Meet Velly Bosega, Entrepreneur and founder of the on-demand consulting platform, Startwise, now SME Advice, and join him on his journey to growing the South African economy
My career in publishing began in 2006, as a sales consultant for Media24. South Africa’s leading media company with interests in digital media and services, newspapers, magazines, book publishing, print and distribution. It wasn’t anything I had studied towards, but it was my stepping stone into the world of publishing and in 2008, my journey commenced at Mybroadband as a Sales Executive.
I have always been curious, hungry for knowledge and the limitless bounds of the digital advertising world fascinated me. As my passion for digital advertising grew, I made the conscious decision to work for a variety of digital companies and publishers to learn more about the approach to all aspects of their businesses and quickly saw a gap in the South African market for a local advertising network. I started reading as many overseas articles as I could. That’s how my 5-year journey towards launching my own company, Adclick Africa, began.
At the time, I had just gotten married and we were expecting our first child…
It was a whirlwind!
Launching a New Business for the First Time
In just one year of starting as a digital advertising agency, we acquired the SME South Africa publication and founded Africa’s first Premium Ad Network. Little did I know that by 2014, Adclick Africa would be the largest publisher network in Africa! My small team grew to three times its size.
In 2015 we were the first to introduce video and rich media ad formats. A game changer in a space where brands compete to capture the online audience. A year later we were doing it again, bringing groundbreaking data retargeting technology into the country. 2017 saw Adclick Africa launch the largest free Wi-Fi ad network in Africa. And we didn’t stop there. Amidst COVID-19 times in September 2020, we brought a B2B service marketplace, Serv.co.za, to life.
Now, this isn’t a company sales pitch, but rather a tale of always looking for the gaps to meet the needs of suppliers and consumers, while driving demand, which was a winning formula for growing my very own SMME. I had to have patience while I learnt from the experts around me. My journey could have been a lot quicker, with fewer costly mistakes, if I could have reached out to people who knew how to put together a concise business plan and help me execute it.
The Reason for Walking You Through My Journey Is, I Had a Vision…
Despite the many challenges and learning curves from starting up companies or taking a chance on opportunities, I built a seven-figure turnover company. I know the struggles of any SMME in South Africa because I have been through it. You have an idea and launch yourself into it. You don’t realise the importance of having key measurements in place to obtain your goal. Sometimes you don’t have a set goal written down with the steps you need to take to obtain it. Or knowing the risks of hiring and growing too quickly.
My journey could have been quicker if I had a network of experts around me. Networking with thought leaders to learn every aspect of business that you don’t necessarily know. A company is built with multiple experts and leaders for a reason. Each specialises in their field. The value lies in knowing how to collaborate with your teams and bringing in an outsider’s perspective.
Introducing the First On-demand Consulting Platform
In 2024, SME South Africa integrated the award-winning on-demand consulting platform Startwise into its main platform as SME Advice. This brings entrepreneurs access to information and resources all in one place. It provides an online communication platform where SMME owners can connect with industry experts, taking their business to the next level and stimulating the economy once again.
By consolidating the two audiences, we wanted to create a one-stop shop for SMEs. Instead of clicking on multiple domains, they can conveniently navigate through a single platform for everything they need,” says Velly Bosega, founder and CEO of SME South Africa.
Speak to an expert on SME Advice today to take your business to the next level.
