When Eddy Mokobodi started his solar power company, he depended largely on the experience he had from the previous business he ran. This, combined with his character and his need to grow as a person and a businessman, pushed him to become a better version of himself. The founder of Sakisa, a company based in Johannesburg with a branch in Polokwane, opened the business as alternative energy is a growing sector not only in the country but the rest of the world.
“I started the business in 2019, and before that, I had a construction business as I have a background in construction,” he told Vutivi News. “I saw that the solar industry is still maturing, and its fruits are ripe for the picking, and I jumped into the sector…” Mokobodi, who employs four people, said that as the industry grew, so did his business. He was able to expand his business in the space of three years.
“Most of our clients are residential clients, although we also do commercial,” he said. “When we started out, what was important was getting the skills into the business. “It, therefore, became a priority to provide employment and providing opportunities to skilled individuals who are deserving of working with us.” Mokobodi noted that the company’s biggest achievement was the pace of its growth, even though it started just before the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I won’t say that Covid-19 did not have challenges, because every business faced hardship during the early lockdown days. It wasn’t easy for a business that is starting from the ground up, but our track record proves that we are on a trajectory of growth,” he said. “It was also difficult to get clients, and it sometimes still is, but we overcome that by providing professional and excellent service and they refer us, and this is how we get most of our clients.”
He has also learned the value of networking, meeting the right people and getting advice. Mokobodi said that solar energy made sense in a country that was riddled with power supply issues. “The solar panels generate electricity from the sun, and the energy is converted, and the extra energy is stored in the battery, the energy coming from the sun being distributed through the household,” he explained. “At night the stored energy is used, and many households are hybrid systems, which means that they use both electricity and solar energy.
“This is good because it provides a solid backup in the event of load-shedding,” Mokobodi told Vutivi News that he expected Sakisa to become a medium-sized business in the next five years. “We should be able to give a lot of employment to various skilled people who are looking to grow with the company as well,” he said.
