Heartlines, a values, transformation and upliftment initiative is working to finalise its Forgood channel to inform, connect and inspire South Africans for social action. The Convergence Partners Foundation is a founding partner of Heartlines Forgood social networking platform.

The support provided by Convergence Foundation included financial as well as advisory assistance in setting up the platform. This was done in partnership with the investee companies in the Convergence Partners portfolio.

Convergence Foundation believes strongly in the need to develop, build and strengthen the value system within our society and that technologies such as social networking platforms can contribute significantly to achieving these objectives.

See attached newsletter

On 15 July 2010, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (“NTT”) Dimension Data Holdings plc (“Dimension Data” or “DiData”) announced that they have reached agreement on the terms of a cash offer to be made by NTT for 100% of Dimension Data. The offer, totalling approximately GBP 2.1 billion (R24.4 billion), was unanimously recommended by both Boards of Directors.

NTT, one of the largest global telecommunications service providers in the world, has limited presence in certain emerging markets where Dimension Data is very strong, specifically Africa and the Middle East. The transaction is a huge vote of confidence in DiData, South African and Africa, and the rationale of both parties is to capitalise on the significant growth opportunities that are unfolding.

Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Dimension Data’s Middle East and Africa business (“DDMEA”), as well as of its minority shareholder Convergence Partners, is excited about the deal and how its positions DiData in this region. “With access to the resources, products and R&D of the NTT Group, DDMEA is better positioned than ever to grow its presence and capitalise on new and fast growing market opportunities, such as cloud computing. The deal is great for the country and the company”.

See attached press release

Convergence investees SkillPod Media and Integrat have launched their joint mobile games portal, Play4Games.co.za, which supports all the most popular smart phone handsets. The site has been branded as Play4Games and forms part of Integrat’s mobile entertainment brand Play4. The platform makes use of the Integrat High Gate mobile payments platform and the SkillPod Media mobile games platform.

Gaming is increasingly moving from the console and PC to the smartphone. This trend is driven by factors including the higher penetration of smartphones, the affordability of these devices, easier access to app stores, increased penetration of Flash on mobile devices and the ever growing installed base of the Opera Mini browser.

In the past smartphones were targeted at business users, but this trend is steadily changing and today it’s become a trend for the youth to be seen with their smartphones.

Research figures show that worldwide mobile game sales will reach- €7 Billion by 2013 (Source: BuddeComm). This will be fuelled by greater penetration of new generation handsets, cheaper data costs and increased connectivity speeds, fuelled by increased network speeds and access to wireless networks. The mobile web is on the increase and in South Africa more users access the web from their mobile phones than from computers.

Web browsers play an important role in this growth, as they are striving to improve the functionality, user experience and speed of the mobile web. Opera’s iPhone browser was downloaded more than 2.6 million times, during April, creating 70% of user growth in the month for Opera’s mobile browser. In June alone more than 26.4% of cellphone browsing has been done through Opera’s browser, according to Web analytics firm StatCounter.

In conclusion it is safe to say that mobile gaming is here to stay, both locally and internationally and it remains an incredibly popular form of entertainment and technology is driving the growth from a multitude of angles and across multiple devices.

See attached link

SkillPod Innovation

SkillPod Integrat

SkillPodMobile

Convergence Partners recently visited Washington, DC and had the opportunity to spend time with New Dawn joint venture partner, Intelsat, and to see the New Dawn craft in advanced stages of construction, at the premises of craft manufacturer, Orbital Sciences Corporation. David Frankel of Altirah Capital, partner in the New Dawn venture, joined Convergence Partners’ Chairman, Andile Ngcaba, and Executive, Idan Segal.

New Dawn is a joint venture between Intelsat, the global leader in fixed satellite services, and an African consortium led by Convergence Partners, to create a new geostationary communications satellite for Africa. This first of its kind venture has a 25% African shareholding and is more than 90% financed by African institutions, including Nedbank, The African Development Bank and the Industrial Development Corporation.

The satellite is due for completion during Q4 2010, at which time it will be delivered to the launch site in French Guiana. Launch is scheduled for Q1 2011, whereafter the satellite will commence operating, providing much needed capacity for the African telecommunications and broadcasting sectors.

After the tour, Andile Ngcaba, said “it is both fascinating and very rewarding to see the physical New Dawn craft, after so many years of conceptualising and planning. I have no doubt it will make a difference to the continuing African growth story”.

See attached photographs of the New Dawn satellite in construction

Dimension Data and Convergence Partners Foundation has extended their e-learning program into the Limpopo Province, by establishing an e-learning centre at the Hudson Ntsanwisi School, over the weekend.

This is the sixth province included in the program, which focuses on using technology to improve education in underprivileged schools. DiData says it aims to have 40 000 learners throughout SA on its e-learning programme by 2015.

Andile Ngcaba, chairman of DiData Middle East and Africa and Convergence Partners, says while the primary objective is to improve the quality of education in disadvantaged schools, the program has additional benefits, such as demystifying technology for both teachers and learners.

Each e-learning centre includes a trolley equipped with computer equipment that can be moved around the school; connect to the Internet; and features education software aligned with the Grade 10, 11, and 12 maths, science, English, and life skills curricula.

Ngcaba says: “Our e-learning program is more than an education tool – it’s a community builder.” He explains that learners are able to access the technology during school hours as well as on Saturdays. This ensures the technology is not simply an additional teaching aid, but encourages learners to take responsibility for their own education and become catalysts for the establishment of a learning society, notes Ngcaba.

On Saturdays, the e-learning centers enable parents and the general community to participate in the modernisation of their children’s education, he adds, and to support them in becoming technology proficient.

According to DiData, during the past three years it has implemented its e-learning program in KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, the Eastern and Western Cape, and the North West Province. This has introduced over 10 600 Grade 10, 11, and 12 students and their teachers to the advantages of online and computer-assisted learning.

The program is already delivering an improvement in matric pass and university entrance rates in participating KwaZulu-Natal schools, where it was first introduced to Grade 10 learners three years ago.

Related stories – see attached links

ICT industry needs mindset change

iSolve realigns its academy to include business, people, technology

SAS South Africa launches extended Learning Pages

Integrat has launched myTXT Mobile product – a free desktop bulk messaging application ideal for marketing campaigns. myTXT allows a user to send single messages or bulk SMSes to your group of contacts that you import from Microsoft Outlook.

The simplicity of the application is that a user can write their messages now, save and send them even while being off-line. myTXT will store messages in the outbox and automatically send it when a user is reconnected to the Internet. In addition, myTXT spoils delivery reports, ideal for tracking the safe delivery of messages. Message templates can be stored and retrieved when using a specific message often. This saves time and effort in writing or saving a message elsewhere.

The recipients may reply to your message, and their replies will appear in your myTXT Mobile application’s inbox.

Corrie Henn, product manager of myTXT Mobile, says: “This desktop application supports bulk messaging, ideal for marketing campaigns. Creating a myTXT account requires no set-up fees, monthly fees or contracts. Users only need to pay for their SMS bundle, and the beauty is that SMS messages will never expire. Bulk messages can be imported from Microsoft Excel or any other delimited text file at your own convenience.”

“A user may also use custom fields to store their specific information about a contact. When sending messages, they simply refer to the custom field, and myTXT will automatically substitute it with the store data in a contact database. Setting up reminders, alerts and meetings via SMS is as simple as clicking a button. You may use this feature not only to notify your clients, but even yourself, so myTXT can remind you of anything from meetings, which will send an SMS to your client as a reminder, to birthdays and anniversaries. Your customised calendar can, in addition, manage staff timetables, preventing meeting schedules that may clash, and can create repeating events that occur on regular intervals,” adds Henn.

The myTXT desktop application will notify a user by means of a visual alert every time an automatic SMS is sent.

For more information, visit http://www.myTXT.co.za

See attached link

Convergence Partners gets into the fever of the soccer world cup and supports Bafana Bafana 100% – Ke Nako. Ever since its announcement as host nation on the 15th of May 2004, the country has been busy preparing itself to host thousands of players and supporters from all over the world. Convergence Partners has been counting down the days and is 100% behind Bafana Bafana. The entire Convergence Partners team has caught a dose of Fifanitis and simply can’t wait for kick-off. We all have the supporters kit and implemented consortium buying tactics for ticket acquisitions early on in the ticket sales process, coupled with strict hedging strategies to ensure the correct acquisitions!
The atmosphere around the country is electric with nearly every car and pedestrian proudly carrying some version of the South African flag or other supporters’ gear. We can’t wait to be blowing vuvuzelas and waving flags for all the games to be held on South African soil.
The tournament kicks-off on the 11th of June 2010 with the opening game between South Africa and Mexico. Our prediction for the opening game is for South Africa to beat Mexico 2 – 1.
However, the smart money is on Spain and Brazil to lift the trophy with the next outsiders being England and Argentina. The chances of South Africa winning the first World Cup on African soil are smaller but we expect them to put in a good showing at the World Cup and beat some highly ranked teams.

Read attached article for more info

The second instalment in our regular feature to introduce key executives from across the Convergence Partners investment portfolio. Bertrand is the Managing Director of Gemalto Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd. Gemalto is the global leader in digital security, providing secure personal devices, platforms and services to governments, organisations and businesses.
Before being assigned as MD in Johannesburg, Bertrand was in charge of Product, Solutions and Services group for the Secure Transactions Business Unit (€450m) with teams based in Europe and in Asia. Here in South Africa, Bertrand manages all Business units (Telecommunications, Secure Transactions and Government) as well as Operations for Southern Africa. This business comprises around 400 people with a turnover of approximately €80m.

See below Questionnaire:

Name?
- Bertrand Knopf

Company?
- Gemalto

Position?
- Managing Director of Gemalto Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd

How long have you been with the company? Tell us about your background?
- 15 years; I have been handling several positions mostly in sales, marketing and management; before my assignment in Johannesburg, I was in charge of Product, Solutions and Services group for the Secure Transactions Business Unit (450m€) with teams based in Europe and in Asia; here in South Africa, I manage the business for all Business units (Telecommunications, Secure Transactions and Government) as well as Operations for Southern Africa. It is around 400 people and a turnover of approximately 80mEuros.

What are your key skills that you bring to the job?
- I bring my knowledge of the company and of the business, and working actively on propagating. Gemalto values across the board: customers, people and innovation.

What has impressed you about Gemalto?
- Gemalto commitment to innovate and deliver secure personal solutions to ease the life of everyone. We are delivering more than 1,5 billion secure devices every year (much more than any handset or PC maker) and we are involved in many various projects such as Mobile Money with MTN (peer to peer money transfer through mobile phone), contactless payment cards roll out with banks, issuance of secure personal documents such as electronic ID or biometrics passports with governments…

How do you see your industry changing in the next 5 years?
- The industry will definitely evolve into more convergence between different sectors like Mobile and Payment or like Payment and Transport. Convenience and security will be at the heart of any solution or service to be brought to the end-users by Telecom operators, Banks, Transport authorities or Governments. Differentiation will come through value added services to the end-user.

How have you found working with Convergence Partners?
- Respect and confidence in the relationship

What are your personal interests/hobbies?
- I care a lot about my wonderful wife and kids and enjoy spending time with them; otherwise I like playing tennis and golf, and I have a strong appetite to travel and discover new cultures.

Blackberry vs. iPhone? Other?
- No blackberry; no iphone yet (I left it to my wife…)… but an other pda…..

Mac vs. PC?
- PC as it is the standard at Gemalto

The IEEE Communications Society is holding its 2010 flagship conference International Communications Conference (ICC2010) in Cape Town, South Africa from 23-27 May 2010. This is the first time that ICC has been held in Africa. The conference theme is “Communications: Accelerating Growth and Development” and aims to focus on the role that Communications is playing in this development.

Andile Ngcaba, Chairman of Convergence Partners, participated on the business panel after the keynote address by the Minister of Science and Technology. Andile participated alongside Telkom Group CEO, Reuben September and Etisalat, Nigeria CEO, Steven Evans. The panel presented their views on what was required for the communications industry to drive African growth and development. In the panel discussion, Andile highlighted the need to develop the terrestrial and inland infrastructure to meet the increased supply of international bandwidth that is reaching African shores over the next 5 years. This increase in available international capacity required a coordinated and cooperative approach between the various operators of cables to ensure that Africa has access to international points of presence in addition to the landing points of the various cables. In parallel to the deployment of this infrastructure, Africa needs to build data centres to support the growth in services and increased business demand for reliable, affordable and available hosting and managed services. In addition, African content, including the capture of its rich linguistic heritage, needs to be fostered through packaging and delivery to the world and local audiences via satellite, terrestrial and IP networks. Other panellists also argued for appropriate regulation of the industry to facilitate the continued investment in communications infrastructure on the African continent, thereby driving economic growth and development of the Continent.

See attached link

Convergence and FSSA provide computer lab to Mogwase School in conjunction with FIFA football pitch. In conjunction with the opening of the new FIFA football pitch in Mogwase, North West Province, the Foundation for a Safer South Africa (FSSA) installed the first of its planned youth zone computer centres. Convergence Partners is proud to have assisted FSSA in the first of its remarkable endeavours to uplift the youth of rural communities through a combination of football, computer literacy and life skills.

In February, luminaries from FIFA, SAFA, the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture and the National Lottery Board officiated at the soil turning ceremony of the first of 52 planned football turfs as part of its World Cup 2010 legacy projects, in the Mogwase Region just outside Sun City near Rustenburg in the North West Province. At the same time, the FSSA installed the Mogwase Computer Center at the Holy Family Combined School.
FSSA, founded by former Minister Roelf Meyer, along with Idasa, formed a partnership with the World Cup Local Organising Committee to create a legacy that will impact the lives of vulnerable communities in a positive way. This partnership aims to use football as a uniting factor and catalyst for social development.
Convergence Partners is proud to be assisting FSSA in its endeavours through both financial support as well as guidance on its ICT needs.

See attached press release

Click here to see SA Goodnews article