Man driven by technology

NGCOBO: ENTREPRENEUR LEAVES CUSHY CORPORATE JOB TO PURSUE CHILDHOOD DREAM

- Hein Kaiser

From the comfort of a stable corporate job to the uncertainty of entrepreneurship, Mandla Ngcobo's journey has been marked by bold decisions. At 41, the Newcastle-born founder of internet service provider (ISP) Accelerit has transformed a small start-up into a respected player in South Africa's ISP space, tackling connectivity challenges while empowering graduates along the way.

He's living his dream. Technology has always been his main interest. As a child, Ngcobo was taken by the possibilities of programming and the internet. “I was wowed when I realised you could access articles, books and tutorials online, things you'd normally pay for at a library,” he said.

This discovery cemented his mission: “How do we disseminate this access to as many people as possible, not just in South Africa, but globally?”

But first, he had to get his life onto a path. He took a day job until 11 years ago when he took the entrepreneurial leap.

It saw him segue from his office job to hard graft. “I was working in corporate, living comfortably, with a good salary, a car and an apartment,” he said.