‘Meet the Boss’ is a How we made it in Africa interview series where we pose 10 questions to business leaders across the continent.

Stefan Joselowitz, founder and CEO, MiX Telematics

1. What was your first job?

Straight out of college I worked as a field engineer which is a fancy title for a tech salesman. I enjoyed selling but couldn’t shake a desire to be my own boss and at the age of 23 I entered into the hospitality industry, taking ownership of a fast food restaurant in Braamfontein (an area of Johannesburg). The advantage of running a small business was that I was exposed to all of the elements of business management on a daily basis. As a result, I quickly learnt the basics of how to run a business and understand all the touch points that make up a functional operation.

2. Who has had the biggest impact on your career and why?

I have been extremely fortunate over the course of my career to have been exposed to a number of great mentors and I am not going to risk causing offense by singling out any individual. Needless to say, life is an eternal learning experience and even today I continue to improve my own skills by taking advice from wiser and more experienced people.

3. What parts of your job keep you awake at night?

Of course, as a business grows, more and more people become dependent on one’s leadership. As a global business, MiX now has direct operations in seven different countries and employs over 1,000 people. With our dual listing, we have thousands of investors from all over the globe who have effectively bought into our business and its leaders. Business is not always plain sailing and as a leader, one has to learn how to adapt to both good times and bad. The one aspect of my job that keeps me awake at night is the fear of letting other people down.

4. What are the top reasons why you have been successful in business?

When I started MiX Telematics, I was faced with many challenges – given that many of the basic technological building-blocks that we needed didn’t yet exist. In fact, we had to “invent” a lot of what we needed as we went along, and convince early investors of the viability of the concept. However, I have learnt a few key lessons from this and earlier technology ventures.

1) Perseverance: Seems simple enough, but when faced with mounting pressures it can be difficult not to just call it a day. There will always be challenges and people who don’t believe in your vision and try to knock it down, as well as burning issues that you need to deal with immediately. The secret is to push forward and find solutions to the challenges, those that are viable and in the best interests of the business. If you are a young entrepreneur, don’t give up, talk to lots of people – get advice from those that may be more experienced and ask them to stress-test your business plan – while ensuring to keep an open mind. Open yourself to critique, which I believe can generate innovative thinking and bring through more creative solutions.

2) Building a team: Secondly, from the very beginning, build a great team. I have been extremely fortunate at MiX Telematics to have come together with a wonderful group of people at all levels – and together we have built an exciting enterprise.

5. What are the best things about your country?

Although I now live in the US now – due to the company’s expansion strategy – I still consider South Africa my home. One of things I admire the most about our country is the fact that we are a nation of entrepreneurs. Whether through public transport projects like the electronic Mellowcabs, revolutionary payment apps like SnapScan, or even the classic South African inventions like Pratley Putty, the Creepy Crawly and Nando’s, we are always brimming with start-ups and budding entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs are always looking for solutions in complicated situations, and often these solutions are adapted to meet challenges globally.

Moreover, as South Africans, we are resilient. We are tested in the business world with a rather challenging environment underpinned by labour disputes, socio-economic concerns and a volatile currency. Through this, we are unique in that we are able to operate in the most difficult of markets – innovation is at the centre of all we are and all we do.

6. And the worst?

To me South Africa is still a beautiful country to live in. Our country is filled with extremes, where I believe the high levels of inequality amongst our people is one of the greatest downfalls, one that fuels crime related activities and further inequality.

7. Your future career plans?

I plan to remain at MiX Telematics for the foreseeable future. Our growth has been reliant on the fact that we were able to identify and provide solutions to a number of trends which we believe will reshape the industry, both locally and globally, in the coming years. This includes increasing globalisation, a growing focus on reducing fuel costs, and the insurance-driven focus of improving upon driver safety. In combination with this, since our recent listing in the US and, of course the JSE, I plan to continue to lead the businesses foray into markets such as the Americas, as well as the consumer vehicle tracking sector. Currently, we operate in South Africa, Uganda, the UK, the US, Brazil, Australia and the UAE.

8. How do you relax?

As part of my job I undertake a great deal of international travel so when I am home, I really relish spending quality time with my family. To unwind, I enjoy various forms of sport shooting.

9. What is your message to Africa’s young aspiring business people and entrepreneurs?

I would encourage young entrepreneurs to speak to other experienced individuals and to take advice and listen to people that have credibility in the areas that they would like to pursue. For example, if enough people tell you it’s a bad idea, perhaps you should reconsider your business plan, but do not give up, look for alternate ideas and options. In the beginning you will knock on many doors and many will be slammed in your face – again, you should not give up; you only need one success to get going.

The second piece of advice – learn from your mistakes. If you make a mistake once it is forgivable but you need to learn and grow from these mistakes and find ways in which to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes twice. In the same breath though, young entrepreneurs need to realise that failure is not a bad thing – you can certainly learn a lot through your failures. In fact, when raising capital sometimes prior failure is a prerequisite and investors are often more willing to back someone who has experienced business failure as they understand the pressures. In addition, building a contact network can go a long way in assisting you to gain traction in a specific market – never burn your bridges; you never know when you will need a helping hand.

10. How can Africa realise its full potential?

It must first be noted that Africa has a significant proportion of the world’s natural resources (minerals, oil agricultural lands etc). Secondly, Africa offers vast human resource potential with its 1bn plus population. With this in mind then, Africa has prospects as both a producer and a consumer, which certainly gives the continent a comparative advantage to trade internationally.

The problem is that Africa still remains fragmented, home to landlocked and underdeveloped countries. A major constraint to regional and international trade is the high costs for trade across borders in Africa. In my experience, many businesses are scared of cross-border operations, as they see these areas as high risk for their fleets to operate within.

The road to realising Africa’s full potential and better connections to the world’s market is one that will be built by improving the transport sectors to facilitate trade and investment in Africa, especially if we consider that the transport sector makes up a substantial portion of the continent’s GDP.

MiX Telematics, founded in 1996, is a leading global provider of fleet and mobile asset management solutions. The company’s shares are publicly traded on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange and on the New York Stock Exchange.