Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      Public money, private plans: MPs demand Post Office transparency

      13 June 2025

      Coal to cash: South Africa gets major boost for energy shift

      13 June 2025

      China is behind in AI chips – but for how much longer?

      13 June 2025

      Singapore soared – why can’t we? Lessons South Africa refuses to learn

      13 June 2025

      10 red flags for Apple investors

      13 June 2025
    • World

      Yahoo tries to make its mail service relevant again

      13 June 2025

      Qualcomm shows off new chip for AI smart glasses

      11 June 2025

      Trump tariffs to dim 2025 smartphone shipments

      4 June 2025

      Shrimp Jesus and the AI ad invasion

      4 June 2025

      Apple slams EU rules as ‘flawed and costly’ in major legal pushback

      2 June 2025
    • In-depth

      Grok promised bias-free chat. Then came the edits

      2 June 2025

      Digital fortress: We go inside JB5, Teraco’s giant new AI-ready data centre

      30 May 2025

      Sam Altman and Jony Ive’s big bet to out-Apple Apple

      22 May 2025

      South Africa unveils big state digital reform programme

      12 May 2025

      Is this the end of Google Search as we know it?

      12 May 2025
    • TCS

      TechCentral Nexus S0E1: Starlink, BEE and a new leader at Vodacom

      8 June 2025

      TCS+ | The future of mobile money, with MTN’s Kagiso Mothibi

      6 June 2025

      TCS+ | AI is more than hype: Workday execs unpack real human impact

      4 June 2025

      TCS | Sentiv, and the story behind the buyout of Altron Nexus

      3 June 2025

      TCS | Signal restored: Unpacking the Blue Label and Cell C turnaround

      28 May 2025
    • Opinion

      Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

      2 June 2025

      South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

      2 June 2025

      Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

      29 May 2025

      Solar panic? The truth about SSEG, fines and municipal rules

      14 April 2025

      Data protection must be crypto industry’s top priority

      9 April 2025
    • Company Hubs
      • Africa Data Centres
      • AfriGIS
      • Altron Digital Business
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Group
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • Braintree
      • CallMiner
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • Domains.co.za
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • Iris Network Systems
      • LSD Open
      • NEC XON
      • Network Platforms
      • Next DLP
      • Ovations
      • Paracon
      • Paratus
      • Q-KON
      • SkyWire
      • Solid8 Technologies
      • Telit Cinterion
      • Tenable
      • Vertiv
      • Videri Digital
      • Wipro
      • Workday
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud services
      • Contact centres and CX
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • Education and skills
      • Electronics and hardware
      • Energy and sustainability
      • Enterprise software
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Lifestyle
      • Motoring
      • Public sector
      • Retail and e-commerce
      • Science
      • SMEs and start-ups
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Editor's pick » Start-ups, stay in SA, says Vinny Lingham

    Start-ups, stay in SA, says Vinny Lingham

    By Duncan McLeod10 November 2014
    Twitter LinkedIn Facebook WhatsApp Email Telegram Copy Link
    News Alerts
    WhatsApp
    Vinny Lingham
    Vinny Lingham

    Technology start-ups and the entrepreneurs who lead them should tackle the “many great opportunities” in South Africa and Africa more broadly rather than trying to emulate his decision to move to the US, says Gyft founder Vinny Lingham.

    Lingham, now one of the “dragons” in the South African version of reality television series Dragons’ Den, tells TechCentral that there are so many business opportunities at home that technology start-ups should “focus their energies on building the next big thing for South Africa and the African continent”.

    In July, Lingham hit pay dirt in the US when he agreed to sell Gyft, an online gift card service, to First Data, a big player in the payment technology space, for a rumoured US$54m-plus. Gyft pioneered the concept of a mobile wallet for gift cards.

    Lingham founded Gyft in January 2012. The company raised $6m in total funding prior to the acquisition from several investors including Google Ventures, Canyon Creek Capital, The Social+Capital Partnership, Karlin Ventures, David Sacks and Hass Portman.

    TechCentral: You relocated from South Africa to San Francisco to take Yola, your previous business, big. What did the decision to leave South Africa for Silicon Valley have on your ability to grow Yola and later Gyft?

    Vinny Lingham: I decided to leave South Africa in 2008 to pursue my goal of competing in the global technology market with millions of Internet users. It’s very hard to do from South Africa and at the time broadband penetration or mobile were not even options to build a business on top of. Things have changed somewhat in seven years, but we still have a way to go before the country is fully connected. Internet access in South Africa is expensive, but I think that’s changing.

    TC: Where did the idea for Gyft come from and how did you go about launching and growing the business?

    VL: The idea came to me when I paid for my coffee one day at Starbucks in San Francisco using their new app on my iPhone. I actually paid using a digital gift card and, after digging into the market stats, I realised what a big market gift cards was in the US ($150bn/year, mostly plastic).

    Vinny-Lingham-280TC: How did the First Data deal come about? What’s the background to it? I see David Frankel, former co-CEO of Internet Solutions, was partly involved. What was his and others’ roles in doing this deal?

    VL: I am proud to count David as one of my early investors in Gyft — he has been very supportive and it was great to have him involved. We had been working with the First Data team for some time and they had been looking at the digital and mobile gift card space very keenly. We got to the point that we decided to join forces and tackle the move from plastic to mobile together.

    TC: There are plenty of South African technology entrepreneurs and start-ups who are going to want to study what you’ve achieved here and how you’ve done it. What advice would you give to them?

    VL: The only way to study it, is to do it. You achieve a lot more by focusing on building businesses than spending too much time planning it. Find a market opportunity, make sure it’s a big one and execute on that — and stay focused. If you’re going to fail, do that quickly and move on. Talk to your potential customers and make sure you’re building what they want. Use the lean start-up methodologies to help kick-start you.

    TC: Specifically, would you advise South African entrepreneurs who want to make the big time to relocate to the US, or can they do it from South Africa?

    VL: I’m investing heavily in South Africa. I think that Africa has really become the final frontier and there are many opportunities to build and grow businesses. Moving to and getting connected in the US is very difficult and time consuming — and expensive! There are so many great business opportunities in South Africa — and I got a taste of them on Dragons’ Den — that I highly recommend that South African entrepreneurs focus their energies on building the next big thing for South Africa and the African continent.

    TC: What’s next for you personally?

    VL: I’m focusing on building Gyft up to the next level, plus I’ll be involved in a bit of angel investing and participating in Dragons’ Den. That’s about it.  — (c) 2014 NewsCentral Media



    David Frankel First Data Gyft Vinny Lingham Yola
    Subscribe to TechCentral Subscribe to TechCentral
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email Copy Link
    Previous ArticleEmojis: it’s not all talk :)
    Next Article Unlimited calls from Telkom for R600

    Related Posts

    Next on TCS Legends: internet and software pioneer Mark Todes

    31 May 2024

    TCS Legends | An interview with David Frankel

    23 April 2024

    Next on TCS Legends: David Frankel

    17 April 2024
    Company News

    Huawei Watch Fit 4 Series: smarter sensors, sharper design, stronger performance

    13 June 2025

    Change Logic and BankservAfrica set new benchmark with PayShap roll-out

    13 June 2025

    SAPHILA 2025 – transcending with purpose, connection and AI-powered vision

    13 June 2025
    Opinion

    Beyond the box: why IT distribution depends on real partnerships

    2 June 2025

    South Africa’s next crisis? Being offline in an AI-driven world

    2 June 2025

    Digital giants boost South African news media – and get blamed for it

    29 May 2025

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2025 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.