[ T H OUGHT LE A DE RS HIP A RTICLE ]
Mogau Wheel & Tyre Group addresses youth empowerment and poverty
Basadi Automotive’s Malakaone breaking barriers for women in the automotive industry A trailblazer in a traditionally male-dominated industry, Josephine Malakaone, a young woman from Bramley, Johannesburg, has broken barriers for Black youth and women in the vehicle towing industry.
With youth empowerment and addressing poverty as their primary goal the powerful husband and wife team of Tebogo Netshivhangani (Operations Manager) and Khomotso Mokhabukhi (Director), began their journey to success in the tyre fitment sector nine years ago. In 2011 they established Mogau Wheel & Tyre in Moletsane, Soweto and later secured a license to operate as a Supa Quick franchise. The change enabled them to improve their marketability, business processes, equipment and profitability. What began as a small enterprise has since grown into a thriving business employing 19 people. They recently converted the Moletsane outlet to a Dunlop Express and have also opened two additional outlets, one in Devland Soweto, under the Best Drive Continental franchise and a Tyremart in Booysens, Johannesburg, where their head office is located. The company also has three vans that provide roadside assistance to the trucking industry while also doing onsite repairs, alignment and fitment for trucks and other vehicles. The company services Avis Fleet within the Barloworld Group. Barloworld Siyakhula, which supports the growth of SMMEs, has provided development financing to the Mogau Wheel & Tyre Group to acquire the building they occupy in Booysens and the development of a diversified retail centre with a restaurant, carwash, butchery and a Bosch car service facility that will add mechanical repairs to their bouquet of automotive services.
Josephine grew impatient with the slow pace of transformation after working for large corporates in the automotive sector for ten years. Frustrated by the lack of diversity and under-representation of Black women she witnessed in the industry, she established her own company in late 2019 - Basadi Automotive, which provides towing and fleet movement services. Barely 30 at the time, she was distressed by the country’s chronically high youth unemployment rate and felt compelled to do something about it by starting her own business. Undeterred by a lack of resources, she bought her first truck from an auction, repaired it, and converted it into a tow truck. She then went knocking on doors of corporates that manage large fleets and got her first break with Avis Fleet, which contracted Basadi Automotive to tow vehicles in their fleet. Even when business came to a near standstill with the national lockdown in early 2020 which halted most commercial activities, Josephine persevered, continued knocking on doors and steadily grew her corporate client base.
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