Dear Stakeholder,

It is with an overwhelming sense of déjà vu that I open a blank page and try to describe the unprecedented year that was, or fathom what we may face in the months, let alone years, to come. I recall talking about the black swan events of 2020, the pandemic that brought the entire world to a standstill, the hardships, the devastation….
And I couldn’t even imagine that things could possibly get any worse. But alas, I was wrong.

2021 turned out to be a year even more turbulent that we anticipated. Not only were we hit with a second and third COVID waves, their severe impact on various industries and unprecedented job losses, but endured serious social unrest and looting, data breaches, corruption investigations and procurement scandals, implicating all kinds of organisations. All of these shenanigans destructed hundreds of businesses and cast another shadow on South Africa’s economic prospects. The net effect of this extraordinary uncertainty and volatility is that we are simply rendered incapable of predicting or even

imagining what the future might hold. In such precarious times, when nothing other than the near term uncertainty is certain, it is only our purpose, determination and resolve that can guide us through the murky waters of the storm. It has been AYO’s vision since inception to transform the country’s economy and spearhead the 4th Industrial Revolution on the African continent. And in the words of Jeff Bezos “We are stubborn on vision. We are flexible on details.”

I am afraid I am starting to sound like a broken record talking about the challenges AYO endured year after year, but 2021 really put us to the test. We faced complex confrontations with banking partners, obstructed investment negotiations and other difficulties that forced us to reassess our approach and make some difficult decisions. But looking back, I am proud of the progress we have made towards achieving our goal of transforming Africa’s economy through technology. Our Group ended the year with a strong balance sheet, steadfast governance structure and well-defined strategy for the way forward.

As a technology investment group, our commitment is to make responsible, synergistic acquisitions with convincing growth
prospects that can not only benefit from the Group’s support, but make a meaningful contribution to AYO’s value creation and impact. Thus, we measure our progress not by the rate of acquisitions we conclude in a year, but by the degree of synergies we can unlock together to create better value for our stakeholders. Our Group was already well entrenched in the remote working technology niche and with the acquisition of Kathea Communications in the financial year, we are now expanding into the agile office environment. This enables us to provide a more holistic range of offerings to our customers and bolster our role in Africa’s economic value chain.

Understanding our role in this societal value creation process, we acknowledge our duty to enable, transform and empower the people and businesses that make up our economy. But we believe that what is at stake now is not growth this year or the next. Our collective priority right now should be to lay the foundations for inclusive and sustainable development over the next decade and beyond. And we concede that we cannot meaningfully contribute to this common goal unless our own house is in order. Thus, we spent a lot of time and energy in the past year stabilising our business and enabling it to weather the unknown future storms, while surviving the current one.

I believe our organisation is stronger now than it was ever before. We are motivated, confident and ready. We have created an effective, alert, knowledgeable and ethical governance structure. We have supported our employees to the best of our abilities through the crises and in return, we sense their commitment and loyalty. We have created opportunities for our people to learn and grow and devised ambitious succession plans for them to continue on their personal trajectories. We are well prepared for the unknown adversities that we will undoubtedly face on our journey. And we are also excited, as we are absolutely positive that the future is certainly bright.

On the subject of our people, I cannot miss the opportunity to express my gratitude and appreciation for AYO’s Group CEO, Howard
Plaatjes. As the Roman philosopher, Seneca, put it so eloquently over 2 000 years ago, “you learn to know a pilot in a storm”. 2021 was not a regular storm. It was a tempest. But Howard and his executive team have navigated it with tenacity, resilience and grit. They have implemented critical initiatives that not only led the Group to survive the challenges, but also enabled the positive momentum to move forward, explore new growth opportunities and thrive.

I further want to thank my fellow Board members. They have worked tirelessly, demonstrated abundant creativity, courage and stamina, taken bold decisions and ultimately developed the strategy that will see AYO grow into a powerful African business with global reach. Our subsidiaries and partners deserve a special recognition, too. The ultimate gratitude, however, I reserve for our dedicated, diligent and formidable team. I am humbled by your remarkable achievements.

There is no sunset, not followed by dawn. There is no storm that lasts forever. Better days are coming and we will shine bright again.