Pamodzi, which literally means “togetherness”, embodies the spirit with which Ndaba Ntsele conducts business

Currently enjoying the limelight as the chief executive officer of one of South Africa’s largest investment companies, Pamodzi Investment Holdings, Ndaba Ntsele has proved that perseverance and hard work do pay off. The company has been actively involved in technology, food and beverages as well as financial resources, to mention a few sectors.

Pamodzi Investment Holdings – the Black Management Forum’s “Progressive Company of the Year” for 2007 – is the fund adviser for the US$1.3-billion Pamodzi Resources Fund I (PRF).

The PRF seeks to deliver superior financial returns for investors and partners, through investing in the resources and mine-to-market infrastructure sectors in sub-Saharan Africa. With support from the South African government and the private sector, the fund is uniquely positioned to capture rapid growth in the sector.

“The journey to do anything in life is not an easy one: you have to work hard, you need to be action-oriented and don’t have to fear the unknown,” says Ntsele.

“When we were growing up, there were a lot of things imparted into our brains by colleagues, family and everyone around us, which now hinder our progress because such indoctrination holds us back. Constant reminders that you cannot be as successful as the Nicky Oppenheimers or the Warren Buffets of this world, on account of your skin colour; and that, as an African, you cannot own a conglomerate that employs 10 000 people, or be involved in mining, are dominant.

“There are also a number of areas perceived as white domains, but the bottom line is that we are all the same in all senses,” he adds.

Ntsele subscribes to the ideology that colonisation contributed to the sense of inferiority felt by most blacks. Characteristically, one is always wary that one cannot attain a certain level of success. In that case, whatever one does, one is limited in that one never aspires to the next level.

“People will try to put you down; but whatever they say, you must always be ready for it, so that you are able to pursue your goals irrespective of the negativity that surrounds you,” he says.

“These are the things that you must condition your mind to. Once you have done that, when you talk to a financial institution or business partners, they will see you know what you are talking about because of your confidence and authority.”

Raising funds

Ntsele is the first black diamond site holder, who initially bought rough diamonds for polishing and sold these as jewellery. He later sought and secured bigger loans from the likes of Standard Bank of South Africa director, Conrad Strauss.

“The raising of money started when apartheid was finally banished to the annals of history in the early 1990s. Different things mattered to different people then: some were excited by the prospect of voting for the first time; others relished the idea of attending previously white academic institutions; and there were those who prioritised moving into affluent suburbs,” he recalls.

But the new dispensation meant a completely different thing in his perspective. Before then, Ntsele had resolved not to comply with apartheid restrictions; a prime example of his defiance was buying a house in Bryanston, then a whites-only area.

When multinationals divested from South Africa, he saw it as an opportunity to own one of these big corporations.

“My mind was alert to the fact that the world was now my oyster. My idea was to own a multinational, and I fixated on owning McDonald’s, but this failed to materialise in 1989,” Ntsele says ruefully.

Cyril Ramaphosa is now the South African country franchisee for McDonald’s.

Ntsele and long-time business partner Solly Sithole were granted a licence to bring sportswear giant, Nike, back to South Africa in 1992, which they later sold in 1997. “I wanted to grow the company, but couldn’t get money locally,” he says.

That is when Ntsele approached the United States-based City Bank, which granted him R6 million.

“My rationale then was that apartheid was gone, therefore, if I could not find finance locally, I could always source it outside – and my mind was open to the global space,” he relates. “The old regime legitimised the notion that black people cannot do business; executives of major banks do not see blacks as folks who can handle big numbers. But when you go outside the country, they see the potential you possess.

“The company also got funding in South Africa, but at some point we got stuck and then tried to get more funding from former Barclays Bank managing director, Chris Ball.

“Interestingly, the people who lent me money, such as the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) and the Land Bank, always got huge returns on investments that exceeded their expectations,” asserts Ntsele.

Pamodzi Investment Holdings did three projects with the IDC, including the Foodcorp and Digicor acquisitions – both of which have since been sold.

“The worrying factor is that entrepreneurs often struggle to get funding from local development finance institutions (DFIs),” he indicates.

International acclaim

A former traffic officer, Ntsele was chosen as South Africa’s representative at the 2008 Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards in Monte Carlo. This did not come as a surprise: it was a result of hard work and dedication.

“When you work hard and get recognition, it is a good feeling – especially when you are not judged as a black person, but an entrepreneur,” he says.

Ntsele competed against the likes of Alan Knott-Craig, former CEO of Vodacom; and both represented South Africa and the entire African continent.

In 2009, Ntsele was invited to adjudicate the Ernst & Young World Entrepreneur Awards, making him one of only two black Africans to take part in the internationally acclaimed event; the other is Zithulele “KK” Combi of Master Currency.

He emphasises that competition is the most significant aspect of business. “It is very important to create wealth for yourself – only then can you do the same for others. Entrepreneurship is all about wealth creation, though we shy away from talking about this fact and refer to it as poverty alleviation.”

On BEE

Ntsele, the kind of entrepreneur which South Africa should be producing more of, began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of six as an apple seller before hawking newspapers on the streets of Hillbrow, Johannesburg to supplement his parents’ income and help fund his own education.

He thinks black economic empowerment (BEE) was a noble idea initially because it was a mechanism whereby white wealth could be redistributed. To their credit, white people patriotically obliged, but to the benefit of only a few black people.

“In real life, a person in a comfortable position will never give their wealth away on a silver platter,” Ntsele says, likening it to a chicken rearing a golden egg. Shareholding is where the game is lost and won; ownership and more ownership is very important in business, he stresses.

“The big problem is that BEE was not creating entrepreneurs; as such, its structure needed to be refined.

“There are instances where you buy a company, yet hold no sway in the way the business is run. You are just the black face the company needs. You cross your fingers in the hope that the ship does not go downhill – that way, the money you borrowed to buy those shares will yield dividends to enable you to repay the loan, which is pure thumb-sucking,” he observes.

Ntsele articulates that economic empowerment initiatives should be structured in such a way that black people find themselves taking part in turning the sod, so that they know their destiny and do not rely on decisions made by white executives running major corporations.

“Companies have to create space for black people in top and middle levels,” he says.

Pamodzi Investment Holdings is 95% black-owned and is currently going through a transition whereby, in a few months, it will be 100% black-owned; for Ntsele, that is the right thing to do until the economy is fully transformed.

Part of the Black Business Council (BBC) steering committee, he says that business unity among black businesses is of vital importance. “We need Busa [Business Unity South Africa] and Business Leadership SA but, at the same time, we do need the old BBC, since many people are still affiliated to it, like Nafcoc [National African Federated Chamber of Commerce].

“We are currently negotiating with Busa and going back to the drawing board to devise solutions for black business. As much as we can try to avoid it, we are the ones to provide remedies to the current stand-off,” Ntsele counsels.

He is pleased that corruption was seriously being addressed through institutions such as the Hawks and other crime-fighting agencies. He advises that the country should continue this crusade, and emphasises the importance of having graft busters that do not focus solely on corruption in the public sector, but equally in the private sector; hence the media has a role to play in exposing such malpractices.

“We know it is standard procedure that when top executives are involved in corrupt practices, they are fired or suspended, then given a golden handshake and, thereafter, the matter goes away.”

Ntsele believes exposing corruption in the private sector serves as a lesson to aspirant entrepreneurs, as it is a reminder that the road to entrepreneurship is not navigated through corrupt means.

The Pamodzi Gold saga

In 2009, an article in Mining Weekly referred to Ntsele as having thrown in the towel during the liquidation process involving Pamodzi Gold – something he vehemently disputes.

He says everyone in business knows there are good and bad apples, and cites corporations such as Standard Bank, Microsoft, BlackBerry and General Motors.

“The media took the Pamodzi Gold saga out of context, and sealed its fate before the final whistle was blown. They made it look as if this operation was our company’s biggest asset,” Ntsele protests.

Pamodzi Gold was formed as a structured deal between Harmony Gold and a Canadian consortium, therefore was never financed from the holding company’s pockets, as all Pamodzi Holdings investments are ring-fenced.

“Lessons were learnt and it was tough, but I retained my sanity and the company did not fire anyone until the liquidation was finalised. I never threw in the towel, but fought to the bitter end,” assures Ntsele.

He says that as a leader, one should never run away when matters get nasty, but stay focused and undeterred. “A good leader must stand up and dust himself off whenever he falls.

“The biggest drawback for human beings is a lack of confidence; good leadership entails rising above people whose minds are full of mediocrity.

“Never lose confidence, even when the chips are down – the future is for the brave” concludes Ntsele.

Bongani Evans Mtlhavani

• |2012-01-24 16:17:32 JOE BLACK  - Ntsele
  Pamodzi Gold was a well planned corruption from the start.What about our millions you and your gang stole from us with your bullshit and lies.LIAR,LIAR,LIAR You took peoples cars and homes away from them.
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