Wilson Masilo, an inspiring 34-year-old entrepreneur started his own business Simmer Deep Gold Mining (Pty) Ltd, an aspiring gold reclamation company operating in Mogale City, through funding from Anglo American’s enterprise development arm, Zimele.
Wilson’s company is involved in the re-mining of old dumps with hopes to grow his business into a fully-fledged mining company through Zimele’s support.
Wilson grew up in Rustenburg and after finishing his matric, he was proud to be selected for the Anglo American bursary programme. After attaining an MBL, a Bcom and an engineering degree, his dreams of mining finally manifested when Zimele stepped in and helped him get his business up and running three years ago.
The funding, which came from Zimele’s junior mining fund, the sefa Mining Fund, helped Wilson buy the equipment he needed to get his business up and running.
Now, this dynamic entrepreneur has been able to help boost the Mogale City economy, creating much needed jobs. Simply through re-mining old dumps, Wilson has created 65 permanent jobs.
Zimele has been instrumental in providing jobs to the community of Mogale City, reinforcing its goal of building the capacity and prosperity of communities across the country. By supporting passionate and committed entrepreneurs like Wilson, Zimele believes it is making a real difference for communities across South Africa.
Essentially, the Anglo American sefa Mining Fund helps mining companies like Wilson’s with equity and loan finance, complemented by technical support during the high-risk exploration and pre-feasibility stages of projects – which can get extremely complicated.
The fund helps businesses reach commercially bankable positions, giving entrepreneurs the confidence to approach lenders and raise finance without hassle. On top of this, Zimele has also given Masilo a wealth of technical business advice and support, helping him establish long-term and effective business relationships.
Wilson’s advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is that it’s not an easy job. “Getting your business off the ground is extremely hard, but Zimele has helped make this journey easier for me. Never lose hope because there are partnerships like Zimele that make starting up a new business bearable.”
Simmer Deep Gold Mining (Pty) Ltd is just one of over 1885 businesses that have been supported by Zimele over the past 25 years. Over this time, Zimele has helped create over 38,000 jobs. As part of Zimele’s commitment to the empowerment of youth in the South African economy, it has also allocated 38% of its funding to young entrepreneurs.