Shocky Nengovhela at the helm of engineering

Determined to get into the male-dominated steel industry, Shocky Nengovhela from Middleburg in Mpumalanga, left her job and started her own steel engineering company, Tembo Engineering.

“Mechanical engineering is my passion. I have always wanted to get involved in this industry. We are a growing company. It was not easy to get to where we are now,” she said.

Nengovhela holds a BTech in Mechanical Engineering from the Tshwane University of Technology.

She registered Tembo Engineering in 2016 and started full operations in 2020. Her business provides mechanical engineering services to other companies.

“We innovate and design through our core which is mechanical engineering consulting work, from which we develop maintenance strategies, plans and drawings,” Nengovhela adds.

Starting the business came with challenges for Nengovhela but she believes that assistance from the Department of Small Business Development, through its agency the Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda), played a major role in establishing and growing the business. 

Nengovhela said her company received its breakthrough when she approached the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality Local Economic Development.

The municipality assisted Nengovhela to be part of the Mpumalanga Stainless Initiative (MSI), an incubator programme supported by the Steve Tshwete Local Municipality and Seda.

Tembo Engineering signed up for the incubation program and qualified for a subsidised workshop and office space.

“Our permanent residence on MSI premises opened opportunities for us including access to business-to-business trade and supplier trust as we were locatable and accessible,” Nengovhela said.

Today the company employs 12 permanent staff members who are artisans.

“Growth presents itself with challenges, including a constrained cash flow, constraints of tools, machinery and skilled resources to deliver good quality results.”

 Nengovhela adds that she found the process of growing her business rewarding knowing that she was making a difference and creating job opportunities.

She was also a speaker at the recent Vuk Talks where she encouraged young people to pursue entrepreneurship after their studies.