The Covid-19 pandemic was a difficult time for everyone. But for a few the enforced
lockdowns also saw personal interests develop into life-changing businesses, which was the
case for Siyamtanda Hlobo.
Developing her interest in tech over the hard lockdowns resulted in her company, Eleglam
Business and Digital Solutions, becoming one of the ten finalists in the R1 million MTN
Women in Digital Business Challenge and walking off with a R100 000 prize to take her
business to new heights.
Explaining how Eleglam came to be, Hlobo says, “While at home during Covid-19, I decided
to use my time to learn a new skill and took an online web development course. While trying
out what I had learned by designing free sites for people I knew, I was then contacted by a
woman who wanted a website for her family garage business.”
This minor contract in her hometown of East London launched Hlobo’s new career. That first
job led to her designing a site for herself to interact with customers online for the first time.
Happy customers only resulted in even more business, leading to the formal launch of
Eleglam.
“Seeing that many small business owners didn’t understand online opportunities, soon I was
not only designing websites but also advising small business owners on how to use social
media, create content, and engage with customers online.”
Explaining further Hlobo says, “For example I helped a sanitation services company that was
finding it difficult to market their services as they had no tangible products to show potential
customers. This meant that any business proposals involved drawing up a company profile
and spending hours answering individual questions. I developed a site that had a messaging
service and automated catalogues. It was a call to action for customers and helped build
their business.”
While Covid-19 was still impacting lives, the next break for Hlobo occurred when a former
East Londoner working in Johannesburg developing sites and apps contacted her about
joining forces. This brought a new stream of business and customers from across the
country.
But Hlobo says when Microsoft contacted her with an offer to become part of their preview
customer relationship management programme, she knew Eleglam had arrived.
MTN became part of her life in 2021 when as one of an identified 50 promising ICT
companies, she was offered the chance to upskill herself in terms of business knowledge.
“The MTN offer had tremendous benefits. I was able to identify my weaknesses and was
shown how to make the changes I needed to build my business.”
From there it was onto the MTN SA Foundation’s Women in Digital Business Challenge. As
one of the ten finalists and with her R100 000 prize, Hlobo has jumped at the development
opportunity. She has hired a business development consultant and is building an app to
Sensitivity: Public
assist prospective students during the annually fraught and stressful university registration
period.
Speaking of her immediate ambitions Hlobo says, “I have a few modules to complete to
graduate with a Unisa diploma in accounting science, and I want to get new customers in
cities like Pretoria and Johannesburg.”
“The Eleglam success story is a perfect example of what the MTN Foundation wanted to
achieve with this programme. It was designed to help set ten small female-owned ITC
companies on the road to success. We have helped them by assisting with the finance,
mentorship and business support resources needed to get their enterprises to the next
level,” says Angie Maloka, Senior Manager: Community Programmes at the Foundation.
“Siyamtanda Hlobo is typical of the women who have succeeded in the Challenge. She
identified a business opportunity and developed a viable ICT business despite the difficulties
of Covid-19 and a tough economic environment.”
“Our ten finalists are examples of what can be achieved by women in a competitive industry.
We look forward to hearing more about them as they help change the operating face of
business in South Africa,” Maloka concludes.