Solly Soka Madibela, widely known simply as “Solly Soka” or “MySol” is a South African entrepreneur and mining tycoon who has built one of the most rapidly growing mining and logistics enterprises in the North West province of South Africa.
His story is one of the most compelling entrepreneurial narratives in contemporary South African business: a man who grew up in a modest household in one of South Africa’s mining heartlands, spent three decades learning the open-cast mining industry from the inside out, and then at what many might consider mid-career founded his own company from scratch and built it into a formidable enterprise that extracts hundreds of thousands of tonnes of chrome every month, employs teams of seasoned mining professionals, operates a fleet of cutting-edge heavy machinery, and has earned the respect of the nation’s most significant mining houses.
In the heart of South Africa’s North West province, a remarkable story of ambition, resilience, and strategic vision unfolds. Beyond the business, Solly Soka Madibela’s story is also one of a man who has never forgotten where he came from whose philanthropy through the MySol Foundation reaches deep into the communities of the North West, funding bursaries for students, training programmes for young workers, and social welfare support for orphanages and low-income families.
He is, in the truest sense of the phrase, an African success story built not on inheritance or political connection but on expertise, discipline, and an iron will to succeed.
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Solomon Soka Madibela: History · Bio · Photo
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| Wiki Facts & About Data | |
| Full Name: | Solomon Soka Madibela |
| Born: | Late 1970s |
| Age: | 44–45 Years Old |
| Birthplace: | Rustenburg, North West Province, South Africa |
| Nationality: | South African |
| Occupation: | Mining Tycoon, Entrepreneur, CEO and Founder of MySol Holdings and Logistics |
| Net Worth: | R500 Million – R1 Billion+ |
Early Life
Solly Soka Madibela hails from Rustenburg, North West a region synonymous with South Africa’s mining wealth. Born in the late 1970s, he grew up in a community shaped by the rhythms of platinum and chrome mines. More specifically, raised in Modderspruit, Bapong, he grew up surrounded by the clatter of platinum and chrome mines.
Bapong is a small township near Brits in the North West province a community nestled in the geological heart of South Africa’s platinum belt, where the earth beneath the streets has made fortunes for mining houses for over a century, while the communities above ground have often waited a long time for those riches to trickle into their daily lives.
Details of his early life are private, but his path suggests a modest start. Growing up in a community with limited resources, Solly developed a strong sense of responsibility and a keen desire to succeed. His early years were not marked by privilege but rather by hard work and perseverance.
These values would go on to shape his future endeavours. The mining activity that surrounded his childhood in the North West was not merely a backdrop it was an education. Rustenburg’s mines weren’t just a backdrop; they were a classroom.
From his earliest years, he was immersed in the sights, sounds, and operational rhythms of open-cast mining an immersion that gave him the foundational industry knowledge that would underpin everything he built as an adult.
His background in a humble setting fuelled his ambition to create opportunities for others. Solly’s upbringing taught him the importance of community and the power of education and hard work in overcoming challenges. From a young age, he was determined to make a difference not only in his own life but also in the lives of others.
This early instilled commitment to community development which would later find its institutional expression in the MySol Foundation is one of the most consistent themes in every public account of his character and his leadership approach.
Education
Though details about Solly’s early education and family life are not widely publicised, it is clear that his upbringing played a crucial role in his success. The specific details of his formal schooling the schools he attended in the Bapong-Brits area, the qualifications he obtained, and his academic achievements are not documented in any verified public source.
This is consistent with his broader preference for privacy about his personal background, and with the profile of many South African self-made business figures who built their careers through industry experience and professional expertise rather than through academic credentials alone.
What is definitively documented and what matters most to understanding his career trajectory is that he boasts over 30 years of professional experience in open-cast mining, making him a seasoned expert in the field. This professional knowledge, accumulated over three decades of hands-on mining work before he founded MySol Holdings in 2018, represents the real educational foundation of his business success.
Mining expertise particularly in open-cast operations is not acquired in a classroom; it is acquired through years of direct operational experience across the full lifecycle of a mine, from drilling and blasting through loading and hauling to crushing, screening, and rehabilitation.
Career
Three Decades in Open-Cast Mining (Pre-2018)
Solly Soka Madibela, a seasoned mining professional with over three decades of experience, founded MySol Holdings and Logistics in 2018.
The three decades of mining experience that preceded the founding of MySol Holdings are the backbone of his business success, but the specific details of his employment history during this period the mining houses he worked for, the positions he held, the projects he managed, and the skills he accumulated are not extensively documented in publicly available sources.
What is clear from his company’s capabilities and his reputation in the industry is that by the time he founded MySol Holdings, he had acquired comprehensive expertise across the full range of open-cast mining operations.
His hands-on management style ensures that he personally coordinates and oversees all machinery and activities, guaranteeing maximum output and client satisfaction.
This operational intimacy unusual in a CEO of a company operating at MySol’s scale is the direct product of a career spent not in boardrooms but on mine sites, where understanding the machinery, the geology, the safety protocols, and the operational rhythms of a live mine is the difference between a successful contractor and a failed one.
Founding of MySol Holdings and Logistics (2018)
In 2018, Solly Soka Madibela founded MySol Holdings and Logistics. The decision to strike out on his own after three decades of working within the mining industry was an act of entrepreneurial courage that required both the confidence of accumulated expertise and the willingness to risk everything on his own capabilities.
MySol Holdings was established as a black-owned mining and logistics enterprise a deliberate positioning within the framework of South Africa’s Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) transformation agenda, which seeks to increase the participation of previously disadvantaged South Africans in the ownership and management of the country’s mining industry.
In 2018, Solly Soka founded MySol Holdings and Logistics, a black-owned business specialising in mining and logistics services.
His company quickly gained attention for its expertise in providing essential services to the mining sector, including drilling, blasting, loading, hauling, crushing, screening, and rehabilitation. The breadth of MySol’s service offering spanning the full chain from resource extraction to site rehabilitation reflects the depth of Madibela’s industry knowledge and his determination to build a company that could offer integrated mining services rather than a single specialised sub-function.
MySol Holdings Operations and Growth
Operating primarily in Rustenburg, the company has rapidly ascended to prominence in the open-cast mining and logistics sectors.
MySol Holdings’ primary area of operation is the North West province’s platinum and chrome belt one of the most mineral-rich geological formations on earth, containing a significant share of the world’s known reserves of platinum group metals and chromite.
The company’s services encompass drilling and blasting, loading and hauling, crushing and screening, mine rehabilitation, and bulk earthworks a comprehensive suite of mining contracting services that makes MySol a one-stop mining services provider for mine operators in the region.
One of the company’s most notable projects includes its involvement in the Buffelsfontein West Open-cast Mine, managed by Samancor. This project has been operational for over a year, and MySol’s timely and efficient work on the project has earned them a solid reputation in the industry.
Samancor one of the world’s largest producers of manganese and chrome ores is among South Africa’s most demanding and prestigious mining clients.
Winning and successfully executing a contract for Samancor’s Buffelsfontein West Open-cast Mine was a significant credibility milestone for MySol Holdings, demonstrating that the company’s operational capabilities met the standards of one of the industry’s most rigorous operators.
MySol is especially prominent in chrome mining, an industry that has seen substantial growth in recent years. Chrome used primarily in the production of stainless steel and specialty alloys has been one of South Africa’s most economically significant mineral exports in recent years, driven by strong global demand from China’s steel industry and from the global transition toward more durable materials in construction, automotive, and technology applications.
A significant milestone in MySol’s journey was the expansion of its chrome mining operations. In early 2025, the company augmented its fleet with 30 new Volvo articulated haulers and 10 Volvo excavators, reinforcing its position as a key player in South Africa’s mining sector.
This investment, part of an ongoing collaboration with Volvo Construction Equipment and Babcock, underscores MySol’s commitment to leveraging advanced machinery for enhanced productivity. The partnership with Babcock has been instrumental in MySol’s growth.
The acquisition of 40 new pieces of heavy machinery in a single fleet expansion is an investment running into the hundreds of millions of rands a commitment that signals the seriousness of MySol’s growth ambitions and the company’s financial strength.
MySol Holdings extracts 200,000 tonnes of chrome monthly, with plans to expand further. Extracting 200,000 tonnes of chrome ore per month is a production scale that places MySol Holdings among the more significant mining contractors in South Africa’s chrome sector a remarkable achievement for a company founded barely seven years ago.
MySol Foundation Philanthropy and Community Development
Beyond business, Madibela is deeply invested in giving back to the community. He co-founded the MySol Foundation, a non-profit organisation dedicated to community development and education. The foundation offers bursaries to students facing financial challenges, ensuring they have access to higher education.
Additionally, it provides training programmes for driving licences and TMM (Trackless Mobile Machine) operator certification, empowering community members with valuable skills. MySol Holdings also donates food parcels and school uniforms to orphanages and low-income families, reflecting Madibela’s commitment to social welfare.
The MySol Foundation’s focus areas education bursaries, vocational skills training, and basic welfare support for vulnerable families reflect a sophisticated understanding of the multiple barriers that keep South African communities trapped in poverty.
By funding university bursaries, the Foundation addresses the educational pipeline that produces the next generation of mining professionals. By funding driving licence and TMM operator training, it directly addresses the skills deficit that keeps young people in the North West from accessing the mining employment that surrounds them.
And by donating food parcels and school uniforms, it addresses the immediate material needs that often prevent children from attending school consistently. Together, these programmes represent a genuinely integrated community development strategy not tokenistic corporate social responsibility, but a deliberate attempt to dismantle the specific barriers that his own community faces.
Madibela actively participates in local community initiatives, ensuring the company gives back to the regions where it operates.
His personal involvement in community initiatives rather than delegating philanthropy to a corporate social responsibility department is consistent with the hands-on leadership style that characterises every aspect of his management approach.
Luxury Lifestyle and Car Collection
Solly Soka Madibela’s commercial success is reflected in a lifestyle that has attracted enormous public attention across South African social media particularly through his legendary car collection, which has become something of a cultural phenomenon in its own right. A single X post showcasing his fleet went viral, amassing thousands of views in days, sparking debates about wealth and ambition.
This week, the wealthy businessman celebrated his 44th birthday by buying a brand new Mercedes-Brabus G63 6×6 worth R20 Million. The Mercedes-Brabus G63 6×6 a six-wheeled, heavily modified, military-grade luxury SUV produced in tiny numbers by the German performance tuner Brabus is one of the rarest and most expensive vehicles in the world, with fewer than a few hundred examples ever produced. Its purchase as a birthday gift to himself generated national headlines and cemented his reputation as one of South Africa’s most flamboyant displays of newly generated wealth.
His garage houses a Brabus G63 6×6, Rolls-Royce Cullinan, Bentley, and more reflecting that triumph. The Rolls-Royce Cullinan the British luxury marque’s flagship SUV, priced at well over R6 million in South Africa and the Bentley represent the pinnacle of European automotive luxury, while the Brabus G63 6×6 occupies a unique position at the intersection of military-grade engineering and ultra-luxury personalisation.
A name that took over the comment section was businessman and mining magnate Solly Soka Madibela, the owner of MySol Holdings and Logistics, operating in the North West province, as a bakkie belonging to the company was seen in the video of an opulent Hartbeespoort residence that went viral across South African social media with many Kenyans guessing from the luxury vehicles parked outside that the home belonged to Madibela.
The Hartbeespoort connection one of South Africa’s most exclusive residential areas, nestled around the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria reflects his expanding residential footprint beyond the North West province.
My Sol’s car collection is more than a display of wealth; it’s a chapter in Solly Soka Madibela’s remarkable story. Each car is a milestone in a legacy that’s only beginning. For many young South Africans watching his social media presence particularly those from the North West communities where he grew up his fleet is not simply ostentatious display but tangible proof that the mining wealth of the North West can flow back to the people who live above its minerals rather than exclusively to foreign mining houses and their shareholders.
Social Media
Solly Soka Madibela maintains an active social media presence across multiple platforms, using his digital channels to showcase MySol Holdings’ operational achievements, share glimpses of his personal lifestyle, and engage with the growing community of South Africans who follow his entrepreneurial journey.
- Instagram: @mysol_holdings and associated personal accounts where he posts updates on MySol’s fleet expansions, mining operations, community development initiatives, and personal lifestyle content including his car collection and celebratory moments. His Instagram presence carries the tagline “Opulent Lifestyle and Motivation” and “Entrepreneurship and Business” with the motto “Assets Over Liabilities.”
- X (formerly Twitter): Active presence where fleet purchases, company milestones, and lifestyle content have generated viral engagement including the post showcasing his car collection that attracted thousands of views within days.
- TikTok: Growing TikTok presence where content about his lifestyle and mining operations has generated significant engagement, with one video titled “Meet Malume Solly Soka and His Lavish Lifestyle” attracting 35,800 likes and 482 comments.
- Facebook: Active across multiple Facebook community pages where his business story and lifestyle content are regularly shared by third parties as well as directly by MySol Holdings.
Personal Life
Solly Soka is a relatively private individual when it comes to his personal life. While he is highly active in the public eye through his business and philanthropic efforts, he prefers to keep details about his family and relationships out of the spotlight.
This privacy allows him to focus on his work and maintain a clear separation between his personal and professional life. Though information about his spouse and children is not readily available, Solly is known to be deeply committed to his family and community. He often speaks about the importance of family and how his upbringing influenced his values and approach to his life.
His leadership style is characterised by several distinctive qualities that recur consistently across all accounts of those who work with him. His hands-on management style ensures that he personally coordinates and oversees all machinery and activities.
He believes in the power of working together and has built a strong team of professionals who share his vision for growth and community empowerment. By empowering his employees and providing them with opportunities to grow within the company, Solly has created a work environment that fosters innovation and success.
MySol Holdings integrates environmental responsibility into its operations, focusing on mine rehabilitation and sustainable practices. His emphasis on mine rehabilitation the systematic restoration of land disturbed by mining operations to a stable, non-polluting, and environmentally acceptable state reflects a commitment to environmental stewardship that goes beyond regulatory compliance. In an industry often criticised for the environmental damage it leaves behind, MySol’s rehabilitation focus is a meaningful differentiator.
Solly Soka Madibela’s story is one of determination, innovation, and heart. From his extensive experience in mining to his philanthropic endeavours, he embodies the qualities of a true leader. Those who know him describe a man whose visible success in the Brabus G63, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the Hartbeespoort residence coexists with a genuine humility about his origins and a genuine commitment to the community that shaped him.
Net Worth
While his exact net worth isn’t public, industry estimates place him in the hundreds of millions if not billions of rands.
Expert estimates suggest that his net worth taking into account the valuation of MySol Holdings and Logistics as a going concern, its fleet of heavy machinery (which in early 2025 alone expanded by R-equivalent hundreds of millions with 30 Volvo haulers and 10 Volvo excavators), its mining contracts, its operational revenues of R-equivalent hundreds of millions per year from 200,000 tonnes of monthly chrome extraction, and his personal real estate and vehicle holdings places him among the wealthiest self-made entrepreneurs in the North West province and among the more significant new-generation black mining entrepreneurs in South Africa as a whole.
His net worth is estimated at between R500 million and R1 billion or more a figure that reflects the rapid growth of MySol Holdings from its 2018 founding to its current position as one of the North West’s most prominent open-cast mining contractors.
His primary assets include MySol Holdings and Logistics (its fleet, contracts, and operational cash flows), real estate (including his Hartbeespoort-area residence), and his personal vehicle collection which, with the R20 million Brabus G63 6×6, the Rolls-Royce Cullinan, the Bentley, and other vehicles, represents a collection valued at well over R50 million at conservative estimates.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Who is Solly Soka?
Solly Soka full name Solomon Soka Madibela is a South African entrepreneur and mining tycoon from Rustenburg, North West Province. He is the founder, sole owner, and CEO of MySol Holdings and Logistics, a black-owned open-cast mining and logistics company headquartered in Rustenburg. He is also the co-founder of the MySol Foundation, a community development non-profit organisation.
How old is Solly Soka?
Based on his celebrated 44th birthday in 2025, Solly Soka Madibela was born in approximately 1980–1981, making him approximately 44–45 years old as of 2025.
Where is Solly Soka from?
He was born in Rustenburg and raised in Modderspruit, Bapong a community near Brits in the North West Province of South Africa, situated in the heart of the country’s platinum and chrome mining belt.
What is MySol Holdings?
MySol Holdings and Logistics is a black-owned South African mining and logistics company founded by Solly Soka Madibela in 2018. The company provides open-cast mining services including drilling and blasting, loading and hauling, crushing and screening, mine rehabilitation, and bulk earthworks. It operates primarily in Rustenburg, North West, and extracts approximately 200,000 tonnes of chrome ore monthly. In early 2025, it expanded its fleet with 30 Volvo articulated haulers and 10 Volvo excavators in partnership with Volvo Construction Equipment and Babcock.
What is the MySol Foundation?
The MySol Foundation is a non-profit organisation co-founded by Solly Soka Madibela dedicated to community development and education in the North West province. It offers university bursaries for financially challenged students, driving licence and TMM (Trackless Mobile Machine) operator certification training, and donates food parcels and school uniforms to orphanages and low-income families.
What cars does Solly Soka own?
His documented car collection includes a Mercedes-Brabus G63 6×6 (purchased for R20 million on his 44th birthday), a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, a Bentley, and other high-end vehicles. A social media post showcasing his fleet went viral on X and attracted national media attention.
Is Solly Soka married?
Information about his marital status and family is not publicly available. He is described as deeply committed to his family but prefers to keep personal relationship details private.
What is Solly Soka’s net worth?
His net worth is estimated at between R500 million and R1 billion or more, based on the value of MySol Holdings and Logistics, its fleet, contracts, real estate holdings, and personal assets including his vehicle collection. His finances are privately held and no official declaration is available.
How did Solly Soka make his money?
He made his money through over three decades of professional experience in open-cast mining, culminating in the 2018 founding of MySol Holdings and Logistics which has grown rapidly into one of the North West province’s most significant mining contracting companies, with monthly chrome extraction of 200,000 tonnes and a major fleet of Volvo heavy machinery.
Conclusion
Solly Soka Madibela’s biography is one of South Africa’s most compelling self-made entrepreneurial stories. His story is one of determination, innovation, and heart.
He grew up in the shadow of the mines that made the North West province one of the world’s most mineralogically significant regions mines that for decades generated their wealth largely for interests far removed from communities like Bapong.
He spent three decades learning those mines from the inside, acquiring the operational mastery that no textbook can provide. And then at a stage of life when many professionals would be approaching the comfort of a senior position in an established organisation he founded his own company, invested everything in his own capabilities, and built an enterprise that is now extracting 200,000 tonnes of chrome monthly and expanding with a fleet of Volvo machinery that represents the very frontier of modern open-cast mining technology.
The Brabus G63 and the Rolls-Royce Cullinan are not the story, though they have become its most widely shared symbols. The story is a man from Modderspruit, Bapong whose childhood was shaped by the clatter of mines that enriched others who refused to be defined by those circumstances, who invested thirty years in becoming the best at what he does, and who then built something of his own that gives back to the very community that shaped him.
Solly Soka Madibela’s journey with MySol Holdings exemplifies how strategic vision, industry expertise, and a commitment to community can converge to build a successful enterprise. As MySol Holdings continues to grow, and as the MySol Foundation’s footprint expands across the North West, his biography will continue to be written one tonne of chrome, one bursary, and one community at a time.
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