THE GODDESS BEHIND TELECOMMUNICATIONS
She graces the current cover of Forbes magazine, featured on Oprah’s 2012 Power List, and is mentioned by CNN as the World Economic Forum Global Shaper, all before the age of 30. LIVE profiles Rapelang Rabana. A dynamic business woman, who breaks boundaries in business and in return becomes inspiration to the youth of South Africa.
Botswana born Rapelang Rabana is the Chief Operating Officer of Tomplaygo-a web and mobile entertainment platform combining music, fashion and prizes in an interactive game.
Rabana grew up in Gaborone, Botswana and she went to Thornhill primary school and then proceeded to Roedean School in Johannesburg to complete her primary and secondary schooling.
In 2001 she matriculated at Roedan School with seven distinctions. She then came to Cape Town to further her studies at the University of Cape Town, where she completed a Bachelor of Business Science degree with Honours in Computer Science.
Rabana launched her telecommunications company Yeigo Communications in 2007 with partners Lungisa Matshoda and Wilter du Toit. Yiego Communications is the first telecommunication company in the world to offer VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) services for mobile phones. A s well, Yeigo allows users who have downloaded the application to speak to other users for free in social networks like Facebook, Skype, GoogleTalk and MSN Messenger.
Later, that year Yiego Communications was joined with a Swiss telecommunication company Telfree. TelFree acquired majority share in Yeigo Communications. When Yiego Communications joined with TelFree, Rabana was appointed as Global Head of Research and Development.
Rabana shows you can have both beauty and brains. Her accolades include being the ambassador of the United Nations (UN) World Youth Summit Awards- an initiative that recognises outstanding youth-led initiatives in the industry of technology to address the future development goals. Rabana also made the Mail and Guardian 200 list of Young South Africans.
Being featured on ‘O’ magazine, Financial Mail, Destiny, Finance Week, Sunday Times, Business Report and Fairlady. Rabana still remains humble.
In an interview with Quality.com she said girls need to be encouraged to study computer science. M computer science. “More women need to become involved in programming. When I entered the field six years ago there were only two or three women in a class of about 50; there are more women going into HR and PR-while these are important to companies, they still don’t impact on the core function”.
Her best business advice to women out there is having integrity, in whatever you do.
