is on the acquisition of mineral rights both inside South Africa’s borders and beyond, in territories such as Liberia and Uganda. Established nearly three years ago, this division is definitely a “work in progress”. Establishing one’s corporate credentials and getting a foothold in the network takes time, and in addition the investments required are significant and costly. Creating the required cash flow has required some patience. Christopher and the board know, however, that the opportunities exist, and the long-term benefits to the group make this division critical to its growth.

Mosa International, registered in London, was established to market the brand as an international operation. Having identified opportunities to work with organisations such as the United Nations (UN), Mosa International is registered on the UN’s vendor database and has been active in the tender process for a number of contracts. Given its initiatives with other global businesses, the group’s vision is to be an inter-continental force to be reckoned with over the next five to 10 years.

In fewer than 10 years Christopher has seen his vision of a holding company with diverse yet strategically delineated subsidiaries grow into a multi-million-rand turnover business, and he’s not shy to say that their goal in the next three years is to hit the R100 million mark.

Far from taking exception at the idea that he started as a “village boy”, Christopher delights in being a role model for other people from humble backgrounds and hopes that the Mosa group’s successes inspire others. When asked how he defines success, he says, “Being able to see your dream come to pass. And my dream has always been to do what Bill Lynch did, to do what [Bidvest founder] Brian Joffe did.”

The values of ubuntu play a strong motivating role for Christopher and his colleagues. When he speaks of the retail division he clearly identifies the opportunity this provides the company to support job creation. When talking about the engineering division he highlights the critical need to provide clean water reticulation, sanitation, and the electrification of villages for communities. Mosa group is building bridges in more ways than one.