TO BUILD WOMAN ACHIEVER
PROFESSIONS CONSTRUCTION & CONTRACTORS
Businesses need to be solution-oriented.
Julia Petla, founder and managing director of Amedzo Trading and Projects.
Julia Petla – construction doyen To Build’s construction personality for this edition is Nkgomeleng Julia Petla, who we proudly feature in our special construction industry women’s focus. Julia Petla is the founder and managing director of Amedzo Trading and Projects cc, established in 2009 to provide turnkey solutions to the construction fraternity in South Africa and neighbouring countries. She considers being an entrepreneur in a growing economy like South Africa to be a noble profession. ‘Being in the infrastructure development space has made me realise that our contribution, regardless of capacity, is significant,” she tells To Build. ‘Businesses need to be solution-oriented. South Africa is a developing economy that requires many gaps to be filled, from infrastructure development to
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technology, educational, health and food security solutions. Businesses at whatever level need to participate as part of a grand ecosystem that exists to develop South Africa.’ Julia was awarded her Master’s Degree in Business Leadership (MBL) at the School of Business Leadership at the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 2014. Prior to this, she gained in-depth knowledge in project and strategic management and experience though working on various projects at UNISA before moving to the United Kingdom (UK). There she worked as a language practitioner in various government departments, returning to SA in 2009. Not being able to find suitable employment to meet her salary expectation at the time, she saw an opportunity to deal with the employment creation challenge. As a female black entrepreneur, she felt inspired to start Amedzo Trading and Projects as a company offering the full spectrum of building solutions in the construction fraternity. Over the past 10 years, her company has grown into a sustainable business of standing, compared to the average of most growing businesses that fail to survive beyond three years due to sustainability issues. ‘It is a milestone that energises me to keep looking for more opportunities for growth and partnerships that will take the business to a new level,’ she admits. Amedzo has good references and the business aims to surpass clients’ expectations through quality service delivery, service excellence and the ability to offer sustainable solutions.
Substation 23, completed and handed over to Venetia mine.
volume 9 | issue 2 www.tobuild.co.za
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