CEO of leading IT company thanks man who helped him as a hungry student

When Justice Maphosa first met Trevor Fisk about 20 years ago, he was dressed in a blue boiler suit and wanted to work at Fisk's warehouse in Cape Town.

His persistence got him a job washing trucks. Fast-forward to 2017. On January 24, Maphosa gave Fisk an unexpected gift: R1-million.

Fisk, 64, said: "Justice said that he wanted to meet for lunch and during the meal he said that he wanted to give me a present and asked for my bank details."

Maphosa, 42, immediately transferred the money.    

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"Justice never, ever asked me for money and instead spoke about his passion for computers. He was studying computer science at the University of Cape Town and I paid for his tuition," said Fisk.

The first day he employed Maphosa, at his late wife's insistence, Fisk saw the scrawny student still working after dark. Fisk gave him a lift from the trucking yard in Woodstock to the homeless shelter where he stayed in Tokai, 20km away.

During that trip, Fisk offered to let Maphosa stay in a spare room in his house.

"Trevor and his wife became like a father and mother to me and kept pushing me," said Maphosa. "He never accepted a guy with brains could be using physical strength and not doing much mental work."

During the daily commute, Maphosa told Fisk that he planned to start his own IT company. When Fisk asked how he would do that, Maphosa replied: "Watch this space."

Fisk said: "I started talking to him and found he was highly educated. He had a top-class school-leaving certificate and understood business."

In 1998 Maphosa founded his first company, Computer Ink and Media Solutions, selling recycled printer cartridges.

He is now CEO of Big Time Strategic Group and a multimillionaire. Maphosa has never forgotten his mentor.

"Trevor has a heart of gold ... I wish he was still in his 30s and then we could revolutionise the world together."

Maphosa attributes his success first to God and then to the people he has met, like the Fisks. 

His mentor believes Maphosa's discipline and determination underpin his achievements. For example, Fisk said: "One night I was locking up the house at about 11pm and I saw Justice walking home sopping wet from UCT, carrying his books in a plastic bag to keep them dry.

"I could not sleep and when I went to check on him at 3am a light was on and he was revising his lectures."

Every Saturday Maphosa, who lived on cabbage and pap, sent half his income to his family in Zimbabwe, where his parents went into exile and he spent his early years.

"I will never forget where I come from. When you suffer troubles and hardships it prepares you for the future and education prepares you for life," said Maphosa.

That is why he has taken two schools under his wing - in Alexandra, Johannesburg, and in Misty Mount village near Mthatha in the Eastern Cape - to help pupils there get the best education possible.

At the Upper Corana Junior Primary School in Misty Mount this week, hundreds of pupils, parents and teachers danced and ululated as Maphosa walked onto a makeshift stage.

In a blue jacket and diamond-pattern tie, he looked uncomfortable with the attention but smiled politely. Big Time Strategic Group has, in partnership with the Respect and Ubuntu Foundation, promised to make this broken-down school a centre of excellence.

His company is funding the salaries of seven teachers, a school feeding scheme, bus transport and uniforms and shoes. Next, it will pay for a connection to the power grid and for renovations to the classrooms, which have potholed mud floors and broken windows. 

Since Maphosa got involved in the school, enrolment has risen fivefold to more than 300 children. "I'm happy to be starting here," said Zubenathi Mbangata, 14, who has two younger brothers and one sister also joining the school.

Maphosa said: "I went to school in Zimbabwe and different places in South Africa, and when I see this it reminds me of my childhood."

His company also provides bursaries for tertiary students, 11 of whom have graduated so far.

He said: "I know children don't have food and when dinner is served, I want to eat with a clear conscience. I'd like to go to bed knowing that I've fed 1,000 children today and produced 100 university graduates."

keetonc@sundaytimes.co.za