Mulalo Tshitema left the mining industry to build a successful property investment company, overcoming harsh times from paying R300 to live in a garage.
After building a house for a friend, a young geologist soon realised his dreams of becoming a property mogul in South Africa.
Mulalo Tshitema previously worked for Anglo Platinum and went on to be an assistant director at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
He eventually went solo and runs a geology consulting company.
His business excellence, however, shines through his property business, which he picked up multiple awards for.
Born in the Limpopo village of Ngovhela, Tshitema’s introduction to property started off early when he and his four brothers would help his father build houses in the hamlet.
But the young Tshitema never thought he’d be in the property and construction industry as an adult, mainly because as a teen at Guvhukuvhu Secondary School, he wanted to become a doctor.
Unfortunately, he didn’t get into medical school so he decided to study chemical engineering at Vaal Technikon, which is now known as Vaal University.
While at university, he decided to take a gamble.
He built a three-bedroom house for his friend under his construction company, which was unregistered at the time, and continued building more houses up until 2003.
He could never have imagined then that just over a decade later, he’d be an Investor of the Year winner.
Tshitema's first big property investment is a multi-let in Auckland Park that has been in operation since 2018 with 20 fully let rooms.
After the success of this investment, he decided he’d buy a new property every single year, a goal he put in place once he saw how great the demand for dignified student accommodation was.
“More than anything, what’s important to me is providing students with decent living conditions that will restore their dignity and equip them with a place that helps them prepare for their future,” Tshitema told Business Report.
This goal is what led to his second big investment, a property that will have 94 two-bedroom apartments, 52 of which have already been completed.
Construction is set to be completed by the end of this year and the project is one of Tshitema’s most ambitious and one of which he is most proud, particularly because he’s been able to create many opportunities for others through it.
“We have created 150 jobs in the construction stage and 20 permanent jobs in the operation phase," he says.
It has not been all smooth sailing though for Tshitema .
“I had to drop out from university after six months due to financial difficulties. During those six months, I lived in a garage where my mom helped me pay R300 for it and my friend helped me out with food,” the entrepreneur recalls.
After dropping out of his studies, he got a job at a construction company, then he went back home and enrolled to study geology at the University of Venda.
Four years later, Tshitema graduated and immediately started working as a student laboratory assistant at the University of Johannesburg.
But his big break came in 2005 when he joined a company in Zambia called Exploration Company.
He came back to South Africa to work for Anglo Platinum and went on to be an assistant director at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
When he decided he wanted to get into property Tshitema got himself two mentors, signed up for some courses at Riches and Beyond, a property academy, and also enrolled to study property development studies at UCT – all while still working as a geologist.
In 2020 he resigned and started his own consulting company as an independent geologist.
He has no intention of slowing down, after he walked away with the title of Big Leagues Investor winner, at the prestigious Investor of the Year Awards which is a flagship annual event of the SA Property Investors Network.
He says he entered the awards to inspire others with his story and his journey.
For those who are hoping to emulate his career, Tshitema shared some advice, “Property is not simple, but it is achievable. If you focus, get the relevant education and an experienced mentor to work with you on your journey, anyone can achieve what nobody thought was achievable. And when you do succeed, the results can shock even yourself.”
BUSINESS REPORT