Yahluma
Wits Business School
WBS-2008-5
Yahluma: a Sustainable Business Model?
In September 2007, Pindiwe Holomisa and Nomaciko Ngoasheng, started Yahluma Solutions
Ltd with the intention of building a fully-owned contact centre in Buffalo City (Eastern
Cape), and making use of a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) incentive to encourage the establishment of business process outsourcing and offshoring (BPO&O) businesses. The
Buffalo City centre would take nearly a year to complete. In the meantime, client demand and the desire to earn incomes had led the two to offer part-time outsourcing services, using call centre infrastructure and facilities rented from a disaster recovery (DR) company.
In June 2008, having achieved success in the rented facilities, the two were considering how best to ensure that they made the transition to the Buffalo City centre successfully. Critical comment from the industry suggested that the fully-owned option, requiring an enormous investment, was a huge risk, especially for first-time operators. They did not want Yahluma to end up in the graveyard of failed South African contact centre companies. (See Exhibit 1.)
Background on Yahluma
Holomisa and Ngoasheng had each been in the information and communication technologies
(ICT) industry for over a decade, and their experience ranged from programming, through systems development and management, to project management. Their combined experience encompassed banking, retail, FMCGa, telecommunications and government, in companies that included First National Bank, MTN, Virgin Mobile and, in Holomisa’s case, the UKbased British Sky Broadcasting.
They had seen the opportunity presented by the DTI incentive (see Exhibit 2), and decided to start their own contact centre.b The name Yahluma, a Xhosa word meaning ‘prosper’1, signified their intention for the company. They wanted it to prosper, and to bring prosperity to others as well.
Holomisa and Ngoasheng were committed
WBS-2008-5
Yahluma: a Sustainable Business Model?
In September 2007, Pindiwe Holomisa and Nomaciko Ngoasheng, started Yahluma Solutions
Ltd with the intention of building a fully-owned contact centre in Buffalo City (Eastern
Cape), and making use of a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) incentive to encourage the establishment of business process outsourcing and offshoring (BPO&O) businesses. The
Buffalo City centre would take nearly a year to complete. In the meantime, client demand and the desire to earn incomes had led the two to offer part-time outsourcing services, using call centre infrastructure and facilities rented from a disaster recovery (DR) company.
In June 2008, having achieved success in the rented facilities, the two were considering how best to ensure that they made the transition to the Buffalo City centre successfully. Critical comment from the industry suggested that the fully-owned option, requiring an enormous investment, was a huge risk, especially for first-time operators. They did not want Yahluma to end up in the graveyard of failed South African contact centre companies. (See Exhibit 1.)
Background on Yahluma
Holomisa and Ngoasheng had each been in the information and communication technologies
(ICT) industry for over a decade, and their experience ranged from programming, through systems development and management, to project management. Their combined experience encompassed banking, retail, FMCGa, telecommunications and government, in companies that included First National Bank, MTN, Virgin Mobile and, in Holomisa’s case, the UKbased British Sky Broadcasting.
They had seen the opportunity presented by the DTI incentive (see Exhibit 2), and decided to start their own contact centre.b The name Yahluma, a Xhosa word meaning ‘prosper’1, signified their intention for the company. They wanted it to prosper, and to bring prosperity to others as well.
Holomisa and Ngoasheng were committed