Cape ennui sparked this entrepreneur
Shadab Azeem Rahil is a director of software development company Paradigm Group. He tells Margaret Harris that a passion for new disruptive technologies led him to found his firm
I like being hands-on with all aspects of the business. From a daily perspective, a lot of my time goes into the development, implementation and research of our new technology. There are quite a few projects on the go, so I also spend a lot of time researching new technologies in the payment sector, specifically the fuel sector. With the other director, I try to remain very involved with all aspects of the business and remain focused on finding new ways of expanding.
How did you end up coming to South Africa?
I was born in Karachi, Pakistan, where my parents were based at the time. In 2001, I was doing my bachelor’s in computer science at Karachi University, when my dad died. My sister and I packed up and decided to come to Cape Town, where my mother’s family came from. It was quite a mission: we had to wind up everything . . . and choose which belongings to take with us. I decided to take my PC, which, as this was some time ago, was quite big and heavy.
When we got to the airport, we realised we were grossly overweight. We started unpacking, and I left a lot of my personal belongings behind, but I did not want to be parted from my beloved computer!
What advice would you give to other people coming to settle and find work in South Africa?
I think South Africa is a great place to be, especially Cape Town. Where else would you get this beautiful scenery travelling to work every day? The first couple of years were tough, because Cape Town is laid-back and I grew up in Karachi, where life is fast. Jobwise, I was lucky and found work fairly easily. Everything in Cape Town usually shuts down around five-ish, so I didn’t know what to do with my time. I was used to working really late in Karachi. Paradigm Group partially came into being out of boredom and a passion for new disruptive technologies.
What was your first job, and what important lessons did you learn from it?
In my first job in Cape Town I had to take my own computer to work because I was not provided with one. I lasted a week or so because I did not like the technologies they worked with. I didn’t see any future in it. And I guess I was right, because a few years later that company closed.
I found another job quickly — one week of lecturing on COM Classes using Visual Basic. I didn’t know anything about it, but ended up being hired as a software developer soon after.
So the important lesson for someone starting out is: don’t be afraid to be selective and be sure that your first job will enhance your skills — it’s not just about getting a big salary. This is especially true in the IT industry.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
A cricketer! I love my cricket. And when Pakistan and South Africa are playing, I cannot lose. Other than that, I wanted to be a mathematician because I was fairly good at it and enjoyed reading calculus books. I got into IT out of curiosity. At that time it was very difficult to get into a good computer science department. So I saw it as a challenge and ended up in IT.
What do you love most about your job?
Being an entrepreneur in my industry is really exciting, to tell you the truth. We are growing fast and also disrupting some technologies that have been in use for over a decade in the fuel sector. I enjoy implementing new technologies and trying to find new ways of making things better.
We don’t have any limits on what we can work on or how we solve traditional problems. We actually try to challenge the traditional ways of doing things.
What would you prefer not to do at work?
Operations and sales. Operations take you away from the core objective, which is growing your business and innovation. Sales — I am not that great at it.
What qualities do you need to do your job?
You have to have a solid IT background. Not just in programming. Then you must keep in touch with what is going on in your industry. You have to keep innovating, and you need good skills to be able to do this.