Spot on Forbes 30 list
Bruce Diale has been named on the Forbes Africa 30 list for 2019 in the business category.
POLOKWANE – The 29-year-old is the founder and Managing Director of Brucol Global Development and has over the past couple of years shown that he is a force to be reckoned with. Diale explained that finding out that he had made the list of influential business people, did not come as a surprise.
In 2017 he was the national winner of the Engen Pitch and Polish competition where he pitched his patent product, gardenizly, a vegetable tower garden that uses a minimal amount of water to grow vegetables without the use of fertilisers. After this win, he was introduced to the Fetola Groundswell programme which grooms entrepreneurs. In 2018, his company was one of five companies to represent the South African Agribusiness sector at the Gaza Investment Conference in Mozambique. “Taking everything that I have learned, I managed to build my business into a more sustainable institution,” he said. Diale currently employs four full-time employees, eight part-time workers and has created indirect jobs for 33 people within the forestry industry.
Diale explained that looking at how far he has come, he still gets overwhelmed at how things are falling into place as he planned. “We normally have this ideology that the things we envision doesn’t happen as we plan. A few days ago, as I was digesting everything that has happened, I questioned what is next for me. Before I could plan my next milestone, I had to stop and warn myself because whatever it was that I have planned, will happen. I had a moment where I had to ask myself: Am I really ready for what is next? Do I really want to become the youngest billionaire in Africa? Am I ready for everything that comes with it?” he explained.
The next big thing giving him sleepless nights is an agrifund which he is in the process of establishing. Diale shared that he founded it because he is tired of being at the mercy of financial institutions. “I can’t share too much about it, but it’s very exciting. Through this funding they’ll be able to create a number of jobs,” he added. Always one to empower other people, he will host an Access to Finance workshop as well as training sessions on different crops.
