Utility-scale renewable energy
Avesh Padayachee is CEO and founder of Fibon Energy, a renewable energy company that develops utility-scale renewable energy projects. Padayachee has a law and commerce background and shared with Thriving Magazine how entrepreneurship could affect South Africa.
Tell us about your entrepreneurial roots
As far as I can recall, I was not one of those children who would be selling lemons and sweets to my classmates. At university I was involved in student politics and various non-profit organisations. It gave me insight into the effect of social entrepreneurship. When I started working at Webber Wentzel in corporate law, it was the first time I understood the effect entrepreneurs could have and my interest was sparked.
Many young entrepreneurs struggle to find start-up capital - how did you deal with this?
I think that’s the perennial problem for most young entrepreneurs in South Africa. Lately a plethora of initiatives exist for the youth, with incubators and capital that are focused on youth-owned businesses. Young entrepreneurs with business ideas can find support from development finance institutions such as the IDC or the NEF. There are also mentorship opportunities. Programmes are developed by successful entrepreneurs like Shanduka Black Umbrellas, that provide financial support, mentorship and skills development, along with shared services. It could be offices or shared service space. It is a network on the web, spun to assist young entrepreneurs.
Tell us about your mentorship initiative
One of the products we are working on involves mentorship and development of young black companies. We intend to go into the market with it this year. It has been about 12 months in the making. Part of this would be to develop entrepreneurs, by way of financial support and training young companies in the energy space.
Is the energy industry competitive?
Any industry has competitive forces. At Fibon we listen to our customers and develop products that add value to those customers. We commercialise opportunities others have not and in a different way. So the industry itself right now, specifically in South Africa, is competitive but we try to find innovate ways to develop products that will straddle different sectors.
What is your advice for prospective entrepreneurs?
The entrepreneurship journey is incredibly humbling. It has also been the most incredible journey in my life and the most rewarding one. Every day is new. Every day has a new challenge and we get to meet different people. For me it is rewarding to contribute towards the economy. As an entrepreneur, one of the fundamental things you can do is to contribute towards the people of your country. If you do this and should you be considering entrepreneurship, do your research and be prepared to work hard, but go for it.
