Ramasela Ganda is the group chief executive of Zeda Limited, which operates the iconic Avis and Budget brands in South Africa and 10 other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. As company head, she brings extensive experience accrued during her time at numerous blue chip companies including Vodacom, Telkom and the National Nuclear Regulator.
Ramasela is a qualified chartered accountant with a B. Com from Vista University and (Hons. & CTA) from the University of Pretoria, and has led a distinguished career with 25 years of strategic and financial experience.
On top of her many professional accolades, which are outlined further in this profile, she was the 2022 Association for the Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA) Private Sector CEO of the year and CFO of the year 2016, awarded by The Asso_ciation of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP).
The empowerment of women is a cause that Ramasela enshrines in her belief of 'paying it forward'. She has committed herself to empowering young women by offering them opportunities that will see them assuming positions of influence.
Tell us a little about Avis and the ZEDA spin-off.
Zeda Limited is the original name of the company which was established in 1967 as ZEDA Car Rental and Tours. ZEDA, under the widely recognised Avis and Budget brands, offers integrated mobility and holds a long-term license agreement with Avis Budget Group (ABG) to operate the two brands in Southern Africa. ZEDA's strong track record of over five decades rests on its resilience and commitment to service excellence. The business was in the Barloworld stable for over 17 years, as a division in the automotive sector until December 2022. ZEDA was then unbundled and listed on the main Board of the JSE (Johannesburg Stock Exchange) as a Listing Company.
The ZEDA business
ZEDA is an investment company that has its core focus on integrated mobility. It houses the ÒAvis Rent A Car, Budget Rent A Car, Avis Car Sales and Avis Fleet businesses. The company provides full fleet management solutions to both individual and public sectors, as well as corporate. It aspires to deepen greater adoption of vehicle usership economy rather than just ownership in regions it operates in.
ZEDA has over 230 000 fleet under management, with over 35 000 on its balance sheet. The balance sheet fleet are split almost 55% short term rental and 45% long term leasing. The company has built strong capability to sell used cars through its 14 dealerships across South Africa and auction platform both in and outside South Africa.
Overview of the business segments under ZEDA:
Car rental business - ZEDA's business segment that trades under the brand names 'Avis' and 'Budget'. The customer segment base is diversified and consists of private sector, public sector, insurance business (replacement), inbound market, domestic leisure market and subscription. This business provides a range of products and services to a wide range of customers which include car rental, chauffer services, luxury and van rental. It has 76 corporate branches in South Africa and a presence in seven countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Leasing business - ZEDA's business segment that trades as 'Avis Fleet' and provides a fully outsourced mobility. The full spectrum of outsourced mobility solutions offered by Avis Fleet includes leasing, fleet management, maintenance and service plan solutions, fuel management, traffic fine management, accident management and vehicle telematics, amongst others. The offering ranges from passenger, light delivery and commercial vehicles up to extra heavy vehicles, for all categories of fleet users. These vehicles are contracted to the customer for a period exceeding 12 months, with an average of 44 months. Customer segments include corporate, small businesses and government entities. This holistic and modular offering allows customers to focus on their core operations, while Avis Fleet takes care of their mobility needs and ensures maximum uptime for their operations.
Car sales business - ZEDA's business segment that sells cars that have reached their full life cycle from the rental side (12 months) and leasing side (average of four years and older). These vehicles are sold to retail customers and independent wholesalers. This is done through the 14 Avis Car Sales dealerships, wholesale outlets, the online channel or through our independent auction site (www.avisauction.co.za). Retail vehicles are advertised on the company's online sales portal and other third-party websites. Wholesale stock is sold through the online auction trading platform or through bulk deal offerings direct to the market. Avis Car Sales accepts trade-ins and buy-ins, allowing for market competitiveness and an alternative car stock source.
How have you seen your career develop since 2022?
Since joining Avis Budget Southern Africa, my career has developed tremendously. I was appointed to the position of CEO on 1 January 2020, to start on 1 May. At the time, COVID-19 was not even a discussion point. In February, we started hearing about COVID-19 cases being reported in parts of Europe after it was first detected in China. Immediately after my appointment, I started crafting my 100 days plan. However, this plan was not to be realised due to the impact of the pandemic on the car rental businesses.
At that time Avis had just under 28 000 fleet and not generating income. Every cost element you could think of, including parking facilities, security to look after the cars increased. As a result, my commence-ment date was moved forward, and I subsequently started my new role on 1 April, just five days after South Africa's first national lockdown. I had to come up with a turnaround strategy within five days. This was a challenge I took head-on by staying focused and coming up with a plan that would ensure that we would come out of the woods and not just survive but thrive.
This is how the subscription offering came about, which the market received very well, despite the restrictions that were imposed on movement. We saw about 5000 vehicles back on the road in July and a year later, in 2021, we managed to bring back staff that were laid off during the peak of the pandemic. Before the pandemic, our business was predominantly airport and tourism based. Now, over 50% of our business is contractual and diversified away from tourism or airports.
This period tested my character and resilience, and I am grateful for the team that I work with because they really stepped up and made some hard sacrifices to save our business.
What is your vision for the future of ZEDA?
ZEDA's vision is to become a trusted mobility solutions provider that is leading in the chosen markets. Its aspiration is to deepen stronger penetration of a usership economy, especially amongst the youth. Many people today just want to get from point A to B without a hassle and we believe that we can capture this market with this product offering. Deloitte's 2022 Global Automotive Consumer Study shows that 29% of consumers plan to convert to usership models for their next vehicle. ZEDA's aspiration is to drive this conversion in the Southern Africa market.
We want to continue inspiring better journeys through tailor-made solutions that address every mobility need.
Is there a part of your roles that you consider to be especially interesting?
It is really looking at the traditional business of car rental and leasing, and visualising what mobility can do to all sectors of the economy if it is easily accessible and reliable.
Being entrusted with the responsibility of leading an organisation that is full of agility and is the catalyst to connecting humanity through integrated mobility. The mobility trajectory will not be the same, after we execute on our bold ambition.
What does this award mean to you?
It is the epitome of the hard work that goes into ensuring that our organisation thrives. It is a validation that I have an incredible team that walks side-by-side with me on this journey of taking the business on an upward trajectory. It will be a testament that where there is a will, drive and strong team, nothing is impossible. ZEDA has risen from what many could have written off, to be a force to be reckoned with, in the Southern Africa economy landscape.
Other accolades include:
¥ 2022 Advancement of Black Accountants of Southern Africa (ABASA) Private Sector CEO of the Year;
¥ 2017 CFO SA Public Sector CFO of the year;
¥ 2016 African Women Chartered Accountants (AWCA) Public Sector CFO of the year;
¥ 2016 Association of Black Securities and Investment Professionals (ABSIP) CFO of the year.
What is it that motivates you to achieve success in your work?
What motivates me is the knowledge that our hard work of ensuring that we connect humanity by bringing the market reliable, safe and convenient mobility makes a positive contribution. Through our mobility offerings, businesses can meet their operational needs. We aid service delivery in local communities, and enable connections between family and friends.
