The Voice (Francistown)
Zeph Kajevu
18 March 2008
interview
Francistown — Modise Powane is the managing director of Soils Engineers Botswana, a company involved in the geotechnical investigations, In-Situ laboratory testing as well as quality assurance Consultants.
Q. Hi Boss! What is your core business?
I am in the business of soil testing and investigations. It involves collecting samples such as soil, concrete, bricks, bitumen and many more. Testing the samples at our in-house laboratory, analyzing and recommending suitability forms another chore responsibility. In so doing, you are able to determine the quality with our specialized machinery.
Q. How long have you been operating?
Soils Engineers Botswana started operating in 1999 with only two employees working from the boot of a car. It was easy for me to penetrate the market because of the work experience of having worked for Gaborone City Council (GCC) in a similar capacity and also being the manager of a local testing company. Through the knowledge and skills, I have made Soils Engineers Botswana what it is.
Q. Could you tell us more about Soils Engineers and the clientele that it provides services to?
It is 100 per cent citizen-owned; a Motswana who has a passion for continuous improvement and growth. Its staff and associates have extensive experience from within the country and region. The projects that we have undertaken include site investigations for a variety of buildings, materials and centre line surveys of road, centre line surveys for pipes, geotechnical core logging for bridges and other structures.
Q. Botswana is generally classified as semi-arid desert. What are the challenges or advantages of soil testing in a country in such a climatic belt?
Yes, we tend to come through challenges, especially in the desert areas where there is the Kalahari sand, which is collapsible. In that type of situation we need special designs on the foundations. In those desert areas it's a lot difficult to get suitable/good quality material.
Q. What has been the secret behind your sustained operations?
Like any other business operation, of course, hard work, perseverance, and delivery of quality service at the most competitive prices. But all this would not have come to fruition without teamwork and professionalism across the board. Although we have now reached reputable levels of service that we can offer our valued clients, I feel that there is still tremendous potential for growth in the near future. At that stage, we hope to be able to be at par with our more established international counterparts in the soil testing industry.
Q. How did you get the market to know of your services?
As mentioned earlier, the company started from humble beginnings, operating from the boot of a car. Given this scanty background we had to be available to our clients most of the time in order to avoid loosing repeat business. But even from those humble beginnings we were able to place advertisements in the local media complemented by company brochures, leaflets and fliers, while we were accruing sufficient funds to open an operational head office. As soon as potential clients got to know our contact details, we had to work our fingers to the bone when the situation dictated. The tasks became burdensome when we had to travel throughout the breadth and length of the entire country. But as you know from the old saying, "where there is a will, there is a way", we accomplished every task to the minutest details and built a good reputation for ourselves.
Q. What marketing strategy does the company employ to reach out to its customers?
Experience has shown over the years that in order to reach out to our clients, we have to surf the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB) website. This is where we can establish contact with companies that have won tenders and are in a position to sub-contract us. Like I mentioned earlier on, this is where the establishment of Soils Engineers Botswana as a brand name has worked to our advantage.
Q. How much competition do you face?
As an upcoming company, we face quite a lot of competition from both local and foreign companies. This is largely due to the fact that Botswana is an open market; there are no laws against allowing outside companies from participating. Under the open market ruling, the foreign companies can bring their own testing equipment or purchase equivalents from anywhere in the world where the procurement prices are more competitive.
Q. Are you able to source your professional expertise locally?
It is quite difficult to source professional expertise and once you do, you find that their fees are very high. All the same, we have a complement of 20 employees who are Botswana citizens.
Q. Who are your regular clients?
Because of our chore business, our biggest and regular client in government is the Department of Building and Engineering Services (DBES). We also do contracts for consulting engineers, building contractors and individuals. We do get jobs in the mining sector but through sub-contracting merely because we have concentrated much in construction.
Q. Any plans to expand and set base in other parts of Botswana and introduce new products and/or services?
Definitely, we would like to expand throughout the country and grow with the same products and services. There is high demand for soil testing services with the increasing number of projects on stream. The expansion will assist us to be within easy reach of clients who have projects throughout the country.
Q. Five to 10 years from now, what is the level of growth that you expect the company to have attained?
Within this time frame, we see ourselves having attained our goals such as the procurement and ownership of bigger and more sophisticated laboratories allowing us to do almost all of the testing under one roof, locally.
Q. What will be your advice to people intending to venture into your business?
In order to survive, the challenges of the soils testing business, know your products and services that you provide very well. Being conversant with these goes at a cost and is very crucial, because this calls for investment before beginning operations. If you think this could be costly then try "the proverbial leap into the dark option". Good luck!
FACT FILE
Name: Modise Powane
Age: 37 years
Marital Status: Married
Favourite Meal: Bogobe, morogo wa dinawa with koko ya Setswana
Exciting Experience: At the age of 27, I was the first Motswana to have registered a soil testing company.
Favourite Holiday Destination: Mathubudukwane, my village, just outside Mochudi.
Set of wheels:Discovery 3
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