Entrepreneur’s building blocks for success

Written by Siya Miti

Former hardware store manager Anele Peti is now the proud owner of a concrete brick manufacturing company that employs 32 people.

IncaPeace Trading, located at a quarry site on the R61 between Mthatha and Libode, supplies hardware stores in Mthatha, Libode and Qumbu.

Peti gained experience in the building industry while working as a manager at Build It in Qumbu in the early 2000s and later working at a quarry that sold raw materials. Responding to market needs, he registered IncaPeace Trading in 2013. It started operating in 2015.

Peti (35) said the company started small, producing only 3 000 blocks per day with eight employees but has grown over the past two years. He plans to expand his business and product range even further and to create more jobs.

“Our target is now to produce 14 000 blocks per day. We are currently producing over 12 000 a day,” he said.

“About 94 permanent jobs will be created as we will create a double shift and acquire a second machine. This will increase our production and targets.”

His business provides training opportunities and jobs to locals. “We are committed to education development of the local people and as a result, we award bursaries to assist in the education of staff members’ children,” he said.

IncaPeace works closely with the quarry located on the same site, which supplies most of its raw materials.

Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) head of risk capital Phakamisa George said about R700 000 was given to IncaPeace as a start-up funding. IncaPeace also managed to secure an agreement with Build It and Buffolo Timber to supply bricks.

The amount received from the IDC was used to assist the company meet the requirements of their new agreement with Build It and Buffalo Timber.

Last year, the ECDC provided R1 million to the company through its risk capital facility, which allowed IncaPeace to buy excavators and tipper trucks to transport crushed stone to the Libode on-site plant.

“The growth of companies such as IncaPeace means that the ECDC’s risk capital facility is fulfilling its goal as the agency’s investment hatchery. The support given to these companies allows them to secure funding from other funders.”