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10 CITY PRESS, 6 DECEMBER, 2015

news Ramsey Clark: If Rosa Parks had not refused to move to the back of

the bus, you and I might never have heard of Dr Martin Luther King

Automatic for the people

Xoliswa Kakana’s mum lent her

R40K to turn her tech start-up into

a Pan-African business that wins

lucrative contracts to automate

systems and improve lives

ZINHLE MAPUMULO
zinhle.mapumulo@citypress.co.za
t all started with a dream to develop and run a
company in which everyone, regardless of A
their gender and race, would be allowed to
be the best they could be. PROJECT IN
So when Xoliswa Kakana fell pregnant
Iwith her last-born child in 1999, she PARTNERSHIP
decided that instead of going on maternity leave, WITH THE
she would turn her dream into a reality.
She quit her job as a commercialisation
manager at research group the CSIR. With just a IDC
laptop, an idea of what she wanted to do and
R40 000 of her mother’s pension payout as start-up
capital, she founded ICT-Works, a company that
provides innovative technology solutions.
Today, ICT-Works is headed by three black women –
Kakana, Sindile Ncala and Margaret Sibiya. The company
employs 120 people at its offices in Joburg and Cape Town.
It also competes with leading international IT companies
for business in the rest of Africa and has bagged lucrative
contracts in Nigeria and Kenya.
ICT-Works recently won a tender in Nigeria for an
advanced public transport management system, which
automates planning, scheduling and fleet management
for the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority.
This is the company’s second-largest contract
outside South Africa after its successful
implementation of a procurement management solution
for Kenya’s National Treasury.
In South Africa, ICT-Works has scored several
lucrative contracts over the years, including one for
MyCiti, the City of Cape Town’s integrated rapid bus
transport system, in 2012. The tender to develop, Xoliswa Kakana
implement, maintain and operate a cashless system
ran into hundreds of millions of rands.
It sounds like an inspiring journey, but it was not all smooth sailing, Kakana told
City Press this week.
“There were times when I wished I had not ventured into business because of
the myriad challenges we faced in the beginning – in particular, cash flow. I had
not anticipated that there would be cash flow problems caused by delayed
payments or delays in the completion of the project,” she says. EASY DOES IT Pritchard Venganai, supervisor of the automated fare collection team at ICT-Works. He works on the MyCiTi project PHOTO: EDREA DU TOIT
“Knowing what I know now, I would perhaps have waited and made sure I had
enough working capital to keep going.
“If it were not for my mother, who came to my rescue with a chunk of her Bus queues gone at the tap of a card
pension, we would be telling a different story today.”
Through the ups and downs, Kakana, an electronics engineer, persevered and
ensured that every contract the company signed was delivered. She doubled up as
a financial manager, bid writer and even a floor sweeper.
She soon realised she needed help from people experienced in the ICT sector ZINHLE MAPUMULO
and partnered with Ncala, who is the company’s managing executive for the public zinhle.mapumulo@citypress.co.za
sector, and Sibiya, now ICT-Works’ chief operations officer.
Ncala brought with her a wealth of experience from the ICT sector, having Pritchard Venganai used to spend at least half an hour
previously worked at local and international companies such as the Edcon Group, in the queue waiting to board a bus from Gardens
Accenture and Standard Bank. Sibiya had extensive experience in the IT industry, Centre to Shortmarket Street in Cape Town’s city
having specialised in business operations and strategy development. centre. About 25 minutes would be spent in the queue
One would have thought that would have been the end of their woes, but they buying the ticket and another five at the ticket-checking
soon realised it was not to be. Kakana says that even when the three women were point, where conductors would inspect if passengers
holding things together, they made mistakes. had paid the right fares.
“We underestimated the amount of selling we’d have to do because we assumed Fast-forward four years: Venganai (32) arrives at the
that, being a BEE company, 100% black-female-owned and managed, that would same station at 7.40am and, five minutes later, he is on
give us an advantage in the industry. his way to work thanks to MyCiTi, the City of Cape
“But after some time, we realised we had to work 10 times harder and stand Town’s integrated rapid-transport system.
above the rest,” she says. MyCiTi works on an automated fare-collection system
Their determination paid off in 2008 when the company landed a contract through which passengers load money on to their
worth more than R700 million to implement procurement as part of Treasury’s myconnect cards at a MyCiTi station kiosk, then tap the
integrated financial management system. This was the largest and most complex card against a validator as they enter a station or board
contract the company had won, says Kakana. a bus. The appropriate fare for their trip is then
“Due to the magnitude and complexity of this project, we had to ramp up deducted from the balance on the card.
capacity. This meant we needed a lot of capital before the project even began. This automated system, says Venganai, has made
“At that time, we were still building the company and didn’t have such reserves. travelling to and from work smoother and faster.
We approached the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) for finance in 2008 The myconnect card was a concept developed by ICT-
and the loan was approved in 2011. This is how our relationship with them Works, an information and technology company
began.” operating in both Johannesburg and Cape Town.
Kakana cannot provide the exact figure of the first loan ICT-Works received from It won the global MasterCard Transport Ticketing A SUCCESSFUL BID The MyCiTi bus, Cape Town’s integrated rapid transport system developed by
the corporation. But she does say that the IDC has been supportive of her Award in the Best Bank-Card Ticketing Scheme category ICT-Works after winning the R700 million tender in 2012 PHOTO: MICHAEL HAMMOND
company over the past seven years. last year. The cashless ticketing system beat two other
Bolstered by the track record of several successes such as MyCity and Treasury’s top contenders, from Turkey and the US, in the before boarding the bus. All I do is tap at the station done by inserting the card into a swipe machine and
projects, Kakana says: “We are not afraid to go after large, complex projects, both contactless card payment systems category. for validation, get into the bus and, moments later, I punching in the PIN code, or simply tapping the card
in the public and private sectors.” Venganai, a regular user of Cape Town’s public am off,” he says. against a validator at outlets where PayPass is accepted.
In the past seven years, ICT-Works has delivered three contracts worth more transport system, now works for the company, having “This ensures that I arrive at work early and I am This, Venganai says, is one of the most exciting
than R700 million. joined in 2011 as an automated fare-collection assistant happier because there are no delays on my trip – which aspects about the card for bus commuters.
“It’s unfortunate that we are one of a few black, female-led, leading ICT when the City of Cape Town started conducting MyCiTi often lead to frustration.” “You have commuters who have never had or used
companies in South Africa. Of course, we aspire to be a successful Pan-African trials. But that is not the only advantage of the myconnect bank cards, and now, with the same card they use to
organisation. It’s about time we developed many more black companies to play in “Not only do I wake up a bit later than I used to a card: it also doubles as a debit card. travel to their destination, they are able to buy from
the big league,” says Kakana. couple of years ago, but I also don’t have to worry Card holders can use it to make purchases of up to various outlets. We are always looking for easier ways
. This series is reported by City Press and sponsored by the IDC about carrying cash on me or standing in long queues R200 at any retailer, such as Pick n Pay. This can be to do things.”

The IDC’s information and communication technology funding

Number of businesses 37 Where the businesses are
funded since 2010: Total investment since 2010:
Number of businesses 3 R1.9 billion Gauteng KwaZulu-Natal
funded in 2014/15: Number of businesses: 26 Number of businesses: 2
Investment value: Investment value: Nigeria
Number of jobs 2 896 Number of jobs 353 R1.026 billion R10.5 million Number of businesses: 1
Jobs created and saved: 2 272
Jobs created and saved: 267
created since 2010: = 100 created in 2014/15: = 10 Investment value:
R214.5 million
Eastern Cape Western Cape
Number of businesses: 4 Number of businesses: 3 Zimbabwe
Investment value: Investment value: Number of businesses: 1
R490.1 million R15 million Investment value:
Jobs created and saved: 496 Jobs created and saved: 72 R144.6 million

THEUNS KRUGER, Graphics24