Entrepreneur competition a launching pad for Etete plumber

Local entrepreneur Musawakhe Xaba has grown his business, Musa’s Plumbing & General Construction, to include 5 full time employees since inception in 2014.

Musa (30) started the business after gaining experience through working with construction companies across the North Coast.

The business was started in Etete where Xaba was born and raised, but he has provided services as far afield as Nongoma and Durban.

“We focus on the North Coast but we will definitely travel if the job is worth it for us, also with the way business dried up last year,” he said.

Although the business found steady growth in the first few years of operation, a big step forward came when they finished as finalists in the iLembe Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur Competition in 2018.

This came with exposure and direct access to opportunity for Musa’s Plumbing as they were added to a digital database where other local businesses could easily find their details.

“We are on the database and lots of people have called us from there. I think it makes people trust us because they know the iLembe Chamber wouldn’t support us if we were doing bad work,” said Xaba.

2020 did represent a challenge for Xaba, however, as money was scarce and people were more likely to wait on renovations and non-crucial services, he said.

Things have started to pick up again at the start of 2021 and a big boost in the form of a tool donation from Peakers Operations is only going to help the cause.

Xaba had completed work at the Avon Peaking Power Plant in the past and formed a relationship with their team.

The donation includes a number of power tools, construction tools and a generator which may prove vital in the event of a power outage on a job.

“We are so excited to receive this donation and we will make sure to put the tools to good use,” said Xaba.