The construction sector in Africa is traditionally a tough sector to enter, and a complicated one from a procurement and logistics perspective. However, for entrepreneur Eugénia Langa, founder of specialist company Nweba, this is a challenge she is meeting head-on, providing the best procurement and logistics management practices and risk management to her clients.

LoA is looking forward to meeting with the inspirational Eugénia Langa at the Lioness Lean In Breakfast event in Maputo shortly where she will be sharing her startup story with other women entrepreneurs.

What does your company do?

Nweba Lda is the first Mozambican company dedicated to Procurement and Logistics for Construction. Our main services are: Project Manager; Contract Manager; Material Supply or Service Provider; Permits Consulting; Logistics; and Procurement Training.
Our major value is to reduce our clients’ risks of failure by adding the best procurement and logistics practices and risk management.

"Our major value is to reduce our clients’ risks of failure by adding the best procurement and logistics practices and risk management."

What inspired you to start your company?

I spent several years working in the construction sector and in the last few years in the procurement and logistics area where I experienced mistakes on several occasions regarding delays in obtaining quotations, non-fulfillment by suppliers, late payment, error of orders, etc. Even though I tried to organize my procurement department, I could not guarantee efficiency on the part of the suppliers and the companies where I worked. I had a notion of best practices, was curious about trying new approaches in the procurement sector, but could not make decisions, which involved changing some way of thinking at the level of company management. I saw that I had the capacity in terms of know-how to create a need for the construction market. So Nweba came to life as a project offering clients the guarantee of best price, combined with quality in the service provided by Nweba and mainly by the supplier.

Why should anyone use your service or product?

Just as there are law firms, accounting firms, and security firms, why not procurement and logistics services for construction? With Nweba, our day to day approach to business is to think Procurement and to think Logistics. We make every request we receive a case study in which all strands of possible solutions to key challenges are evaluated. We make use of our ABC know-how in procurement and logistics and we apply it every day in our business. We know the our local construction market from A to Z, and we know how to evaluate costs associated with quality and delivery capacity. Like our slogan says: We are the convenience that your business requires.”

"Just as there are law firms, accounting firms, and security firms, why not procurement and logistics services for construction?"

Tell us a little about your team

Currently we area a group of 4 members - myself as the CEO responsible for the operational area of the business and the other members responsible for the Procurement/Logistics for the field area.

Share a little about your entrepreneurial journey. And, do you come from an entrepreneurial background?

At the age of 10, I started to make handicrafts using beads, inspired by Swaziland culture because I travelled to that country with my parents during school holidays. That experience inspired me to become an entrepreneur first, and then I started to have the demand for sales from friends so my interest in business grew. As a teenager, I was always interested in the science component, and architecture and engineering were part of my professional aspiration. The idea of seeing man form structures larger than himself on the basis of calculation and science has always fascinated me. During the course of civil construction, I began to attend works as an internship and went through the various areas within the civil construction industry sector. In my first job where I was responsible for warehouse control, I soon realized a certain complexity in classifying and organizing. When I became the operational director of a construction company where I was responsible for the management of about 60 workers from various social extracts, I realized that there was a certain tendency to discriminate against the female gender. In the procurement and logistics sector I found a passion for planning and order management. After a few years, I realized that I could fill some gaps that existed in the procurement and logistics area of business, and that Nweba could be the solution to change the construction market.

"With Nweba, our day to day approach to business is to think Procurement and to think Logistics. We make every request we receive a case study in which all strands of possible solutions to key challenges are evaluated."

What are your future plans and aspirations for your company?

My aspirations are to make Nweba a Mozambican brand with international certifications in the construction sector.

What gives you the most satisfaction being an entrepreneur?

I’m free to make my ideas come true and working at Nweba is not a job, it's waking up every day to live my passion.

What's the biggest piece of advice you can give to other women looking to start-up?

Find your passion and make it your day to day. No dream is impossible to realize. With faith, determination and persistence, anyone can achieve what they want.

Contact or follow Nweba

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | EMAIL eugenia.langa@nweba.co.mz

Why LoA loves it….

There is nothing quite as inspirational as seeing a woman entrepreneur breaking into a traditionally tough industry or business sector and building a successful, sustainable company based on high quality service delivery. Eugénia Langa, founder of specialist procurement and logistics company Nweba, is a wonderful example of how finding a niche and finding solutions to key challenges, opens up opportunities for great business. --- Melanie Hawken, founder and editor-in-chief of Lionesses of Africa