Clickatell turned four lines of SMS code in 2000 into a chat commerce platform serving 10,000 brands. Our cover story on @Clickatell yespress.io/clickatell?utm_s… via Yespress

There are South Africans who own businesses around the world. Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX), Vinny Lingham (Gyft), Pieter de Villiers (Clickatell), and Lyndon Rive (SolarCity) are notable examples among many. Do we also ask them to leave those places?

Whites are just 7% of SA yet dominate global success through legacy skills, culture and higher average cognitive ability. They built and kept that edge despite BEE's racist quotas. Wealth gaps prove merit. They don't erase the state-enforced race discrimination Elon Musk called out. White people born in South Africa are dominating globally (in tech, business, entertainment, science and other fields): • Elon Musk (Pretoria) – Tesla, SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink • Roelof Botha (Pretoria) – Sequoia Capital managing partner, PayPal CFO • David Sacks (Cape Town) – PayPal COO, Craft Ventures founder, Trump AI/Crypto Czar • Mark Shuttleworth (Welkom) – Thawte (sold for $575M), Ubuntu founder, first African in space • Charlize Theron (Benoni) – Oscar-winning actress, Hollywood powerhouse • Johann Rupert (Stellenbosch area) – Richemont luxury empire (Cartier, etc.), billionaire • Koos Bekker – Naspers/Prosus global tech investor (Tencent stake) • Paul Maritz (SA-born) – VMware CEO, EMC president • Sydney Brenner (Germiston) – Nobel Prize in Medicine (genetics pioneer) • Lyndon Rive & Peter Rive (Pretoria) – Co-founders of SolarCity (America’s largest residential solar provider; acquired by Tesla for billions). • Willem van Biljon (Pretoria) – Co-founder of Nimbula (pioneering cloud OS; sold to Oracle for >$1B). • Pieter de Villiers – Founder/CEO of Clickatell (global SMS/messaging leader that powered WhatsApp’s early scale). • Rodney Sacks (Johannesburg) – Chairman & former CEO; co-creator of Monster Beverage (turned into $70B global energy drink empire). • Hilton Schlosberg – Co-CEO & co-creator of Monster Beverage (billionaire partner with Sacks). • Max Theiler (Pretoria) – Nobel Prize in Medicine (developed yellow fever vaccine; saved millions of lives). • J.M. Coetzee (Cape Town) – Nobel Prize in Literature (twice Booker winner; global literary icon). • Nadine Gordimer (Springs) – Nobel Prize in Literature (anti-apartheid voice; world-renowned novelist). • Ivan Glasenberg (Johannesburg) – Former CEO of Glencore (one of the world’s largest mining & commodity trading firms; billionaire). • Kimbal Musk (Pretoria) – Serial entrepreneur (The Kitchen restaurant chain; early Tesla/SolarCity board; Big Green sustainability leader). • Clive Calder (Johannesburg) – Music mogul (built Zomba Label Group; sold for billions; launched Britney Spears, NSYNC, etc.). • Allan Cormack (Johannesburg) – Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (co-invented CT scan technology; transformed medical imaging). • Sharlto Copley (Johannesburg) – Hollywood actor/producer (District 9, Maleficent, Chappie; global box-office star). …and many more engineers, VCs and high-impact founders in Silicon Valley, finance and STEM who consistently outperform per capita. This isn’t luck or “privilege” - it’s legacy skills, culture and raw competence thriving despite race-based barriers at home. South Africa would do well to focus on building and filling the legacy skills gap as well as inculcating a culture and raw competence that thrives across the board. The DA’s focus on Early Childhood Development is a most excellent beginning.

Join one of our events this week and walk boldly into your future: PGDip info session: bit.ly/41GJYRv MBA Decoded: bit.ly/45ZsalC The clickatell story: bit.ly/4njS8av #YourFutureStartsHere #HenleyEvents #HenleyAfrica

@heisec interessanter Fall!

Hey @Clickatell seems that your SMS-Route to Vodafone Germany is compromised! Our OTP-SMS via Vodafone is somehow altered. The text is different and contains "c0de" as a hint. The sender is not "xpecto". Sending to T-Mobile Germany is fine (screenshot of dual sim phone)

The South African who went from studying optometry to starting a mobile messaging empire Pieter de Villiers is one of the brains behind Clickatell, a South African company that played a key role in the success of messaging platform WhatsApp. mybroadband.co.za/news/cellu…

Commercial Manager at Clickatell Location: Nigeria Relevant Degree with 8 years of relevant job experience with similar essential duties Proven experience in creating a comprehensive client business plan to manage account sales while accurately forecasting future bookings and revenues. Proven experience working cross-functionally as part of a solution team. Proven business acumen with experience in Senior Manager stakeholder engagement A track record for consistently exceeding revenue goals. Industry and shared business challenges, along with your knowledge of analytic solutions. Experience and knowledge of messaging and/or payment products and industry Extensive network of decision makers in the industry Apply job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/…

I asked AI to wade into the possibility of Meta leaving Nigeria. While Meta does not have publicly accessible data on their revenue streams across board, we can however, analyze the potential impact based on available information: * Significant User Base: * Facebook: Nigeria has a very large Facebook user base. As of early 2024, estimates placed the number of users around 50 million, representing over 21% of the population (NapoleonCat). It's considered Nigeria's most widely used social media platform (The Nation). Instagram: Estimates from early-to-mid 2024 suggest around 12.4 to 12.6 million users in Nigeria (NapoleonCat). * WhatsApp: Usage is widespread. Estimates range significantly, from 28-29 million users (Yazi 2025 estimate) to potentially over 90 million (Clickatell, though this seems high), with claims it's used by around 94% of internet users in the country (Yazi). * Primary Revenue Source - Advertising: * Meta's primary revenue comes from advertising. Suspending operations would mean losing all advertising revenue generated from Nigerian users seeing ads and businesses specifically targeting the Nigerian market across Facebook and Instagram. * While the Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) in the "Rest of World" category (which includes Nigeria) is lower than in North America or Europe, the sheer size of the Nigerian user base makes it a significant market in aggregate terms. Losing potentially 50 million Facebook users and over 12 million Instagram users represents a substantial loss of ad inventory and reach. * One (highly speculative) estimate on Hacker News, based on GDP proportions, suggested potential annual revenue of $860 million, though this was disputed as likely too high. A rough calculation based on potential ARPU ($10-$20 annually per Facebook user) and ~50 million users could suggest revenue in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually, but this is also highly speculative. * Loss of Future Growth & Monetization: * Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and a key market for digital growth. Meta has recently rolled out monetization features for creators in Nigeria (Daily Trust, PrimeProgressNg). Leaving would forfeit the future revenue potential from this large and growing digital economy. * Many Nigerian businesses, creators, and individuals rely heavily on Meta platforms for commerce, marketing, and communication (Techeconomy, Yazi). A withdrawal cuts off Meta's access to this vibrant ecosystem. * Strategic Impact: * Pulling out of a major African market like Nigeria could negatively impact Meta's overall strategy and influence on the continent. * It could set a precedent for interactions with other governments considering stricter regulations. Context: It's important to note this question arises in the context of Meta facing significant regulatory pressure and fines in Nigeria (totalling over $290 million) and has explicitly threatened to suspend Facebook and Instagram services due to these demands (Techeconomy, Businessday NG, Vanguard News). Conclusion: While a precise number cannot be provided, suspending operations in Nigeria would represent a substantial economic loss for Meta, likely running into hundreds of millions of dollars annually in direct advertising revenue. This is compounded by the loss of a massive user base, forfeiture of future growth potential in a key African market, and potential strategic setbacks. My conclusion They will seek renegotiation if not possible, they will pay the fine. Nigeria is too big to leave alone to Elon Musk to hold sway

порты посканить там... смсочку отправить с чужого номера через приложение clickatell. ёбаное всё, какие отбитые времена

From a local market to a R2 billion cap raise... What does it take to scale a startup to a global stage? Thought-provoking evening at @InnoCityCPT with Pieter de Villiers, founder of @Clickatell

Join Pieter de Villiers, Co-Founder and CEO, @Clickatell at the ITWeb Artificial Intelligence Summit tomorrow as he explores AI-powered chat commerce. Register NOW: itweb.co.za/event/itweb-ai-s… #ITWebAI2025

We’re excited to announce that our Co-Founder & CEO, Pieter de Villiers, will be speaking at the ITWeb Artificial Intelligence Summit 2025 on Thursday, 13 February, at 12 PM! Pieter will present about AI-Powered Chat Commerce: The Intersection of Convenience and Context, exploring how AI is transforming customer interactions into seamless, context-aware commerce opportunities that drive engagement, revenue, and loyalty. 📽️ Watch the interview to hear Clickatell’s take on the hot topics shaping AI in 2025! 📅 Join us on 13 Feb at The Forum, Bryanston. Register now: hubs.la/Q035MMnK0 (Add code: AI2025-20 to get 20% discount) #ITWebAI2025 #AI #ChatCommerce #Clickatell

Today, we had the pleasure of hosting Professor Swartz, from the Department of Management at the Feliciano School of Business, Montclair State University, along with 26 enthusiastic MBA students, at our Cape Town office. Our CEO and Co-Founder Pieter de Villiers, and his twin brother and Clickatell Co-Founder Casper de Villiers, shared Clickatell’s journey of innovation, resilience, and growth. Thank you, Professor Swartz, and the Montclair State MBA students, for your engaging questions and curiosity. We’re honored to be part of your South African experience! 🇿🇦 #Clickatell #MontclairStateUniversity #Innovation #Leadership #ChatCommerce #CapeTown

Project Manager: Professional Services at Clickatell jobberway.com/jobs/project-m… #projectmanager #opentowork #careers #jobs #freshjobs #applynow #jobseekers #openings @Clickatell @Leonardchjk @OhaemesiOluchi

[SMS MARKETING] Clickatell Predicts Mobile Messaging to be the Next Big Channel for Digital Commerce in 2023 bit.ly/3w5WWIf via @TechDailyPost

Hiring: Senior Data Architect / Modeler at Clickatell Location: Lagos Employment Type: Full Time Experience and knowledge of AWS Big Data services. Athena, Redshift, Kinesis, Kafka,  Glue, S3, Lake Formation A strong understanding of various database technologies, such as SQL databases (e.g.,  PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQL Server) and NoSQL databases (e.g., MongoDB, Cassandra), is  essential. Proficiency in programming languages like Python, Java, or Scala is often required for  developing custom data solutions and automation scripts. Knowledge of big data technologies like Hadoop, Spark, and related ecosystem  components is valuable for handling and processing large volumes of data. Apply boards.eu.greenhouse.io/clic…

2. BSP's build micro-services on Whatsapp architecture .A good example I know is Twillio, Clickatell. The only Kenyan company I know that is an authorized BSP from meta is Calltronix.

1. Commercial Manager at Clickatell 2. Business Development Officer at Finicky Clean Limited 3. Graduate B2B Social Media Manager at Canonical 4. Personal Assistant at Aspom Travels Agency Limited

6.消息传递： @justcall_io @trycourier @twilio @PodiumHQ @InfoBLP @messagebird @SignalWire @SendBird @SendGrid @Clickatell @plivo mango @telnyx