By In an industry historically defined by heavy machinery, deep underground shafts, and male dominance, breaking through requires more than just technical ambition—it demands unyielding resilience.
For Tebogo Mosito, Director of Rustenburg-based Ditsogo Engineering, transforming necessity into enterprise was not merely a career move; it was a blueprint for economic transformation.
What began as a personal drive to carve out opportunities where few existed has expanded into a thriving mining and engineering group. Today, Ditsogo Engineering manufactures underground rolling stock, executes heavy steel fabrication, provides complex mechanical repairs, and delivers specialized engineering services.
More than a local success story, Mosito’s journey highlights how strategic partnerships, commitment to skills development, and targeted export strategies can turn a regional enterprise into an international contender.
Turning Adversity into Industrial Initiative
Mosito’s path to the top of the industrial sector was neither direct nor guaranteed. After graduating from the University of the Witwatersrand with a degree in Human Resource Management, she found herself facing a difficult job market. Rather than waiting for opportunities to open up, she embraced entrepreneurship in 2008, establishing several small ventures before establishing the Ditsogo Group in 2012.
Her entry into core mining and engineering was driven by two key realizations: women were severely underrepresented in critical manufacturing and engineering value chains, and the sector offered immense potential for sustainable community livelihoods and long-term poverty reduction.
The early days of scaling a heavy industrial operation presented steep learning curves. Recognizing technical gaps, Ditsogo leveraged enterprise supplier development (ESD) support early on. A key turning point came when major producer Impala Platinum identified potential in the young business, admitting Ditsogo into its ESD initiative. This partnership helped the company align with stringent sector regulations, build technical capacity, and scale operational capacity to generate jobs for local youth.
Scaling Impact: Workforce Development and Global Expansion
Since its inception, Ditsogo Group has created more than 135 jobs, deploying specialized teams across multiple sites for high-stakes installation and maintenance projects. Recognizing that long-term industrial growth depends on workforce readiness, the company works closely with Orbit TVET College in the North West to provide practical, workplace training for students.
To institutionalize this commitment, Ditsogo is currently developing a dedicated training wing focused on equipping unemployed youth and aspiring artisans with accredited technical skills.
DITSOGO GROUP AT A GLANCE
• Founded: 2012 (Headquartered in Rustenburg, South Africa)
• Core Operations: Underground rolling stock, steel fabrication, mechanical repairs
• Direct Employment: Over 135 jobs created
• Key Accolades:
– Presidential SME Award for Women in Engineering (2022)
– Emerging Export Leader Award (2025)
• International Expansion: DRC, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana, and Germany
Ditsogo’s strategic footprint now extends beyond local borders. Supported by trade missions facilitated by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), the company is executing an aggressive expansion strategy across Sub-Saharan Africa, establishing local partnerships in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Namibia, Zambia, and Botswana.
Internationally, Mosito showcased Ditsogo’s manufacturing capabilities across key markets, including Germany and China. Her participation in the Partnering in Business with Germany Programme proved transformative. Through facility visits, high-level business-to-business engagements, and in-market executive training, Ditsogo refined its operational standards and export readiness.
Following the 2024 delegation, Mosito secured a strategic agreement with a German Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) partner. This venture enables Ditsogo to supply high-demand chemical anchors, specialized bolts, and underground support systems, cementing its footprint in advanced mining equipment.
Industry Recognition and Navigating Systemic Barriers
The market has taken notice. Ditsogo Group was honoured with the Presidential Small and Medium Enterprise Award for Women in Engineering in 2022 and named an Emerging Export Leader in 2025 through the German business partnership program.
For Mosito, accolades reflect tangible operational metrics rather than mere ceremony. “When people see the awards, they know behind the award there was hard work,” she notes. “They looked at our financials, the growth, and the impact that we are doing to the community.”
Despite these successes, Mosito remains vocal about the systemic challenges facing women-owned enterprises in heavy industry. Navigating regulatory red tape, securing access to growth capital, managing high compliance costs, and entering tightly guarded procurement markets remain persistent hurdles.
To address these barriers, Mosito champions strategic networking, access to market intelligence, and institutional reforms. A key priority for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is working capital flow. She continues to advocate for both public and private sector buyers to enforce 30-day payment terms, ensuring that growing enterprises retain the liquidity needed to sustain operations and fulfil large-scale contracts.
The Bigger Picture: Financial Freedom as Inclusion
As a mother of four balancing executive leadership with family life, Mosito views her work as a catalyst for future generations. For her, women’s economic inclusion is not an abstract ideal—it is rooted in financial self-determination.
“Women empowerment means women having financial freedom and the power to choose where they want to be. Because if you are not empowered, you remain where somebody chooses for you to be.” — Tebogo Mosito, Director of Ditsogo Engineering.
Her advice to rising entrepreneurs entering industrial markets is clear and practical: maintain resilience, continuously upgrade technical skills, leverage supplier development networks, and capitalize aggressively on every market entry point.
By taking Ditsogo Group from a local start-up to an international enterprise, Tebogo Mosito has demonstrated that industrial success is driven by technical agility, strategic alignment, and relentless execution. Her journey proves that when barriers are broken, economic progress extends far beyond a single business—it lifts entire communities and shapes the future of industry
