The railway sector has always been a tough one, particularly for ambitious women entrepreneurs to enter. But for entrepreneur Dorothy Mofomme, founder of Valotech228 in South Africa, she saw the railway sector as one filled with business opportunities and one that had the potential to create employment for young people. Her growing business is testimony to her tenacity and vast specialist experience.
LoA found out more about this inspirational and high impact business from founder Dorothy Mofomme this month.
What does your company do?
At Valotech228, we specialize in Rail Signaling Design, Installation, and Maintenance Solutions. These include:
Electrical Assembly, Refurbishment, Installation and Maintenance Solutions
Optic Fiber Solutions
Mechanical Design, Assembly, Refurbishment, Construction and Maintenance Solutions
Quality Management in Projects
“We pride ourselves on being a 100% black woman-owned business, managed by highly qualified professionals who are offering diverse services of Railway Signaling, Railway Track, Quality Management in Projects (ISO 10006), Mechanical and Electrical Engineering Solutions, all with a specific emphasis on meaningful business transformation.”
What inspired you to start your company?
The idea for the business was firstly triggered by creating a platform for exploring and implementing innovative technology solutions within the railway sector by involving our youth which contributed to addressing the high levels of unemployment in our country. Secondly, it was prompted by the fact that there are less entrepreneur women in the railway sector. This gave me great hope that there are a lot of opportunities which I could take advantage of in order to impact South Africa positively, especially creating employment for our young people. My resulting entrepreneurial activity and business initiative is supported by fact that I have an extensive experience and tacit knowledge obtained during my time of employment with various State-Owned and Private Enterprises holding various technical and managerial positions.
Why should anyone use your service or product?
We are an integrator that creates a turnkey solution (Rail Signaling, Electrical, Mechanical and Project Quality Management) that is customized to customer requirements. Our solutions add value to society's lifestyle and thereby increasing the quality of their lives. Valotech228 also understands that the railway industry needs highly specialized individuals with a high degree of patience and attention to detail, and we build solutions not only for today but for the next generation.
“Our mission is to strive for excellence in all we do and recognizing the impact that our activities can have on our people, interested parties and the environment. As an output of our mission statement, our slogan “ALWAYS ON TRACK” was born.”
Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?
My view is that the eagerness to be entrepreneurial comes from my challenging upbringing where I had to provide for my siblings and myself at an early age of 9+ years old. This behavior proceeded into my student times where I had to make plans to fund my life at university, which I did through the business of photography and burning music onto discs.
What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?
To create and implement innovative technology solutions for the African continent.
Contact or follow Valotech228
WEBSITE | TWITTER | EMAIL dorothy@valotech228.co.za
Why LoA loves it….
At Lionesses of Africa, we love to share the stories of women entrepreneurs who create successful businesses in really tough industry sectors, and the railway industry is certainly one of those. However, Dorothy Mofomme is proof positive of what can be achieved when you have the right combination of tenacity, experience, specialist expertise and a big desire to make a difference to the lives of others. It really is a winning combination, which makes Dorothy and her company Valotech228 certainly ones to watch over the coming years. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and ceo of Lionesses of Africa