Meet Mosa Moamogoe- CEO Of AfriTravel International
He says success in business requires a lot of discipline, commitment and hard work. Mosa Mamogoe is only 25 years of age but has achieved a lot at a young age. He is a CEO of one the most thriving youth owned companies in SA called ‘AfriTravel International’. This without a doubt is prove that there is a lot to learn from him. Therefore, we present you one of SA’s brightest young entrepreneurs.
Check out the following interview we did with the inspiring Mosa Mamogoe…..
Who is Mosa Moamogoe?
Mosa Moamogoe is a 25 year old entrepreneur born in Mabeskraal, a village located 80KM from Rustenburg, a father of one.
What do you do?
I am a sales person, manager, marketing person, for my company AfriTravel International, which is a travel company that specializes in leisure and corporate travel. We have offices in Bryanston and Rustenburg. We do flight bookings, accommodation and conference bookings, and we also have leisure platforms such as gautengtravel.co.za and mpumalangatravel.co.za. AfriTravel International is one of the only few youth owned companies that are able to issue airline tickets.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
I think Marketing chose me. I was in sales, selling insurance policies. This job taught me for life. And they always said if you can succeed in insurance sales you can succeed in anything. I left sales then I got a job as a marketing officer in a lodge, within 3 months I was promoted to Manager. I used my sales skills to succeed in marketing. Then after a couple of months I was doing marketing consulting for a number of award winning companies and big companies were interested in me.
Did you always want to be a business man when growing up?
To tell the truth I did not know what I wanted to be when growing up. Even after finishing Matric I did not know what I wanted to be, my friends were going to engineering and I did not know what I wanted to be. Well I come from an entrepreneurial family and I think business has always been there. At one time my mother was in catering, my father was doing electrical wiring, but they did not have registered companies. They did it just to survive. I remember one time I think I was 16, I called them all in one room and I said to them, but you guys are entrepreneurial, we should not be struggling, we should be rich, why not do things proper. But that time they probably thought this kid doesn’t know what he is talking about. So I think signs were there that I was bound to be a business man.
What are some of the challenges you faced in pursuing your career?
When I started my business career I was excited, I thought I just had to implement ideas I have and I would be a millionaire. But no. struggles were awaiting me. First was the start up capital, but I eventually came with ways to raise funds within my business. Then I started trading, and when business started coming in, I did not know how to handle the money. I just thought business was all about implementing the ideas I have. So when money came in, I used it badly. I would take my company debit card and go party with it at News Café. I used business money as if it were my own. Things got bad now, when I could not finish some of my projects because money had ran out cause of over spending. Then debts came. I used money meant for this project to finish this project. Eventually I did not have any money left and I was in debts of nearly R500 000. We owed people a lot of money, and I stopped trading for while to figure out my next plan. It was hectic challenges, but ones I had to go through to learn. I am grateful I went through this challenges early in my business career.
Please tell us about your company ‘AfriTravel International company’, what makes it unique?
AfriTravel international is a travel company that aims to be a leader in the African travel industry in 10 years time. We want to promote Africa to the world, promote travelling of Africans into other African companies.
We do flights, travel packages, corporate travelling, travel agency services and we also have leisure platforms that include gautengtravel.co.za and mpumalangatravel.co.za. One of the things that make us unique and that we pride ourselves of is that we are an owner managed company and we do not operate a call centre that’s why it’s so easy to deal with us and for us to offer good personalized service. AfriTravel International is also one of the few youth owned companies that are able to issue international and local flight tickets.
You won a writers competition in the ESSAY section in 2007 and became part of the Top 20 list in the Groupon Sales Master competition, how did you feel about the achievement?
I always loved writing when growing up. Everyday I would sit with a book and a pen and I would write something. Whether an article, poetry. I would write. In 2007 I entered a writing competition where they were looking for two youth from each province to represent the province in a youth leadership camp In Durban. I was one of the two. All the way from a village 80KM away from the nearest town. I was happy. It was an amazing experience. A lot of newspaper articles wrote about it. Ironically most of the newspaper article in the in the interview they did with me, wrote that I said that I wanted to be a businessman. But they never asked me that question.
The groupon sales master completion wanted South Africa’s ultimate sales person, I came into the top 20 of the competition, it was good to be recognized.
What would you say has been your greatest achievement so far?
I would say my greatest achievement to date would be getting up every time I thought I was down and out. Everytime I thought, this is it I don’t think I can come back from this, something inside of me always says you can do it. And when I get up, put my shoulders back and do it. I feel great achievement.
One of my greatest achievement is also in creating employment, nothing as fulfilling as knowing that you are making a difference in someone else’s life.
What do you see yourself achieving 5 years from now?
I see myself creating more employment. Developing my home village and AfriTravel being recognized as one of the leading travel companies in Africa.
I also want to be involved in youth development a lot, and share my story with young people and make them see that anything is possible In this world.
What do you think about the challenges facing the youth in South Africa?
Negativity and lack of information. I believe that if youth surround themselves with positive people, expose themselves to positive things, they will realize that they are destined for bigger things. Two people are living in a shack, one watches TV all the time, is always in the streets. The other one loves reading and learning about people that have overcome huge challenges to get where they wanted to be. Who is going to get out of that? most probably the one who loves reading.
We must surround ourselves with people that elevate us, people that speak good into our lives. Not the cool kids. But people that care about you. There’s a quote that says if you hand around with 4 positive people, you will be the 5th one. Or if you hang around with 4 poor people, you will be the 5th one.
What do you do for fun?
I enjoy reading for fun, I love travelling, spending time with my family and going sightseeing. I also enjoy going out and meeting new people.
You have achieved a lot at a young age, what motivates you in life?
I want to create a good life for my family. I don’t want my daughter to struggle like I did in life. She motivates me a lot. Even when it’s hard and I think about her, I just keep going.
What message do you have for the youth in SA who want to be future entrepreneurs?
Stop what you doing now and get started. Tomorrow is not promised. Start today and create the life you want. Be prepared for hard work, be prepared to see your friends changing cars while you have nothing, be prepared for the challenges. But know and believe that this is where I am going. Believe that you will get there. When people around you seem like they having it easy, always remember that your goal is long term, you are sacrificing short term enjoyment for long term enjoyment. When it gets tough, do not quit, just keep on going.
When I was in debts, I read about people that were in debts of billions but managed to come out of it. Then I kept going. Do not give up no matter what. Keep going.
To Connect With Mosa Moamogoe
Twitter : @MosaMoamogoe
Email: [email protected]
