By: Chantelle Kotze
South African black-owned hospitality services and facilities management company Tsebo Outsourcing Group tells Mining Weekly that it is consolidating its Mozambique operations to better support the needs of the mining and the onshore and offshore gas industries being developed in the country.
The consolidation for Tsebo Outsourcing Group is primarily through its affiliate in Mozambique, catering company Servco Catering. Servco Catering provides trade and industrial outsourcing needs, specifically the supply of camp manage- ment, catering and hospitality services.
Tsebo Outsourcing Group marketing director Royce van der Zwan says the consolidation entails bolstering the already experienced and competent management team of Servco Catering with expertise and resources from Tsebo Outsourcing Group’s oil and gas operations in the Middle East.
“We have built up valuable experience and knowledge servicing the oil rig industry in North Africa and the Middle East, and we are transferring some of our skilled managers to Mozambique to support the Servco Catering team, which is experienced in hospitality and facilities management, in order to create a full service, multi-industry capability for East Africa.
Tsebo Outsourcing Group will thus build on Servco Catering’s presence in the country, further growing its mining clientele and targeting the offshore oil and gas indus- try,” says Van der Zwan.
Servco Catering COO Tim Makin says, although the Mozambique mining and gas industries are still immature and lack an understanding of outsourcing, the opportunities on offer in terms of servicing the mining, gas and construction industries in the country are significant.
“If Servco Catering is able to service only 25% of this market, we will be able to double our market share in the country and grow our brand in Mozambique,” says Makin.
Servco Catering, while being the leading registered catering company in Mozambique, with a staff complement of more than 900, still operates the first contract it was awarded in Mozambique by the Mozambique Ports & Railways Company, and has since been contracted to provide outsourcing services to an additional 23 companies in Mozambique.
Van der Zwan says the bene- fit of outsourcing a business’s noncore services is the productivity gains that it brings for the client. “Our service offering is designed to keep clients focused on their core business and to contribute to their business success and productivity.”
He adds that, compared with insourcing, outsourcing offers an enduring direct cost saving over time. It also lowers the risks for a client by removing the responsibility of the daily operational challenges a business may face.
Tsebo Outsourcing Group also provides clients with the convenience of its one-point service offering for all noncore needs.
The company looks forward to growing its presence in Mozambique, owing to the country’s sound governmental policy, its good labour and supply market and the demand for outsourced services.
Further, it plans to target opportunities in Africa by building a strong brand across the continent and by marketing relevant products to clients, based on tangible benefit.
“We believe that Mozambique is at the bottom of its growth curve and that the country will still boom in terms of infrastructure investment, consumer spending and the formalisation of the market place, all of which will support the drivers of demand for our business,” says Van der Zwan.
Meanwhile, the biggest challenge in Mozambique is finding suitable skills, not only technical skills but also a combination of technical, commercial and cultural skills.
Tsebo Outsourcing Group’s staff and their ability to service the contracts are its assets and the company, as a result, provides comprehensive in-house skills training.
Going forward, establishing basic artisan skills as well as promoting small, medium- sized and microenterprise development is critical for Tsebo Outsourcing Group’s business.
“Setting up local supply chains is challenging, as we had to deeply entrench our company in the community. This has taken us a long time, but we are proud to have developed this compe- tence,” says Van der Zwan.
Tsebo Outsourcing Group has an organic growth strategy in Africa and aims to establish itself from the ground up on the back of client demand.
The company is also aware of its role in the development of the continent and believes it can adapt to different African business cultures and provide solutions accordingly.
Tsebo Outsourcing Group has a presence in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho and has participated successfully in global tenders for full-service facilities management across Africa.
