Up-close with the category winner of Eskom Business Investment competition recipient

Nie Cele

Tebogo Langa flanked by other BIC recipients.

High-flying, fastidious business woman and previous category winner of the Eskom Foundation’s Business Investment Competition(BIC)  Tebogo Langa believes that society at-large and doubting Thomas’s of this world  needs to desist from judging efficacious business people according to their age and gender.

In an exclusive interview, this 39 year old mother of two boys and a recipient of the BIC competition t spoke to this reporter during a visit by the giant power utility foundation in Chloorkop, Midrand.

Langa is a Managing Director of Oakantswe Construction &Projects, a diverse close corporation that offers a wide range of electrical installation and maintenance services for commercial, retail, industrial and municipality  projects operating in Gauteng with unlimited boundaries of operating to the wider Southern Africa.

According to her some older men still believes in those old fashioned deep-rooted stereotypes that women have no place in this male dominated industry, especially young women.

Without any doubt, during the interview one could vividly deduce that her strong passion is to empower other people because sheinadvertentlyand relentlessly repeated that her goal was to transfer skills to rural and disadvantaged youth and women.

However she was quick to reveal that she is never intimidated at what she wants to achieve.

Her Pretoria based company employs ten permanent employees and two makeshift workers which she says are contributing immensely to the growth of Oakantswe.

Asked to describe her company, she said, “We are a fast growing multi services company, addressing the needs of the construction and electrical industry.

She was also proud to reveal that her company’s vision was to be a company of choice for current and prospective employees.

Pressed about the company’s turnover? She said, “In 2017 the company achieved R10 MIillion gross revenue.”

But she was quick to point out that it was not enough.

“We are still searching for more private and public clients in order to sustain the business. We still want to grow everyday and hope to double this turnover soon.”

Her advice to upcoming businesses is that they should persevere, make mistakes and learn from them.

“Business people must just be passionate about what they do and want to achieve in a long run,” said Langa.

Did you know?

• Oakantswe Construction &Projects is 100% black female owned company.
• Langa is a graduate of Credit Management from Wits University and also completed Safety Management qualifications at the University of South Africa.