About us

Since inception in 2004 we have implemented over 400 projects and have serviced more than 200 clients in the Western Cape region. Throughout the years we have forged strategic relationships with industry stakeholders to strengthen our capacity in supporting our clients.

These linkages include the following agencies:

Umsobomvu Youth Fund
Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA)
Department of Trade and Industry (BBSD Programme)
SwissContact
Western Cape Tooling Initiative (WCTI)
South African International Business Linkages (SAIBL)
ABSA
Tabeisa
QuickBooks
Funding Institutions

Hlumisa Staff

Managing Member: Solly Fazel-Ellahi

Solly Fazel-Ellahi, the managing member and heart of the company, has over 20 years experience in the corporate and the ngo sector as a finance, operations and HR manager. Born in Johannesburg, he started his working career as an accountant but rapidly progressed to the position of the Finance & HR manager of Hulett Metals, an arm of the Tongaat Hulett Group of corporations. Having received an offer from the Graduate School of Business (UCT) he moved to Cape Town in 1993 to assume the position of Finance & Operations manager at the Graduate School. Solly has also worked as a Finance & Operations manager at Busaf, part of the Dorbyl Group. Having developed substantial management expertise, Solly took on the role of Finance, Administration and HR manager at the UN established World Commission on Dams in 1998

In 2004, the time had come for him to combine his vast experience with his passion for small business development. He founded Hlumisa Small Business Solutions with the aim of capacitating business enterprises within the Western Cape. Since founding Hlumisa, Solly has also been on the board of Library Business Corners and currently is a member of the steering committee for the Access to Finance Forum initiated by SwissContact. The forum brings together different stakeholders (government, funding institutions, SMEs, business service providers) within the business development sector to stimulate the growth of the SME market.

His educational qualifications include Hons B Compt (Unisa) and Executive Masters in Business Administration (EMBA) at the UCT Graduate School of Business.

Suraya Fazel-Ellahi

Suraya has worked for Hlumisa for the past 5 years as a business consultant. Her work mainly involves developing strategy documents including Business Plans, Expansion Plans and Marketing Plans. She has also produced Due Diligence Reports for the purpose of valuations and internal health checks of organisations. Furthermore, she conducts market research and develops Business Administration Systems for optimizing business operations.

Her educational qualifications include Bsc (Hons) and MPhil (Development Studies) at the University of Cape Town. Her university training has provided her with a range of research, analytical and writing tools. Combined with her sense of social awareness and responsibility, her skills greatly enrich the capacity of the organisation and the value added to the clients.

Support Staff

Furthermore, Hlumisa employs the services of specialist consultants in various fields including HR, Labour Law, Tax Law and Advertising. Hlumisa has employed local and international interns in the past and continues to do so.

Ascend Business Solutions

Hlumisa collaborates with Ascend Business Solutions on certain projects due to their specialised knowledge in Accounting and Tax Compliance. Ascend also carries out CC registrations and performs the service of an accounting officer.