Boniswa Group: Bridging The Digital Divide and Improving Lives

Innovative ideas and thinking can be transformational if you link them together. Boniswa engineered these transforming insights and turned from a start-up into a turnkey telecommunications services provider comprising three business units:

• Boniswa Corporate solutions

• Boniswa Towerco

• Boniswa Manufacturing

Boniswa Group is driven by an ambitious strategy from the top down by adapting, changing, innovating, and transforming ideas to meet our client’s needs; CEO and Founder Lynnette Magasa provides a clear picture of success in challenging economic conditions.

What Makes Boniswa Stand Out?

The passion and commitment of Boniswa employees enable them to provide top-notch network service and continuous customer support. we firmly believe in our productive partnership with telecommunication operators to bridge the digital gap between rural and urban areas. at Boniswa, we have remained with our vision of bridging the digital gap since 2004. as a result, through our partnerships, we managed to have our own Boniswa Towerco and Boniswa Manufacturing facilities.

Growing out of the recruitment world, where Boniswa was already present with a focus on telecoms, Magasa identified an opportunity to build a new offering across the infrastructure. with little industry experience but driven by passion and determination, this project yielded early success and allowed Boniswa to build a reputation.

The following years saw the company grow aggressively; without significant financial backing, this ambitious female-led start-up garnered attention in the largely male-dominated industry. Boniswa became known for erecting telecom towers, manufacturing unique protective telecom cabinets for the African environment, and tower collocation; this structure is used to support multiple antennas operated by different carriers.

Today, Boniswa is home to more than 250 people across multiple divisions. it is a core player in the telecoms industry, providing digitisation opportunities across South Africa. as of January 2021, 36% of South Africans remained unconnected to the internet. This digital divide is a driver of unemployment, poverty, and inequality. in addition, mobile data users face high costs and unreliable connectivity, and just 1.2% of the rural population has access to high-speed broadband in the home.

In reality, 32.4% of the population lives in rural areas. There is much to be done from a technology and infrastructure perspective. As a result of the pandemic, Boniswa saw opportunities to solve problems instead of threats and negativity.

With COVID, like any other business, Boniswa was affected. However, we always look for opportunities. we started thinking differently, and we now use the just-in-time method. as we are in telecoms – a critical sector – we remained busy. Boniswa also had to move to where the end users were. initially, we were ensuring we had businesses covered at their offices, but we had to move towards protecting employees at home.

So our strategy changed, and we continued with our vision of bridging the digital gap between urban and rural areas. when COVID came, people quickly started moving back to the countryside, where there was space, instead of staying in the city, and we are now busy building rural sites. we understand that even kids in rural areas need access to education online.

The pandemic lockdowns have spurred a move away from the well-connected cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, and Durban as home buyers search for property with more space to live, work, and play in smaller towns and coastal regions. no one saw it coming, but it forced businesses to shift. we had to ensure that those in rural areas or farms would not be forgotten. Many offices remain empty, so we are busy moving connectivity to rural areas.

Vertical Integration Strategy

Boniswa Group has three divisions: Boniswa Corporate, which deals with service (CaPEX model), Boniswa Towerco (OPEX model), and Boniswa Manufacturing (CaPEX and OPEX model). We come up with vertical integration where we control multiple stages of our production process and supply chain. Besides offering service, we create partnerships and look for long-term relationships.

To materialise this strategy, Boniswa launched its factory, and everything we use is produced and supplied in-house, providing us with a competitive advantage. Some of our competitors come to us for installation services. we gain a cost advantage when we price items because the process is managed internally.

The company’s factory is situated in Midrand. it can service sites across the country, using a presence across Southern Africa to help telcos expand throughout the continent. We have grown quite well and are active all over South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, and Lesotho. we also have a marketing office in France to promote our products across Europe. Access to manufacturing has helped the company broaden its horizons. Management is enthusiastic about exploring all avenues for future growth, utilising the innovation within the business to push new boundaries.

The batteries are in their early stage for us, but we are diversifying and hope to penetrate new industries in the future. For example, we are currently busy with a mobile hybrid generator that will use diesel and batteries as a backup. The African continent is known for high unemployment, and theft can be a problem. Therefore, Boniswa Manufacturing has launched a new range of products – telecommunication anti-vandal cabinets that store batteries to meet the needs of the African market.

After 18 years, Boniswa continues to thrive and strive for innovation. This goal is driven by Magasa, who is always looking for ways to remain at the cutting edge of our industry. We believe that success lies where everyone can share value creation and growth – our clients, employees, future talent, and the communities we serve or who rely on us. Our corporate responsibility is guided by three commitments: people, environment, and business resilience.

Boniswa CEO Lynnette Magasa’s vision for the company is to create meaningful employment. In addition, she wants to grow the company globally and have a Boniswa brand footprint across different continents. a vital part will be to keep bridging the digital gap. Finally, as a continuity strategy, our long-term vision is to develop the company from an SME to a corporate group.