‘Of perseverance and resilience’

ENTREPRENEUR Luvuyo Rani, founder and managing director of IT services company Silulo Ulutho Technologies, is a former teacher who started his company as a micro business from the boot of his car in 2004.

Today, Silulo Ulutho Technologies has 42 branches in South Africa, and has expanded beyond the country. “Africa has so much opportunity despite its challenges. I’m a dreamer and see the possibilities of this continent,” he said.

Rani shared his incredible story of

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perseverance and resilience during his keynote address at the annual Association of African Business Schools (AABS) Conference hosted by the University of Stellenbosch Business School (USB) earlier this month.

“When I began this business, I had no capital. My brother had to make a personal loan of R10 000 as seed capital for the business. Within two months, all that money was gone.

“When I went to schools, people said that I was crazy for leaving teaching to sell second hand computers. Others suspected that I was stealing computers from schools and selling

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them back to the schools,” he says.

But he saw an opportunity to raise funds and encouraged teachers to form a stokvel. “In a group of six, each would pay R400 a month, and within six months, each one of them would have a computer.

“In some schools, I would tell the teachers to give me 70% of R2 400 in order for me to buy the computer and they pay the remainder the following month. In dealing with the negativity, I developed a thicker skin and kept on going to the schools and built a relationship with some teachers. Some of these relationships are ones I have still

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maintained to this very day,” he said.

Steadily he started setting up internet cafés in Khayelitsha and realised the need to offer training to people, especially teachers and students, on how to use computers.

His advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to really focus on what they are doing. “Only once you have achieved success in this, can you then go on to venture on new projects. Always remain as passionate as you can about what you do because you will face some extremely challenging times where passion will keep you sustained and breathe fire to your spirit.”

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LUVUYO RANI