Raymond Ndlovu - Afrikan Heroes

Why Raymond Ndlovu Resigned as CEO of CIVH

February 6, 2023

Raymond Ndlovu will step down as CEO of Remgro-controlled CIVH, the parent of Vumatel and Dark Fibre Africa, at the end of March. Sources say that he is stepping down to pursue “other business interests”.

Ndlovu oversaw the merger of Vumatel and DFA into the newly formed holding company Maziv, in which Vodacom Group is poised to acquire a 30% stake, pending Competition Commission approval.

“Over the past three years, I have been focused on developing and executing the group’s fibre growth strategy in South Africa, and we’ve achieved substantial growth and increased affordable connectivity access to South Africans,” said Ndlovu in a statement.

Ndlovu’s departure comes as the group deepens its focus on the fibre market segment and seeks to broaden its footprint on the rest of the African continent, CIVH said.

CIVH chairman and Remgro executive Pieter Uys said: “Raymond’s quest for a new challenge follows a successful contribution to enhanced shareholder value during his tenure. With his team, he has overseen the complex restructuring of the group while sustaining its strong growth trajectory through the difficult pandemic trading conditions. CIVH is well positioned for its continued growth in South Africa and into the rest of the African continent.”

Ndlovu joined the venture investment division of the Remgro Group, Invenfin, in 2013 as an investment executive before later being reassigned to the parent company, Remgro Limited. He was appointed as a member of Remgro’s management board in 2018 to oversee the infrastructure and venture investment platform, including CIVH and DFA.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Investors Rally to Rescue Sigfox IoT network in South Africa

August 1, 2022

Leading South African companies including Discovery and Fidelity ADT, have banded together to save the Sigfox internet of things (IoT) network in South Africa. This comes a year after Remgro’s CIVH effectively pulled the plug on Sigfox operator SqwidNet, citing weak customer demand. Founded seven years ago under CIVH subsidiary Dark Fibre Africa, the difficulties at SqwidNet came as a shock to its customers, including Discovery Insure and ADT, which had come to rely heavily on the nationwide Sigfox network.

CIVH CEO Raymond Ndlovu was quoted as saying that the decision to shut down SqwidNet, which by then had been moved out of Dark Fibre Africa as a separate entity under CIVH, was because customer take-up had not been as strong as anticipated.

There is a minimum of one million connected devices committed to this network in the foreseeable future

The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns resulted in depressed commercial activity in the economy, which worsened the problems at SqwidNet. “It’s now even more difficult to get the kind of adoption rates and revenue levels required,” Ndlovu said at the time. Without strong customer buy-in, CIVH would not be able to keep the business – and the network – running, he warned.

Customer buy-in came through, though, and the Sigfox network has been saved. CIVH has remained a shareholder in the newly created Sigfox South Africa, along with investors Macrocomm, Discovery Insure, Fidelity ADT and Buffet Investments. The door is open to other potential investors, Ndlovu said on Thursday at a launch event in Sandton.

Sumeshin Naidoo has been appointed as chief commercial officer and will lead the new entity. Andrew Heuvel has been named chief technology officer, while Sean Laval is executive of network operations.

Ndlovu said the Sigfox network in South Africa could not be allowed to fail considering its importance to many corporate customers. “We completely understood the impact and importance this network had throughout the country.”

The network will continue to be operated on an open-access basis “for the interests of all the participants and the nation at large”.

“This will be a long-term and committed and viable platform for the future in South Africa,” Ndlovu added. “There is a minimum of one million connected devices committed to this network in the foreseeable future.”