Episodes
After being at the helm of Africa’s largest Technology, Media, and Telecommunications (TMT) sector focused fund manager for nearly a decade, Brandon Doyle seems to have thoroughly shed any visible traces of his punk rock past. Since co-founding Convergence Partners in 2006, Brandon and his team (many of whom are Charted Accountant types) have built an impressive track record of developing new investment opportunities and adding value to existing investments across the entire life cycle of...
Published 08/05/15
Many of us can relate to being let down, or at least disillusioned with our careers when we were in our early twenties. In the latest instalment of African Tech Conversations, Dominique Collett-Antolik chats to Andile Masuku about experiencing a complete meltdown based on her disappointment with how little she had achieved in life at the age of 23. By her standards, her gig at that age— investment banking at Standard Bank, was simply not good enough. After all, the dolls she played with as a...
Published 07/29/15
By her own admission, Matsi Modise, does not look a day over 25. But you would do well not to underestimate this 30 year-20old executive who has recently been appointed Managing Director of SiMODiSA-- a South African industry-led initiative launched to address the hurdles faced by small and medium-sized enterprises and startups. Formerly the National Executive Director of the South African Black Entrepreneurs Forum, Matsi is an avid entrepreneurship activist and a successful entrepreneur in...
Published 07/22/15
Oresti Patricios co-founded Ornico Group in 1984, aka the year I was born. While incredibly disruptive in its time, the video reel production business Oresti operated back then is a far cry from the media conglomerate he runs today. Ornico Group has made a solid name for itself in Africa’s leading markets, boasting a client list which includes the likes of MultiChoice, Old Mutual and Woolworths. Oresti, who is undoubtedly a thought-leader in the sphere of African media and brand...
Published 06/30/15
Mteto Nyati is no stranger to playing ball at the highest level in Africa’s corporate scene. His resume is pretty impressive. Studying at Yale, executive posts and directorships at companies like IBM, Enablis and Blue Label-- to name some, and even being MD of Microsoft South Africa for several years makes him anything but your average corporate animal. In his current role as CEO (Chief Enterprise Officer) for the MTN Group, Mteto continues to live up to his totem-- Nyati, which is Xhosa for...
Published 06/23/15
What do you get when a Microsoft geek and an IBM nerd fall in love and make a baby? Justin Spratt, that's what. Discover how Justin (Quirk MD Africa) went from being a curious, ten-year-old “hacker” in Australia, to rocking a suit at Morgan Stanley in London– then later becoming a tech-loving digital agency exec and start-up investor right here in Africa. We asked Justin what it’s like running what's widely considered to be the fastest-growing digital agency in Africa, and got him to share...
Published 06/09/15
A short while ago, we sat Trevor Wolfe down for a quiet chat. Trevor is Managing Director of crowdsourcing company Springleap. We find out how this achievement-oriented, American millennial has managed to pack an huge amount of valuable business experience into the last decade or so-- often shunning lucrative employment opportunities with established big name firms in favour of the more difficult, less-travelled road of entrepreneurship. In this, the first of our African Tech Conversations...
Published 06/03/15