Leetile Benjamin and Lenamile Isaac Mophatlane founded the highly successful South African ICT company BCX, which Telkom acquired for R2.7 billion in 2015.
Born on 12 May 1973, the twin brothers were raised in the settlement of Ga-Rankuwa north of Pretoria.
Their father was a teacher who later became an education specialist, while their mother worked as a matron at a local hospital.
In a piece written for Expert Hub in 2011, Benjamin said their parents were always “very clear” about education opening the door to success.
The brothers did not participate much in sport, and their father instead encouraged them to play chess regularly. They even had a chess tutor when they were young.
Their parents, who believed that strong discipline could help their sons achieve success, sent them to boarding school at the Christian Brothers College (CBC) in Kimberley, over 500km away from their home.
Benjamin and Isaac were first exposed to computers here after one of CBC’s brothers, Paddy O’Brien, encouraged them to join the school’s computer club.
From the age of 12, the twins started spending time on the club’s BBC Microcomputer, manufactured by Acorn.
The rudimentary word processing capabilities of the computer required that they learn programming in BASIC and Pascal.
Benjamin said they would often remain glued to the computer late into the evenings.
“The attraction was instantaneous and the fascination intense,” said Benjamin.
The brothers finished high school with marks good enough to earn bursaries from South African Breweries and study accounting at the University of Pretoria. While studying, they worked in sales at SAB part-time.
Benjamin told CNBC Africa that a visit to the Software Connection store in Pretoria played a key role in their journey towards becoming successful businessmen.
Software Connection was owned by the Connection Group, a subsidiary of JD Group, which would later acquire Incredible Connection.
The owner quickly took a liking to them after establishing their thorough knowledge of computers, and they were hired to work part-time as salesmen.
This not only helped them further develop their passion for technology but also taught them the importance of good customer service.
Benjamin believed working while studying was a key part of their later success.
“I cannot stress enough how important it was to work while we were studying — it laid the foundation for so much that was to happen later by giving us experience and exposing us to the world of business while we were still students,” he said.
After a year and a half at Software Connection, the brothers pitched their idea for a computer reseller targeting government departments and state-owned entities to the Connection Group.
“Procurement policies were changing, and it could not have been a more opportune time for two young black men to stake our claim in what was about to become a booming industry,” said Benjamin.
Being reliable employees who they knew well, the company was willing to loan them R4 million to finance the startup.
The vision of the company was that it would be more than just a small IT shop.
“We wanted it to have longevity and to provide employment for people. We wanted to leave a legacy,” Benjamin said.
“We were almost arrogantly confident in our abilities and, at 23, far too young to be afraid of risk,” Benjamin said.
Finding offices and building a client base
The biggest early challenge in setting up their company was leasing office space when no one would believe that the brothers had the money to pay for rent.
They eventually secured a small 165m2 property in Brooklyn, Pretoria, and began trading as Business Connection in September 1996.
The company’s first clients were South African National Parks and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).
Their time at Software Connection helped them build up an extensive network of additional customers.
The Connection Group also provided accounting services, eliminating the need for a financial director.
In its first year, Business Connection made R100,000 in revenue.
The company then moved beyond reselling and into software integration, starting with becoming a Microsoft Certified Solution Provider.
Towards the end of 1997, the company secured its most lucrative deal yet — a three-year R100 million contract to provide Telkom’s entire user base with Microsoft licences.
“That deal literally changed the business overnight. Suddenly, we were in another league. We had to employ additional experienced staff, which we did quickly.”
Over the next few years, the company would grow substantially and achieve several remarkable milestones, including:
- 1999 — Dutch-based multinational firm Getronix acquires a 50% stake in Business Connection, allowing the company to pay off its Connection Group loan and grow to 50 employees.
- 2001 — Business Connection merges with Seattle Solutions to create Business Connexion, a Microsoft product integrator for businesses.
- 2003 — Revenue reaches R300 million, with 350 employees across offices in Rivonia, Pretoria, Cape Town, and Port Elizabeth. Becomes first company to earn triple Microsoft Gold Partner status for enterprise systems, e-commerce, and support.
- 2004 — Business Connexion merges with Comparex Africa in a R220-million deal, with Benjamin appointed deputy CEO and Isaac head of public sector client engagement. Combined, the entities delivered annual revenues in excess of R3 billion. Business Connexion was listed in May.
- 2004 to 2009 — Business Connexion acquires four companies and increases employees to 4,600 people across South Africa, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Zambia.
- 2005 to 2006 — Telkom offers to buy Business Connection for R2.4 billion.
- 2007 — Benjamin succeeds Peter Watt as Business Connexion CEO and Telkom’s proposed acquisition is blocked by competition regulators due to its monopoly in the telecoms market at the time.
- 2014 — A 41-year-old Benjamin passes away after a heart attack during a meeting with Telkom in Rosebank, and Isaac takes over as CEO.
- 2015 — Telkom buys Business Connexion for R2.7 billion in cash
- 2017 — Business Connexion rebrands as BCX
After Isaac’s resignation as BCX CEO in 2017, he started a diversified investment company called Randvest Group.
He currently serves on the boards of Pepkor and Mustek and previously held a position on the board of Exxaro Resources.
Benjamin’s advice to young entrepreneurs was to focus on one thing and do it well in a business’s initial growth years.
“Business Connexion lived and breathed Microsoft technology. It was this dedicated focus on one area of specialisation that really paved the way for our early successes,” he said.
However, he also cautioned against stagnating with limited products or services due to being a dominant player, which he argued never lasted.
BCX’s ICT services contributed R12.9 billion to the Telkom Group’s total of R43 billion revenue during the 2023/2024 financial year.
While that was down slightly from the year before, the company has bounced back with a 2.4% year-on-year increase in revenue in the first quarter of its 2024/25 financial year.
