About Sellesa Group
Our History
The success of Sellesa is in no small part due to the commitment and dedication of Taw-Ha Rasdien who has been the visionary that has taken the company from strength to strength. Taw-Ha had a humble upbringing in Kensington, Cape Town. No stranger to hard work, he left school at 16 to help support his family. Even at that young age he made a firm commitment to himself to one day rise above his circumstances and become more than just a worker.
Working full time as a casual he still managed to finish high school and studied further to become an electrician. At the age of 22 started a business with a friend and set out to become a millionaire by the age of 40. By 27 he had his own electrical business and had paid cash for his first house in Mitchell’s Plain. He renovated the house, sold it for a sizeable profit and ploughed the proceeds into more property. With a successful electrical business as well as a profitable enterprise buying and selling homes, it is no wonder that a Malaysian businessman saw the potential and business acumen that Taw-Ha Rasdien had to offer. The businessman put Taw-Ha in charge of his South African enterprise.
In the late 1990’s Taw-Ha resigned his job, sold his electrical business and founded the Sellesa Group. Sellesa offered the perfect challenge for his unique skill set. He was now able to combine the strategic management skills learnt in big business with his electrical contracting and property skills to form a formidable property development company. Sellesa grew from strength to strength managing ever larger developments. Even though the size of the developments increased, Taw-Ha stayed the course and demanded 110% to ensure that each project ended in resounding success. The commitment to quality resulted in Sellesa winning the NHBRC Builder of the year award in 2000!
His keen eye for detail, shrewd negotiating skills and commitment to quality has stood him in good stead to extent that, unlike many property developers in South Africa, the Sellesa Group was able to successfully weather the virtual collapse of the property market in 2008, due to the world financial crises. Taw-Ha ascribed his success to hard work, discipline and making sure that he has a group of loyal employees that share his vision. His vision for the Sellesa Group were that his children will one day join him and together they would ensure that the Sellesa Group became one of the most successful companies in Cape Town.
His vision for his children to join him in the business became a reality when his daughter Zayaan joined the company in 2012 and is head of the rentals as well as managing other businesses in South Africa and abroad.
His son Aasif joined the company in 2014 after graduating with a BCom degree in marketing.
Mr Rasdien employed he’s son at entry level, working alongside the casuals and sub-contractors. In 2015 Aasif was promoted to foreman and two years later 2017 he was appointed Site Operations Manager. In 2018 Mr Rasdien stepped down as Managing Director and appointed Aasif Rasdien as the Managing Director of the Sellesa Group.
Aasif worked alongside his dad and was mentored by one of the property development industry’s most successful people. By 2020 Aasif Rasdien was in full swing of things, running the company with Mr Rasdien’s guidance. In 2021 Mr Rasdien suddenly passed away and luckily for the Sellesa Group Aasif Rasdien was appointed the CEO and although Mr Rasdien’s passing left a void within the company and will be missed dearly.
He’s son has proved to everybody that he is a force to be reckon with in the building industry. The Sellesa Group continues to grow from strength to strength and the future of the company looks prosperous in the capable hands of Aasif Rasdien.