He's proof that you can have it all when you have enough faith in your abilities.
Mulalo Tshitema is both working as a consultant in geology and building his property investment business.
It all started when he was in university when 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.
Mulalo'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, he tells Drum.
“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.”
This goal is what led to his second big investment, a property that will have 94 two-bedroom apartments, 52 of those have already been completed.
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Construction is set to be completed by the end of this year and the project is one of Mulalo’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.
Born in the Limpopo village of Ngovhela, Mulalo’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 Mulalo 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.
“But I dropped out 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 and worked there for two years, then we went back home and enrolled to study geology at the University of Venda.
Four years later, Mulalo 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 assistant director at the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy.
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When he decided he wanted to get into property Mulalo 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. And he has no intention of slowing down, especially now after he walked away with the title of Big Leagues Investor winner on Friday, 19 November, at the prestigious Investor of the Year Awards which are the flagship annual event of the SA Property Investors Network.
He says he entered the awards to inspire others with his story and his journey.
“I also see this award as a thank you, to myself, for achieving my goals and making South Africans see that it’s possible to start their own businesses and be a solution towards unemployment, which is a big challenge in our country,” he adds.
“My next big dream in property is a project where I will provide at least 3 000 beds, where we will still be solving the student accommodation crisis. I also want to tap into affordable housing, where I’ll be building to sell or rent low-cost housing to those in the low salary bracket, to help our country solve our housing shortage.”
When the entrepreneur is not consulting as a geologist or running his construction company, you’ll find him spending quality time with wife and kids, and one of the things they like to do together on Sundays is swimming.
“I was not active in any sport because I was always busy helping my father when I was growing up, but I love swimming and it’s the only sport I practise, even for exercise or for fun on weekends with my kids.”
For those who are hoping to emulate his career, Mulalo’s advice is, “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.”
