DAVID Moshapalo has come a long way from days spent "ducking" away from cops trying to seize liquor from his then illegal watering hole in Soweto.

"We spent mornings and afternoons trying to avoid being arrested and having our livelihood confiscated, though I was not always lucky," he says.

His brush with the law - and that of his contemporaries - arose because of their desire to be self-employed.

But so determined was Moshapalo to earn a living from his own shebeen that he spearheaded developments that eventually led to the legalisation of the industry.

Today he finds himself in similar position as a cause célèbre for small business, particularly black business.

As chairman of the National Small Business Council (NSBC), Moshapalo looks after the interests of all small business - from the effects of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act to efforts in building the small business sector's capacity.

As executive director of the Foundation for African Business and Consumer Services, he represents the sectoral interests of small black business.

"I try to be busy in so far as the development of the small business sector and of entrepreneurship is concerned.

"Everywhere in the world, SMME's are the engine of growth and need to be carefully nurtured. We are starting to do that here in SA."

Indeed, the starting point was the President's Conference on Small Business that eventually gave rise to a number of government interventions, including Khula Enterprise Finance (providing wholesale finance and credit guarantee schemes to retailers) and the NSBC.

The NSBC was formed as a statutory body charged with looking after the interests of the small business sector and advising government on small business development.

The appointment of Moshapalo seemed a natural choice.

He has spent a considerable amount of time lobbying for the interests of the small business sector. But it was only after starting his own business that he began to understand and comprehend the challenges and obstacles that face the small business sector.

After matric he joined several companies, doing a variety of jobs, but eventually decided he was not getting anywhere and started his own business.

"I felt I had reached a glass ceiling and that the best thing to do then was to work for myself," Moshapalo says.

He opened a shebeen in 1980, which led to his run-ins with the law. He says his shebeen grew to be one of the biggest. Proceeds from it were used to diversify into construction and franchising.

From here began his concern with the black business sector. It is a concern which has led to his involvement with the SA Taverners Association (as general secretary), Black Business Council (chairman and founder member) and Business SA (as an executive member).

He subsequently closed his business, although he maintains a financial interest in a tavern, and is chairman of the Metal Trading Recyclist.

He has written extensively on the development of SMME's and participated in a number of forums on the subject both locally and internationally. He sits on a number of boards, including MTN and the Gauteng Tender Board.

He is married with three children and still lives in Soweto, at a time when many black businessmen and professionals are forsaking the townships for the suburbs.

"Moving to the suburbs is a question of affordability, but in the final analysis Soweto is where my constituency is," says Moshapalo.

An aspirant golfer, he enjoys spectator sports, in particular soccer and cricket.

Thabo Kobokoane

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