Johannesburg, 06 May 2005
Leading telecommunications company Hymax SA has entered into a joint venture deal with major Eastern Cape IT and telecoms player, Sonke Technologies.
The newly created company, Sonke Hymax, is 51% owned by Sonke, leaving the remaining 49% with Hymax SA, a company owned by Rand Merchant Bank Ventures, Thynk Capital and Cherry Creek Investments.
Sonke Hymax Business Solutions will have a national footprint with offices in Gauteng, the Western Cape, East London and Umtata.
Sonke Technologies, owned by Justice Zotwa, was awarded one of only five USAL licences by ICASA and is charged with developing telecommunications infrastructure in rural areas over the next three years. It is deploying infrastructure from August but roaming on the network of existing operators in the interim.
Hymax chairman, Neil Macdonald, who put together the far-reaching deal ahead of the formal publication of the much anticipated and debated ICT charter, says the new company will focus on providing cost saving telecommunication solutions including VOIP, data networking, IP PBX, all voice, fax and Internet connectivity requirements for the corporate, SME and government sectors.
"One of our key objectives is to position the company as a strategic telecommunications supplier to the medium-sized corporate and SME markets. A key factor in this is economic empowerment and to this end we signed a joint venture agreement with Sonke Consulting," Macdonald said.
"We also have an active strategy in place to set up black-owned dealerships for distribution of our products and provide opportunities to train and up-skill previously disadvantaged individuals as technicians and support engineers," he added. "This deal is the first step towards fulfilling our objectives."
The deal, says Zotwa, was the result of a "strategic decision by both companies to harness resources and expertise in order to grow the business rather than being simply about BEE compliance".
`It means we are primarily driven by our developmental goals and secondarily complying with the charter. That can be seen by the fact that we own 51% and not just the 30% prescribed by the charter in its present format," Zotwa said.
Macdonald added that Sonke Hymax will now have a national reach, giving Sonke access to a national direct sales team and a base of 44 dealers covering major centres, nine provinces and SADC countries. The company has offices in East London, Umtata, Johannesburg and Cape Town.
"We take job creation seriously and this deal means we can focus on building the skills sets needed to fulfil the requirements of the charter," Macdonald said.
Joe Mjwara, chairperson of the ICT charter`s steering committee, said recently that growth and prosperity in the South African economy can only be realised if there is meaningful participation by the vast majority of black South Africans, including black women.
Of the Sonke stake, women hold 60% with the major share being held by Mandisa Mbulawa who owns 50% of Sonke`s holdings. Patience Gxamza and Cynthia Ndovela hold 5% each. Justice Zotwa owns 25%, Godfrey Zotwa 10% and Jongisizwe Nohiya the last 5%.
"The current shareholding came as a result of having a female founder director. The other women shareholders have been loyal to the company since its humble beginnings. They work for the company full-time and are active in its management," said Zotwa.
The Sonke Hymax deal is expected to create at least 10 new jobs within the next year.
Says Zotwa: "We wish to urge large white-owned companies not to view the charter and the Code of Good Practice as issues they have to comply with but rather as a business opportunity that also aids the transformation agenda of the country."
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