When brothers Brett and Mark Levy, the joint CEOs of Blue Label Telecoms, started a technology company that provides telecommunications, technical support, data and analytics services, prepaid products, and transactional services to markets in South Africa and abroad in 2007, after years of dabbling in other successful entrepreneurial endeavours, people thought that they were mad.
“When we started out, we said that every single person on earth deserves to have all the products that everyone in the urban areas have,” says Brett Levy. The company provided secure electronic tokens of value to the unbanked and poorly-banked people of the world at the time, and still does.
Since the 2000s, the Levys had rightly predicted that all business in the predominantly rural market will eventually go the prepaid route and have been offering affordable, convenient and secure payment for services such as water, electricity, cell phones, bus tickets, funerals, insurance and money transfers.
Two decades later, everyone can now understand what we were trying to achieve, says Brett. “It is about giving products to all people; in whatever format they need to buy it in – it may be R1 or R100. It may be daily or monthly, cash or EFT, insurance, banking, or electricity. It is really about giving everyone in the world the opportunity of being banked and having every product that is available out there.”
Listing highlight
Listing the company on the JSE still remains one of the Levys’ highlights since the start of the brothers’ entrepreneurial journey with R35 000 in 1997 and growing it into a R280m-a-year business by 1999, importing electronics from Singapore.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
THE HEALTH OF SA'S MEDICAL SCHEMES
As the Covid-19 pandemic abates, finweek takes a look at the financial performance of some of the largest players.
The effect of Gilbertson's departure
With Ntsimbintle Holdings now the major shareholder of Jupiter Mines, it could change SA’s manganese industry.
Making money from music
Why investors are increasingly drawn to the music industry.
Conviction is key
Sandy Rheeder plays a critical role in Mukuru’s mission to open up financial services to the emerging consumer market in Africa through tailor-made technology solutions and platforms.
The post-pandemic toolkit
How CFOs can use technology to support growth.
Big city living exodus
Mini cities like Waterfall City and Steyn City are redefining city-style apartment living.
Big compact, big value
Handsome, with a hefty level of standard specification, the roomy Haval Jolion compact crossover is a great value proposition.
On barriers to entry
There are various ways in which a company or sector can achieve competitive dominance. They usually make for good investments.
Fear and greed in one index
To buck the trend, when markets are hot or cold, is a tough thing to do. However, it can deliver solid returns.
Africa's largest data centre facility coming soon
Vantage Data Centers plans to invest over R15bn for its first African data centre facility in Attacq’s Waterfall City.
