Dike Phatudi, 31, is the co-creator and management consultant at Serene Place Boutique Hotel & Conference Venue. His profession as a management consultant has seen him contribute towards building new companies in telecommunications and real estate. One of his ongoing jobs is with a global consulting firm where he is the project manager for the establishment of a new local entity that will solve South Africa’s infrastructure gaps and enable better service delivery in aviation, energy, water and sanitation and smart mobility. One of Dike’s business interests has enabled him to contribute towards the co-building of Serene Place. Serene is a place that is a premium touchpoint for international and local tourists, a contributor towards the growth of South Africa’s tourism sector, as well as a functional platform where its conference venue facilitates, trains and upskills people to enable meaningful economic participation. Dike holds a bachelor of art triple major: law, political science and economics from the University of Witwatersrand. He is working on The Ultimate Programme, an initiatives-based community established as a call to action by like-minded young professionals, self-starters and change-makers to actively respond to the growing perception that South Africa is becoming a failed state.
Bachelor of Art Triple Major: Law, Political Science & Economics, University of Witwatersrand
Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration, Wits Business School
Financial Modelling & Valuation Analyst, Corporate Finance Institute
In 2019, I started a gas retail business in Mamelodi after I saw that newly built RDP homes were not connected to the grid and people needed energy to run their new households. Despite offering a better value proposition, entering and participating in the Mamelodi township economy scared me because I was an outsider who was competing for market share with various local stakeholders. After setting up three retail sites and forging partnerships with local wholesalers which enabled me to give competitive prices, I was able to hire seven people from the community and during peak seasons my sites were able to service up to 280 people per day.
I have since sold the business to the gentlemen who managed the business, but most importantly this validated my desire to build and run a solid business and to overcome self-doubts when you want to accomplish a goal. Some of the lessons learnt from this experience include the importance of forging relationships and empowering the communities within which one operates. This is not only important to the success of the business but is in keeping with the broader values of our country.
My mother, Zahirah Phatudi, has defined for me what hard work looks like. She has also taught me that success comes from doing things that are an extension of who you are. When I first arrived in Johannesburg from Polokwane to start my primary schooling, we got out of the taxi with our bags and walked up the hill on 5th Street toward Sandton City Mall. This memory has always served as a reminder of how she has persisted throughout her life and fought hard to get to where she is today.