AGILITY OUR DRIVING FORCE IN BUSINESS - INYATSI

MBABANE - Amid accusations of taking over every business in the local sphere, inyatsi group has come out to say that it is driven by a value of being agile.

The company, which boasts of being africa’s leading business integrated partner, provided the clarity during a media briefing, where it announced that its subsidiary, inyatsi construction, had completed the once controversial gege-sicunusa road. During the briefing, which was held at the hilton garden inn, the company allowed members of the media to pose questions, after which executive managers provided responses. On the question of being in every sector, the inyatsi group said agility, which happened to be one of its core values, was the motivating factor.

Definition

By definition, agility is the act of being able to move quickly and easily. It means having an adaptable character and the ability to think on your toes.
Some experts explain that it could be more than just that, as it can also include prioritising the satisfaction of customers. Inyatsi construction chief executive officer derrick shiba said instead of criticising the company’s style of venturing into every sector, emaSwati should appreciate the fact that the inyatsi group was swati-owned.

“Since we are local shareholders, it means that the money we generate circulates within eswatini and no transaction will ever occur without the involvement of a local financial institution. Also, we would like to set the record straight that in all the businesses we have bought, there has been no unfair practice on our part. Instead, everything has happened through a willing-buyer willing-seller situation,” shiba said. He made an example of the Embiveni Meat Industries and said the Inyatsi Group bought it after it had been on the market for five years. He said the group engaged with the previous owners and an agreement of the sale was reached.

Example

Another example shiba made was the purchase of Infracast Eswatini, a company which has been manufacturing high-quality precast products from the heart of eswatini’s industrial hub, matsapha, for more than 30 years. According to shiba, inyatsi group purchased the company after it had been on the market for nine years. “We once tried to buy it, but were not successful as we could not do the transaction at the time.  “All these entities have come through following a willing-seller willing-buyer situation.

“I do not know when emaSwati will change their mindset and start appreciating their black brothers when they buy businesses,” he said. He decried that when a black person buys a business, there was a tendency of others becoming jealous. He then shared his own story, saying he had a beautiful testimony of how he has grown from being a small boy from Hluthi who had less imagination to being a top businessman and an executive of a major company.

He said he arrived in town and joined the big player-inyatsi, something he said helped him grow his capacity to imagine and think. Shiba shared that currently, he owned a world-class milling company which employed over 200 emaswati, which was a sign that he had grown to make a significant impact in society. Also, he shared how he has ventured in the football fraternity by becoming the owner of a fast-growing team, Nsingizini Hotspurs, which is plying its trade in the premier League of eswatini and has already won a cup.

“I am not blowing my own horn, but it is the capacity that has grown me in the past 20 years that made me think outside the box. “Had it not been for the Inyatsi Group, i would not have seen the importance of growing in various sectors,” he explained. He then addressed the issue of concerns raised in various platforms that the Inyatsi Group’s subsidiary, Inyatsi Construction was not doing much in terms of empowering small businesses in the sector where it operates.

Shiba said inyatsi capacitated local subcontractors in various ways, including offering them technical assistance that is of first world standard.
“The contractors are being capacitated, i have seen them grow over the years and now they have a fair amount of equity to show in terms of what they have achieved by working with us”. Meanwhile, people and culture executive manager phindile matsebula highlighted that emaSwati needed to appreciate that as inyatsi group ventures into different sectors, it was a benefit for many communities.

She said in the construction projects, the inyatsi group did not leave emaSwati hanging, but they obtained skills of a lifetime. “We have different levels of employees, we help them learn the job and they are then certified, so in terms of skills, we do the most,” she said. On another note, the Inyatsi Group executive shared that their appetite, in terms of trading with the rest of the world, was growing with each passing year.

Exploring

The managers made an example of the fact that inyatsi group’s subsidiary company, the emi exported products to europe, mainly norway and was exploring other opportunities. “We are still extending embiveni foundation as we want to keep up with the european market.  “We have also done well in terms of exploring in the mining sector, where we trade through South Africa to europe.  “We export anthracite coal so that is our appetite in terms of exports.  “Our head office is here, so there is no capping in terms of limits, the limit is our decision.  “So that is us as a group,” explained shiba.

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