Female-owned Telecoms Infrastructure SME Towering above the competition
CENTURION, 30 APRIL 2024 – At a time characterised by an insatiable demand for data, Boniswa Group, which manufactures and operates mast and towers for mobile network operators, aims to play a pivotal role in revolutionising South Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure, enhancing connectivity, and paving the way for a digital future.
“We are seizing the opportunities presented by the consolidation and greater competition in the telecoms sector,” says Lynnette Magasa, Boniswa Group CEO. “We are committed to playing a pivotal role in reshaping the industry.”
For a small, female-owned business like Boniswa, the journey has been marked by overcoming significant challenges – from funding constraints to competition with larger market players, navigating complex regulations, and talent acquisition and retention.
However, with steadfast determination and strategic collaborations, Boniswa has emerged as a trailblazer in the sector.
With the support of corporates such as Telkom, Boniswa has grown its staff complement from five to 250 since its inception in 2004. It has a footprint in other countries including Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and Canada.
Boniswa is now rolling out about 10 tower sites per month for Telkom. The sites are handed over on a “ready to build” basis, with Telkom responsible for all broadcast and transmission regulations and Boniswa for all the construction compliance including health and safety, civil engineering and electrical certification.
“For SMMEs, we firstly aim to support them with financial stability and secondly with visibility and credibility in the industry, enabling them to pitch for more work with other clients,” says Eddy Kgomongwe, Acting Chief Executive, Masts and Towers at Telkom.
For Boniswa this has included reconfiguring and redesigning tower infrastructure to accommodate multiple tenants, allowing Telkom to sublet tower space, as well as to find ways to ensure the towers and masts are secure against tampering, vandalism and theft.
Helping secure tower batteries is an essential part of Boniswa’s work. The company’s protection solution has been to develop concrete bunkers fitted with subterranean cabinets which use One Time PIN (OTP) code access technology to house the batteries.
There is a potential pipeline of business for Boniswa as Telkom’s proactive site acquisition and permitting initiatives have resulted in a total of 456 approved building plans that are ready for construction when triggered by customer commitment.
“By pushing our SMMEs to develop creative ideas and technological solutions, we are further equipping them to compete in this very demanding telecom space,” says Kgomongwe. “Boniswa has more than risen to our many challenges, and we are proud of our partnership with them.”
Boniswa is one example of the success of Telkom FutureMakers programme. FutureMakers has supported and trained over 2 000 SMMEs since its inception in 2015, leading to much-needed employment opportunities within those enterprises.