Built in Zambia. For African industry.
HERO Control Systems started in 2019 with one engineer, a bench and a conviction: the boards that run our mines, utilities and networks can be designed and repaired here. Today three divisions do exactly that.
From a degree project to a service centre.
The founder could not source an electronic device for a final-year project, so he built it. That became a habit, then a company. HCS was founded in 2019, incorporated in October 2021 and has been operating from Nyumbayanga, Lusaka since.
ZStudy — Zambia's first STEM-kit maker, in 57 schools and a 2022 Genius Zambia award — became the Training division. The repair bench became Travis Labs. The software we wrote to run our own workshop and payroll became O'Sense, live at osense.io with seven apps.
We are bootstrapped, 100% Zambian-owned, and modelled on the industrial conglomerates that design, manufacture, deploy, maintain and train. The 2050 vision is to lead electrical and electronics manufacturing in SADC. The 2026 reality is a growing design bench and service centre paying for the next step.
Leading electrical and electronics manufacturing in SADC.
Southern Africa buys almost all of its electrical and electronic equipment from other regions, and with it the design skills, the margin and the jobs. By 2050 we intend to lead the region in making it here. Five things have to be built, in order, and we have started on each.
Design
A documented library of designs we own, from the Lusaka Water board to the Zabble kit, each reusable by the next product.
Manufacture
In-house board fabrication first, then a manufacturing facility with first HCS product lines at volume.
Skills
Training builds the engineers the factory will need. 300+ trained so far, and TEVETA accreditation in progress.
Supply chain
Local suppliers and technicians around every product, so the value stays in the region.
Region
The Zambian playbook repeated across SADC: utilities, mines, telecom, schools and homes.
How HCS is organised.
A four-member board, a founder-CEO, an executive team and three operating divisions.
The people.
Founder of HERO Control Systems and the engineer behind its vision of an African industrial-technology company that designs, builds, repairs and…
Read moreRuns day-to-day delivery across the service centre, field teams and training cohorts so that projects ship on time and clients are kept informed.
Financial planning, budgeting and controls. Steers cash-flow discipline in a market where clients pay on 60–90 day terms.
Partnerships with schools, training clients and corporates; brand and campaign management across HCS and ZStudy.
Supply-chain and business-transformation specialist (EMBA, MSc Procurement & Supply Chain). Leads key accounts, tenders and strategic partnerships.
Michael is a visionary entrepreneur and technology enthusiast with a passion for advancing innovative solutions in automation and control systems. As…
Genius Zambia — Most Innovative STEM Solution (2022)
Awarded to ZStudy, the first Zambian-designed STEM kit, now the Training division of HCS.
EasyEDA Certified Instructor
Our founder is an EasyEDA-recognised instructor in industrial electronics design.
Peer-reviewed research
Published R&D paper on electronics design — original engineering, not assembly.
National Science & Technology Council
Working with NSTC on locally designed technology and STEM.
Registered and current.
- Incorporated at PACRA, 15 October 2021 — Hero Control Systems Limited.
- Registered with the Zambia Development Agency.
Want to work with us — or for us?
Engineers who like fixing things: send a short note and a photo of something you have repaired.