Makate v ex-funder

SETTLEMENT: PLEASE CALL ME INVENTOR REFUSES ARBITRATION

- Ciaran Ryan

CENTRE OF DISPUTE. Vodacom made billions in revenue from the Please Call Me service.

(Picture: Trevor Snapp)

Please Call Me inventor Kenneth Makate has rejected arbitration with former legal funder Black Rock Mining, which is seeking to recover 40% of his payout from Vodacom.

Though Makate's settlement with Vodacom is the subject of a nondisclosure agreement, the company's half-year results to September 2025 point to a one-off cost of anywhere between R353 million and R748 million for the invention.

Based on these figures, Black Rock Mining's claim of 40% is potentially worth between R141 million and R299 million, and it has no intention of letting that slide.

Vodacom made billions of rands in revenue from the Please Call Me service, which allows someone without airtime to request a callback via SMS.

In correspondence seen by Moneyweb, Black Rock Mining's attorney Sinen Mnguni says his client's claim against Makate is the subject of a funding agreement under which any disputes must be referred to arbitration.

"We will proceed with or without you," Mnguni has told Makate's legal team.