Nkosana Makate reached a settlement with Vodacom over the Please Call Me feature.
Image: Timothy Bernard
As news about the “Please Call Me” secretive settlement was streaming, many wondered about the settlement amount.
As someone who covered the “Please Call Me” matter, I reflected on this moment and its meaning. I think it will take time before we fully realise its true meaning.
As many have done over the past few days, it’s easy to minimise the issue to be just about money, hence the speculations about the amount of the settlement.
I’d like to argue that there was more to the “Please Call Me” matter than just money.
This is not to say that remuneration was not a factor. In my view, money was just a by-product of key factors in the matter.
I can’t talk about the “Please Call Me” matter without reflecting on the man, Nkosana Kenneth Makate.
I cannot think of a moment of engagement with him that was without a deep sense of conviction and unwavering belief in justice.
Makate believed strongly that an injustice had been committed and it had to be corrected, whatever it took.
Many of us forget that the “Please Call Me” matter started in his early twenties.
The young man was an accountancy intern at Vodacom who had a deep understanding of township conditions since he grew up in Katlehong.
When he experienced the challenges of connecting with his girlfriend (now his wife), he thought of a solution that would enable communication without paying a fee.
This was a case for many South Africans.
His challenge gave birth to the “Please Call Me” idea, which almost became a career-defining and lifelong battle.
Unfortunately, a corporate leader at the time felt that the tag of an inventor of the “Please Call Me” idea was more appropriate for him instead of Makate.
The question of who was the inventor of the “Please Call Me” idea became one of the greatest technology and intellectual property court battles in South Africa.
This battle of giving credit where it’s due was not new. Many of those who are from previously disadvantaged communities have been victims of the same issue.
Instead of being acknowledged for their inventions, they are deliberately forgotten by technology history books. Makate understood this very well, and he wanted to change the course of history not only for himself but for generations to come.
Makate fought hard for young innovators. As crazy as it may sound, he has shown that it is possible for a township boy to be registered in technology history books as an inventor of a key technology.
He not only fights for young innovators from township communities, but he has also shown us that technology ideas matter.
Many pundits, armchair experts and those who thought they knew everything have been proven wrong.
Many argued that technology ideas mean nothing; however, Makate has shown us that technology ideas do matter.
He consulted with those in the know in Silicon Valley legal minds and institutions, where ideas truly matter. In Silicon Valley, it is understood that great innovations are born twice.
Firstly, as ideas and designs, and secondly, as products that are impacting the world.
He forced the South African legal system to think about valuing technology ideas, and he has succeeded in doing so.
The battle of acknowledging ideas from the township is not over. During my online interaction with Makate at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, he indicated to me that he would spend some of his “Please Call Me” earnings towards funding young people from previously disadvantaged communities.
I do hope that this moment will inspire many to support the idea of funding the unfunded, those inventors who are never acknowledged. His court cases will no doubt serve as a lesson in the legal fraternity by setting a precedent.
His book, when he finally writes one, will serve as an important piece of technology history that may inspire inventors from township communities to fight for their ideas and, more importantly, implement them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Wesley Diphoko is a Technologist Analyst and Editor-In-Chief of FastCompany (SA) magazine.
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