Prince Moeng, young, dynamic and a believer in diversified success

Born in North West province, Prince Moeng is a young man who studied accounting at the University of Johannesburg, but who found his business passion in FinTech.

Prince followed the traditional learning path that most youngsters do, but the entrepreneurship bug bit him early on and urged him towards the pursuit of a handful of different business ideas. "I've essentially been an entrepreneur my whole life," he says.

After completing his degree, Prince took a job at an accounting and business software company. He then gained further work experience as a bookkeeper at an attorney firm, followed by a role as a finance manager and then an acting general manager in the IT solutions industry.

With work experience under his belt, the entrepreneurial side of him itched for something new

Prince then decided to change course and apply his knowledge of business ideas in the food and wine industry. He founded a wine company and then a restaurant of his own - two interests he saw great opportunities in. "I love wine and food. I also love hosting.

"My wine business was almost like a rebellious endeavour. I was 21 at the time and wanted to get into an industry that lacks youth representation. It also has a lack of black representation in it," explains Prince. He felt a desire to disrupt the industry somewhat in that sense.

Then he stepped into the restaurant industry. "This allowed me to meet a variety of individuals and engage in a multitude of different conversations."

He continues to run his wine business, but the restaurant unfortunately succumbed to the negative impact of COVID-19 lockdowns. "Some of the key suppliers we had unfortunately went out of business themselves." But Prince hasn't lost hope. He has plans in progress to return to the hospitality industry with a new venture soon. His restaurant will surely make a comeback.

In the middle of it all, a new opportunity 'found him'...

In 2019, Mutualism founders Mason Wittman and Dylan Mott approached him to join their newly launched asset financing business. The business was founded to "bridge the funding gap that a lot of SMEs in the townships are facing," explains Prince.

He was approached to join the business as their Chief Operating Officer when he was just 25 years old. At the time, the business was only just finding its feet and hadn't yet even been formalised. "They were looking for somebody to come in and help them structure their business." A meeting was arranged, "I gave them a few pointers to what they needed to improve and that was that."

The business ethos resonated with him, and he couldn't help but want to help see the business establish a stronghold with a sustainable future.

By 2020, Prince took a chance and became part of the trio that forged ahead to establish working capital and assets. Prince and the founding pair put their heads together to start building the business as a unit, using their shared passion for entrepreneurship and vision to provide more sustainable support to SMEs in South Africa.

"Initially, I agreed to a one-month contract. Within a week or two Mason and Dylan requested that I stay a bit longer. Now it's a few years later," he chuckles.

Prince took up the role to start running the day-to-day operations of the company, implement processes and build the business offering. "We started creating more funds and strengthening our product," he says. Prince is involved in the process of acquiring SME clients, as well as creating and managing relationships, both from a client perspective and that of the business's asset suppliers. He ensures that that business supports various industry businesses in the market.

"Essentially, I'm the one who set the office up for us. I set up all the compliance elements and then all the policies." The business is headquartered in Rosebank, Johannesburg, with a team of seven employees based there. The company also has an employee in London and one in New York. "We are part of the We Work network which connects us to any network across the globe," he explains. This allows for everyone to have access to each other, no matter where they are in the world.

But the setting up process hadn't anticipated the COVID curveball...

"COVID had a serious impact on our newly signed SME clients, but it allowed us to build in more digitised processes and supportive policies." As such, the bones of the business that Prince and his founding partners were building could better withstand COVID pressures, while supporting their clients who were experiencing similar challenges through the pandemic. The team saw the "COVID curveball" as an opportunity to have a growth mindset, both for themselves and their new client base, as well as their own business needs.

"It was always our intention to build Mutualism as a tech-based business, but COVID definitely catapulted the entire process. We were able to scale up very quickly and help clients who had less access to technology."

While working, Prince hasn't stopped learning

"I'm currently doing an investment management course as well." He also holds an accreditation from the Moonstone Business School of Excellence.

Prince's take on how Mutualism is disrupting the market

"We are able to reach many SMEs, which others normally would not reach. I think we've definitely disrupted the market from just a pure research standpoint." Mutualism specialises in uplifting township businesses and SMEs and helping them to build sustainable structures to thrive in their markets. Its research approach to getting this right is thorough and personalised.

"We are also moving into a new space of offering a new funding tool which helps us provide working capital and stock lending. We've partnered with a couple of associations giving us data to better understand the market. This will help us to offer improved solutions for cashflow issues and help to scale up businesses."

Holistic insurance cover as an integral component to protecting businesses and helping them to thrive

"Working with Discovery Business Insurance means that every single asset we purchase on behalf of our SME clients is insured," says Prince. Their interests are well protected, no matter what could go wrong. Business clients can still function, even if setbacks like a fire or burglary happen. "We know that the value of the asset in itself is secure through insurance cover.

"Insurance cover allows us to be able to say to our clients, 'If anything were to happen to your business, we are with you. You can continue to run your business. You are covered.'" It's something the company encourages its clients to sign up for at the very start of their relationship too. "It creates a level of security for their own businesses and helps them to sleep better at night knowing they can plan for any interruption, if it were to happen.

"We know that we as a business are covered too," he adds. "Essentially our investment in itself is secured through that."

"I was kind of raised with an entrepreneurial streak"

"My mom ran an IT consulting firm and her sister started an IT company. Another started a college. During my holidays I was essentially a PA to my mom when I was younger. I was assisting in administrations for new students at my aunt's company too.

"By the time I got to high school - I went to a boarding school -I noticed how much students loved sweets." Prince saw an opportunity to sell sweets to students at a discounted price, putting him in competition with the school tuck shop. With the help of his mother who visited every so often, Prince started a little sweets selling business.

Exposed to different ideas and encouraged to have a resourceful attitude, Prince grew up with plenty of ideas. And he still has.

"I do have a lot of ideas. I've been blessed enough to have had a lot of people that could reel me in and help me." This instilled an appreciation of what relationships can achieve. "One of my mentors would also always say that in business, the most important thing is relationships.

"The one person who inspires me in life is definitely my mother. I owe my current being to her because of how she raised me and helped me to navigate life."

Prince's advice for up-and-coming young entrepreneurs...

"There isn't an instant solution to having a well-functioning business. To have that and a great team essentially takes time. A large portion of that is attributable to building relationships along the way. Growth requires you to have proper collaboration too. There's no shortcut ticket.

"Also, persevere. Ensure that you stick to the basics well. The ideas you have and your vision are best developed daily, step-by-step. The consistency you put into your business will essentially yield the results you want.

"I believe in the little guy." Prince firmly believes in creating something that will give back to the community. "This grows a community." To him, this is true wealth and development.

Find out more about Discovery Business Insurance's market-leading business insurance cover; speak to your broker or get a quote.