COMPANY PROFILE
2014
MTN SA
South Africa’s most valuable brand
CompANY PROFILE
South Africa’s most valuable brand Editorial: Christian Jordan Production: Ajuanne Payne
Last year, MTN was once again named the most valuable brand in the country. It was also named as one of the top 500 most valuable brands in the world. In 2014, there will be a continued focus on growth and specifically, the company will look to become a service leader.
In August 2013, Brand South Africa and Brand Finance Africa released their annual ‘South Africa’s Top 50 Most Valuable Brands’ list and atop that list sat MTN and Vodacom, demonstrating a clear trend: telecoms is now one of the most important industries in not only South Africa, but across the African continent. Obviously, the traditional drivers of African growth have been industries surrounding natural resources; mining and mineral processing but in 2014 these industries don’t hold the same clout that they did 20 or 30 years ago. The 00’s and 10’s have been years of huge change; the growth of connectivity in Africa and, importantly, the introduction of mobile internet access and smartphones has changed the face of communication around the continent. Brand Finance Africa valuation director, Rupert Kemp said that MTN could be seen to “fly the flag for South Africa in business” as the company was the only South African brand to be placed in the top 500 global brands. Brand South Africa CEO, Miller Matola said that MTN “are not only building value for shareholders but for the 50 million stakeholders they have in South Africa.” South Africa’s most valuable brand, MTN, has been a huge part of the changing face of communications in Africa
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and Zunaid Bulbulia, CEO of MTN SA, says that the company is the perfect place to achieve. “The great thing about working at MTN is that the stretch goals are almost limitless, both for the company and for us as employees. I can’t honestly say that I have set a specific goal of things to still achieve but I know I am in the right company to continue to achieve.” He also says that the company enjoys sharing its success with the people that create that success and internal communication is important. “MTN takes great pride in its accomplishments both locally and abroad. There are several internal communication activities that take place to keep the staff informed of this. We believe that sharing the accomplishments of the organisation with its people is a fundamental part of the success of MTN. It serves to provide further impetus for employees to work hard, work with passion, and give back to the communities through our Foundation initiatives.”
AN INSPIRED LEADER Bulbulia takes pride in the business being awarded but he reminds us of that old saying about a business and its people: “This recognition is reflective of the hard work and
MTN SA
©Flickr, Warrenski
commitment of all the employees at MTN. It might seem like a cliché to say that a company is only as good as its people but we at MTN truly believe this. The telecommunications industry is one of the most competitive in the world and the South African marketplace is no different. Without our employees, there would be no awards and we would not be able to achieve the successes we have had to date. By being named one of the top brands in the country shows the MTN leadership (and the staff) that our collective hard work is recognised in the South African market.” Bulbulia was installed as MTN SA CEO in 2013 following a shuffle of the MTN Group Executive Committee. With the challenges facing the company, it is easy to see why Bulbulia was selected to steer the ship in 2014. He has over two decades in the telecoms industry and has worked in various roles throughout the company, starting in 1993 when he almost stumbled into the business that would change his life. He was studying, aged just 24, doing his articles for a Jo’burg based accounting firm when one of his seniors asked him to help with a newly formed company, MTN. He told techcentral.co.za: “I didn’t really like this ‘articles’ thing and I jumped at the opportunity.” This made Bulbulia MTN’s second ever employee after
Karel Pienaar who is now Group Chief Strategy Officer. The early days were risky and challenging but thanks to the founding members; well, we all know where MTN is today. “Karel was the pioneer who knocked on the door of the ANC to say we needed to compete with Telkom. “I was here before we even had any customers, when we just had a piece of paper saying we had a licence to operate. It was a bit of a risk because you weren’t sure you were even going to get a pay cheque in those days,” he told techcentral. Initially, Bulbulia was charged with developing marketing strategies and value propositions to attract customers to the business and away from rivals. “Besides basic voice, we were doing directory enquiries and other products we wanted to use to differentiate ourselves from our only competitor at the time.” This was a role that Bulbulia took to as he had plenty of experience in selling thanks to his experience working in his father’s shoe business. “I grew up in the retail trade, selling wares like most Indian people,” he told techcentral. After two years with the company he moved into the billing department, managing service providers that dealt directly with consumers. “That was my first real commercial role in the business and I did that for 18-24 months.”
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CompANY PROFILE In 1996, the then CEO, Bob Chaphe approached pay-TV operator MultiChoice to buy its cellular service provider, M-Tel, a move which Bulbulia says is one of the most important in the history of MTN. When the deal was complete, Bulbulia and some of his colleagues were asked to run M-Tel and they quickly discovered that this was an organisation in drastic need of a turnaround strategy. However, this provided a platform for Bulbulia to learn and develop, and he was only too keen to accept the challenge. “M-Tel was my first real taste of what cellular is really about. I ran call centres, credit vetting, warehouses and logistics. It was the best learning curve ever. “I learnt things there that will stand me in good stead for the rest of my life. This business works, lives and dies by how you manage your distribution. He who distributes more effectively is the winner in this game,” he told techcentral. His experiences here led to the offer of his position today from then COO and now President and CEO of MTN, Sifiso Dabengwa. The only condition that Bulbulia applied when accepting the role was that he could remain operationally involved with the business. “There has been many, what I call ‘higher grade’ challenges over the years. In the early days, it was trying to deal with explosive growth and operational meltdown to the current challenges of transforming the company into one that continues to deliver great shareholder value in a saturated and ultra-competitive market,” he says. Today, under the leadership of Bulbulia, MTN SA boasts over 20 million subscribers and was recently recognised as one the country’s Top Employers.
TOP EMPLOYER Top Employer awards are only given out to those companies that genuinely demonstrate the highest standard of employee offerings. The Top Employers Institute’s research assesses all critical areas of the human resources environment, certifying organisations that can demonstrate they are continuously optimising employee conditions and leading the way in the development of their people. The Top Employers Institute said of MTN SA: “Our comprehensive independent research revealed that MTN (Pty) Ltd provides exceptional employee conditions, nurtures and develops talent throughout all levels of the organisation and has demonstrated its leadership status in the HR environment, always striving to optimise its employment practices and to develop its employees. “The company culture is open and informal, ideas flow freely and there is little hierarchy.” The company is keen on seeing through its employee offerings and these include: brainstorming sessions, employee
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surveys, graduate development programmes, leadership development programmes, home Internet connections, medical aid schemes, pension schemes and sporting events to name just a few. “While MTN does offer its employees very competitive packages it is but one component of the success of the organisation. Not only does MTN have a great corporate culture to work in but there are a lot of value-added offerings we provide our staff. MTN views each employee as a unique individual and provides in all their needs. As such, the corporate environment allows for significant personal growth and opportunities both in South Africa and abroad,” says Bulbulia.
STAYING SECURE One of the fundamental challenges that MTN customers and employees are faced with every day is security. Since the sale of smartphones has been booming in the South African market and access to the web has been largely utilised through phones, security has obviously become an issue for providers. The industry is now so far reaching and so complex that there are many opportunities for underhandedness. Bulbulia recaps on how far the industry and technology has come. “Given the connectedness of the world today, there certainly has been a fundamental shift in the market. As a way for people, businesses, and companies to engage and interact with one another, telecommunications provide the foundation. Over the past two years, we have seen how mobile devices (both smartphones and tablets) have permeated virtually every facet of our society. It has also changed the African market with people having access to world-class network infrastructure bringing with it increased bandwidth and more competitive data rates. Telecommunications is vital for the empowerment of people - just look at how many entrepreneurs run their businesses from their mobile phones. Without a quality and reliable network, this would not be possible and economic growth would stagnate.” Criminals in this space are becoming more and more advanced and it is not only data crimes that pose a threat; physical crime is equally as attractive for criminals as phones are now worth a lot of money on the grey market. Last year, Lily Zondo, GM Risk Management at MTN SA told customers to be wary of theft and keep their personal data to themselves. “We would like to remind customers to be vigilant about safety and to guard against theft and fraud, not only during the holiday season, but always,” she said. “Our customers must report stolen or lost devices immediately to the police and contact MTN straight away to deactivate the SIM card. This will ensure that the SIM card cannot be fraudulently utilised for illegal mean.
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(Bytes Systems Integration) Bytes SI, A Division of Bytes Technology Group SA (Pty) Ltd, is a company that designs, implements and operationally manages customised ICT infrastructural services and solutions, through the integration of hardware and software systems from global technology leaders.
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+27 11 205 7000 www.bytessi.co.za FEB 14 PAGE 5
CompANY PROFILE “When customers suspect irregular activity on their phones, alert MTN Customer Operations straight away and remember to never divulge your personal documents or details such bank accounts and ID numbers to anyone.” Just last month, Zondo had to remind customers to also be aware of scam email and letter campaigns, designed to trick customers into paying money into fraudulent accounts. “We would like to remind customers to be always cautious about such letters being sent to them. MTN would like to stress that customers who are not sure of the content of the letter is legitimate or not, they must always contact our customer care, collections department, banking query department, billing department or visit their nearest MTN Branded Channel Store to verify the authenticity of the letter,” she said. “We urge our customers and the public at large to remember to never divulge your personal documents or details such as bank accounts and ID numbers to anyone, even when asked to do so by a letter that seems legitimate.” As the growth of the smartphone and mobile market continues, the growth of this type of criminality is sure to follow and MTN SA and the entire MTN group are working hard to combat the problem where possible.
THE FUTURE In 2012, MTN SA predicted that its 2014 market size would reach 80 million. It is perfectly positioned to launch a fresh attack on this burgeoning market and with Bulbulia, through his financial background, leading the company forward, there is little doubt that the company will again be crowned as the most valuable brand in South Africa and further afield. The importance of innovation and quality customer service
©Flickr, Warrenski
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Zunaid Bulbulia
will not die so it is fortunate that MTN SA is certified as one of the most attractive places to work. The creation of this environment has to be partly credited to the leadership and Bulbulia says that this focus on internal improvement will continue and there are a number of things he still wants to achieve. Importantly, he notes that expansion is not simply about boosting sales figures and revenues. He is keen to point out that the work the company does within its communities counts equally towards expansion prospects. “Expansion is a core element of what we do but it is not just about the numbers,” he says. “MTN is committed to giving back to the communities in which it operates. To this end, the work it is doing through the MTN SA Foundation has become an integral component to the success (and expansion) of the organisation. Furthermore, we take great pride in developing innovative services and solutions for both our business and consumer customers that reflect their unique needs as well as the markets in which they live. This local understanding is interwoven into our corporate DNA.” In 2013 he highlighted his desire for MTN SA to become a leading service organisation, not just in telecoms. “There are two areas of movement I want to create in this organisation,” he told Business Report in August. “There’s a need for us to become the number one service company in South Africa, not just in our industry. I do want us to become synonymous with service. The sustainable benefit of that goes well beyond just being able to grow revenue faster than you are growing costs. It’s about people wanting to do business with MTN and wanting to be a customer of MTN because the experience is so good.
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CompANY PROFILE
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MTN SA “I think the multiplier effect it has on your bottom line is phenomenal if you can position yourself and sustain yourself as a top service company. “We are a company that knows how to manage growth which is exponential. So that is the first bit of movement that I want to create – a very real movement to becoming number one in service. “The second,” he added “is I want us to be able to sustainably grow faster than our competitors along all the key areas of our business, whether that’s in revenue, in profit, in market share, in brand awareness, in social responsibility, across all the key metrics that make a business successful. “I will feel we would have created meaningful movement if we are able to sustain over a long period of time consistently beating our competitors across all the key metrics in our business. That’s the challenge I’ve set for myself and for my
team – to find the formula and the way of work that results in that movement.” Bulbulia also tells us that MTN SA is working hard to meet the connectivity requirements of all consumers and is committed to universal broadband access for everyone. “MTN believes in providing innovative solutions that address the needs of all the people in the country. We are working with stakeholders in both private and public sectors to ensure that the connectivity requirements of all the citizens are met. “In addition to developing cost-effective voice and data solutions, MTN is continuously upgrading its network to stay ahead of technology trends. For example, our ongoing efforts to roll out LTE while simultaneously improving 2G, 3G, and HSPA access is indicative of this passion and commitment to provide universal broadband access for all.”
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In the last six years, Egoli Gas, Johannesburg-based natural gas reticulator has signed several multimillion rand contracts with businesses wanting to implement alternative energy solutions. Egoli Gas has implemented energy solutions for MTN cellular network provider (14th Avenue, Fairlands has a two-megawatt power generation plant that uses Egoli Gas to produce electricity), Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, ABSA Head Office, and more recently Standard Bank South Africa’s Rosebank business centre. Egoli Gas is committed to helping companies reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. “We are supporting the objectives of the Government of South Africa and the City of Johannesburg in meeting the growing demand for energy in al spheres of life.” Shepherd Shonhiwa, MD Egoli Gas. As a prominent of natural gas, Egoli Gas believes the benefits of its product far outweigh those of other types of energy sources, especially as it is one of the safest and most efficient forms of energy. Natural gas requires low maintenance and can be used domestically and commercially, with industrial applications ranging from steam processes to power generation. Leading the world in clean energy is tri-generation. The system is able to produce three types of energy: electricity, heating and cooling at the same time, resulting in power, hot water, space heating and air conditioning – all from one energy source. Tri-generation facilities retain the heat that is lost from the generator that produces electricity and reuses it to create hot and cold water. An absorption chiller keeps the water at low enough temperatures to reuse as air conditioning. The benefits of tri-generation: • • • • • •
Reduces the emission of pollutants Minimises your carbon footprint Better use of fossil fuels More usable energy, less wastage Cuts peak electrical loads Tri-generation systems translate into substantial energy savings
Egoli Gas is currently moving into the Sandton and Lakeview (west rand) areas where more companies will be joining the natural gas revolution as the natural alternative. FEB 14 PAGE 9
www.mtn.co.za
(0)1603 618 000 info@industrysa.com East Coast Promotions Ltd, Ferndale Business Centre, 1 Exeter Street. Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4QB