PRINCESS Ndiweni’s job as an administrator at Sasol may have been comfortable, but she knew that she wanted more. Ndiweni chose to trade that security for the volatility of the construction sector in 2011, when she registered Shando’s Construction with her business partner, Dickson Dladla.
“I had worked for Sasol since 2006 as a senior administrator and I wanted a change,” Ndiweni says. Growing up in Alexandra in Johannesburg, Ndiweni dreamt of owning her own business and construction was her first choice.
The male-dominated nature of the construction industry did not deter her.
To prepare, Ndiweni saved as much as she could while working at Sasol. The savings came in handy when she got a referral from a friend to build housing in Potchefstroom.
Luck has a lot to do with it, and it favoured Ndiweni in that she managed to secure the contract, despite having no experience. She used her savings to buy building material and was able to complete the project.
“It helped that we were able to land this contract as it opened the way for opportunities for us, which came by referral,” Ndiweni says.
After completing that project, Ndiweni did what others might have done first. She underwent training to better understand what was expected of her as a contractor, and to get to grips with the mechanics of managing a business.
At about the same time, she completed a bachelor of administration degree at Unisa.
Then it was time to get to work and find more contracts.
People expected that a woman would have difficulty breaking into the world of construction. But she soon found that that wasn’t the case. The challenges of the industry applied to all. “Nobody treated me differently,” Ndiweni says.
Shando’s Construction’s projects have included the building of homes (including retirement homes in Waterfall Estate), schools and buildings like the Nelson Mandela Children’s Hospital, where Shando’s is one of the subcontractors involved.
That has been the key to her strategy. She seeks out subcontracting opportunities from companies that win tenders to fulfil projects.
In doing so, she has worked with Group Five (the main contractor on the hospital project), WBHO, Dalmar Construction, Gorogang Plant Hire & Construction and Toro ya Africa Consultants.
Shando’s has four permanent staff, but no permanent office yet.
The management of her business takes place at the office she has set up at her house. She manages as many as 100 employees at a time, depending on the number of projects Shando’s may be handling.
Shando’s is Gauteng-based, but Ndiweni hopes to expand beyond the province one day.
However, difficulties in accessing funding have limited the growth of her business, despite her intentions to expand, which include eventually building her own office space. “Red tape has limited my ability to get access to funding,” Ndiweni says.
And she has not been immune to the difficulties of the industry, including not having enough working capital. “It’s really hard to remain in the construction business if you don’t have enough capital.”