… Applauds Eswatini Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer a formidable force
BY PHUMELELE MKHONTA
MBABANE– Jabulile Dlamini is Inyatsi Group Holdings trailblazer!
This is according to Inyatsi Group Holdings Executive Chairperson Michelo Shakantu, who gave the title to the Eswatini Mobile Chief Technology Officer and woman engineer- saying she is a formidable force.
Shakantu gave Dlamini the title today while stating that the story of how Eswatini Mobile was set up could not be told without mention of the founders, namely himself and his late friend and business partner Victor Gamedze.
“As I recall, we were mocked and labeled ‘clowns’ at the time. The naysayers wrote that it would never work, that it would fail, and that we were fooling ourselves by setting up a mobile network company; more so, given the fact that the one mobile network company that was operating in the country was a formidable global telecommunications giant.
“Nevertheless, we prevailed. And the story of how we prevailed cannot be told without making mention of an exceptional female engineer named Jabulile Dlamini (who is warmly referred to as Make Jabu within Group, proof that she commands considerable respect),” said the Executive Chairman.
The businessman further said her story was not his to tell but there was no way to appreciate the road traveled and milestones attained without mentioning, at least in part, the role of highly skilled emaSwati like Make Jabu.
“One of her most remarkable feats includes being able to set up close to 350 base stations within five years. In comparison, the competition that has been in the market for 20 years only has just over 450 base stations. This alone makes her arguably the most influential local figure in Eswatini’s telecommunications space.
“The fact that she achieved all this with a lean technical team of locals who delivered a backbone infrastructure at a fast pace and at great scale speaks to how formidable she is as a leader. She underscores the importance of having the right people, with the right attitude, in the right positions.
“The year before Make Jabu took on the challenge of being Chief Technology Officer at Eswatini Mobile brought at least five key lessons.”
Lessons by Inyatsi Group Holdings Trailblazer according to Shakantu:
Lesson 1: Avoid the trap of over-reliance on skills from outside
“When we were setting up Eswatini Mobile we felt like we had a lot to prove, especially given how much we were mocked for embarking on that journey. We were young and wanted to prove a point, so we made some mistakes. In hindsight, we fell into the trap of over-relying on skills from outside, so we looked to Huawei to manage the network for us.”
Lesson 2: Don’t fall into the trap of unnecessary and on-going outsourcing.
“There was a level of comfort in having a recognized global brand overseeing the technical aspects of operating a mobile network. It proved to be extremely costly and by the end of Year 1, we were hundreds of thousands of US dollars in debt. When we retained the services of Huawei, we were essentially outsourcing their personnel because they even sent their own people from China – whom we hosted at our expense.”
Lesson 3: Always assume there is a solution.
“One thing I have entrenched in my team is to always assume there is a solution. Throughout the time that we relied on the Huawei team to keep the network going, there were no skills or knowledge transfer arrangement, so it was a mutually beneficial arrangement. We were in a new sector and we had somewhat ignored our business instincts in deference to a big global brand that we now were dependent on for technical aid. The solution was to wean ourselves of the dependency – and that’s what we did. We ended the contract with Huawei and looked for skills internally.”
Lesson 4: Always insist that it can be done.
“One of the core values of the Inyatsi Group is having a ‘can-do’ attitude. My team of leaders understand that I expect results and that whenever challenges arise, I will always insist that there is ‘something’ that can be done to turn a situation around. With Huawei gone, something had to be done to turn the situation around. And what we did was to uplift the local talent and up skill internal resources to build a lean team of engineers led by Jabulile Dlamini (Make Jabu) to takeover.”
Lesson 5: Believe in your team
“The transition from Huawei was not without its challenges, but Jabulile Dlamini proved to be a formidable force who today oversees the entire network. Under her watch, Eswatini Mobile has scored significant milestones. Her intervention contributed immensely to cutting the cost of managing the network as we saved millions of US dollars by not having to outsource. It also helped the company to get out of debt and by Year 5 it had broken even. Also, she has led the most rapid expansion of backbone infrastructure in the country despite it being an expensive exercise. Jabulile Dlamini has capably led the setting up of base stations stage-by-stage, adopting a phased approach that doesn’t drain our capital reserves.”
Concluding his appreciation of Dlamini, the Executive Chairman said there were only three networks in Africa that were owned by individuals, started by individuals.
“Zimbabwe has Econet, Nigeria has Glo and in Eswatini we set up Eswatini Mobile. EmaSwati did that. Women like Jabulile Dlamini led and continue to lead from the front – making history esiveni semaSwati. “If you make a call on an Eswatini Mobile line today… it is because Make Jabu and her team made it possible. Like many others, she is a trailblazer within the Inyatsi Group.
