Author: Gugu Lourie
It’s a pretty momentous occasion for us here. We are turning five, and it’s nice to look back at the first five years we had, but even more exciting to think about what the next five might have in store. The first article was published on the 10th of September 2013. To venture into the unknown, I was influenced by Sumner Redstone’s quote: “Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes it’s built on catastrophe.” As things get tougher (as they always do – publishing is not for the faint-hearted) I always get…
Workers at Cell C have asked the company’s chairman and board to investigate why executives and senior staff were paid hefty bonuses in light of the firm’s poor performance. A group of workers calling themselves “The Concerned & Frustrated Employees of Cell C” have raised the matter with chairman Kuben Pillay. Workers have been informed that they will not be paid any bonuses this year because the mobile phone operator had not met its EBITDA 2017 targets. The workers have since found out that the company has paid three executives – led by Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos – a…
Nigeria’s government risks damaging its investment climate with it’s Central Bank demanding $8,1 billion (R115 billion) allegedly paid as a dividend to MTN to be refunded to it. The move seems like an uninspiring way of encouraging any would be investors to see Nigeria as a destination for investment. In the short-term, the $8,1 billion (R115 billion) which is being demanded by the Nigerians, over claims the money was taken out of the country unlawfully, could be the quickest way to get funds for the central bank. The Nigerian economy is struggling to recover from its first contraction in a…
Staff at Cell C are very unhappy after they were told by their boss that they would not get any bonuses this year because the mobile phone operator had not met its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) 2017 targets. A letter to the staff written by Cell C CEO Jose Dos Santos – himself a recipient of part of the R219m windfall paid to executives – states that workers will not be paid any bonuses or short-term incentive programme (STIP) this year. Dos Santos wrote: “As you will be aware, April is usually the time of the…
Notwithstanding that this recapitalisation enabled Cell C to “finance” the acquisition of shares by Blue Label through selling its own shares. With such earnings, Cell C’s top three executives have to be among the highest paid prescribed directors in the country’s lucrative mobile phone industry. Their pay might have even eclipsed that of MTN, Africa and the Middle East largest mobile phone company, which is known to handsomely reward its executives. The Cell C trio earned more than executives of Vodacom, the country’s largest cellphone operator – owned by British mobile phone giant Vodafone. In the 2017 financial year, Cell C’s…
Deon Fredericks has been appointed as struggling SAA’s interim chief financial officer (CFO) effective from 15 October. Fredericks is on secondment from Telkom – Africa’s largest integrated communications firm – to the national carrier for a 12-month period. He takes over from Robert (Bob) Head, whose contract as SAA Interim CFO ended on 30 September. So who is Deon Fredericks? He is Telkom’s chief investment officer and prior to that, he was the chief financial officer at the integrated communications firm for four years. Fredericks joined the then state-owned Telkom in 1993 as a senior manager in the internal audit…
The South African-based health, life and short-term insurance provider has been named in a new report by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) as one of the global challengers posing threat to the established industry leaders. The report – titled “The 2018 BCG Global Challengers: Digital Leapfrogs” – is published today. The BCG Global Challengers list comprises 100 companies that are growing fast, globalising aggressively, and reshaping global industries. The global challengers must have an annual revenue of at least $1 billion (R12.6 billion), 1 000 or more employees, and growth rates that outpace their home market GDP or industry average.…
Uyandiswa, a start-up project management consultancy based in Johannesburg, is now generating about R100 million in turnover after benefiting from JSE listed software firm Adapt IT’s enterprise development programme. The start-up led and founded by Amanda Dambuza joined Adapt IT’s enterprise development programme in 2014. At the time, Adapt IT acquired 49% of Uyandiswa as part of a three-year programme. Benefiting from the programme, Uyandiswa has grown from a two-person business, helping Dambuza to build it into an 80 person-strong firm with a turnover nearing R100 million. To enable the business to grow further Adapt IT has sold back the…
The Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services Siyabonga Cwele is planning to take ICASA to court over its decision to invite telecommunications firms to apply for the high demand radio frequency spectrum. “After considering the Invitation to Apply and on the advice of senior counsel, the Minister intends taking legal action to review the actions of ICASA,” the ministry said in a statement on Monday. The Minister’s decision follows two meetings held with the regulator on 15 and 19 July 2016 that failed to resolve the matter amicably. The ministry added that ICASA was furthermore not prepared to subject itself to…
MTN Nigeria announced on Wednesday that it has secured a ten-year frequency spectrum licence for the 2.6GHz band, which guarantees superior performance for wireless networks, especially 4G LTE services. The spectrum was awarded by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), which announced MTN as sole approved bidder. Although Nigeria is one of 28 African countries that currently offer 4G/LTE services, the rate of penetration is restricted to a few major cities. As such, MTN’s success in this auction is a big boost to its plan to deliver global mobile broadband and LTE 4G services to over 60 million customers in Nigeria. MTN…