South Africa’s performance in several key economic areas – and a few others that haven’t enjoyed due priority – has been moderate in the past few years, when most commentators have been expecting explosive growth. Focus area flops For a long time, one of SA’s most hyped exports, our business process outsourcing (BPO) industry, has […]
Wesley Lynch
Driven by a passion for software and problem solving, Wesley Lynch founded Realmdigital in 1999. Wesley, a technology entrepreneur, has over a decade of experience in the financial, business and software development industries; gained both locally and during his time in the UK. He is deeply involved in producing innovative technology solutions for African and international businesses and regularly shares his knowledge and experience through participation in various industry events.
Motivated by a strong belief that collaboration is essential for business and industry success, Wesley co-founded MyTrueSpark, a business that aims to provide mentorship and advisory services to start-ups as well as investors. Wesley is regularly involved in giving advice to tech start-ups looking for funding, as well as to venture capitalists and angel investors looking to invest.
In 2011 Wesley was named as one of the “38 emerging South African tech entrepreneurs to watch” in the Old Mutual Entrepreneurs guide.
In his spare time Wesley enjoys travelling with his Chef wife Sam and their two kids.
Follow Wesley on Twitter: @wesleylynch
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How do we go from e-business to social commerce?
E-business is growing in all possible areas – network connections, consumer numbers, transaction volumes, revenues, and the range of digital content and services on offer. But as the industry continues to bloom, it is also diversifying. The addition of mobile and social platforms to traditional web channels is making the market more accessible than ever, […]
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Applify yourself: Why all industries should embrace the iPad
The growth of tablets continues to surpass all expectations, throwing the PC industry into disarray and turning the heads of everyone from your three year-old to educationists to corporate buyers across the board. The iPad is so popular that publishers and other content-rich industries are forced to reposition their wares for it or risk failure. […]
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Liberate mobile payments for a more inclusive economy
While mobile payments have met with astounding successes in other parts of Africa, adoption has been far more modest in South Africa. The main reason for this is our severe banking laws, which further entrench banks in the payments industry while stopping innovative mobile operators and developers from bringing cheap, easy and secure (card-free) payments […]
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Social commerce – Facebook apps that offer more than marketing
Facebook applications are a keen focus area for companies that want to extend their reach. But what many don’t realise, this early on in the development of the social phenomenon, is that it is not just about marketing or publicity. Companies that use Facebook merely to advertise their brand, or build up a contact database, […]
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Choosing the right advertising partners in a changing digital market
As the print publishing industry fades and digital platforms flourish, market consolidation is the order of the day, with creative agencies scrambling to acquire digital skills. But it is a slippery acquisition target — the software development fraternity is itself growing and mutating, with complex and differentiated skill sets evolving around social, mobile and online […]
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Location-based services showing only the tip of the iceberg
Isolated applications give no hint of massive legwork and explosive potential The emergence of location-based services (LBS) on mobile phones is a much more important development than currently seems to be the case. While novelty applications like Foursquare are the cause of some user excitement, they tend to obscure the explosive potential in this market. […]
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Neo-Luddites*, don’t get left behind
Quite often one hears the argument that this or that technology may work wonders elsewhere, “just not in my company or industry”. The problem, one hears, is that “we’re too boring for Facebook”, that “our customers aren’t mobile and print their emails” or that “we can’t afford the computing infrastructure”. Increasingly, these arguments are losing […]
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From customer channel fragmentation to integration
The functional evolution of social network platforms has allowed the most successful among them (notably Facebook and Twitter) to become channels for integrated customer engagement via the web. Social both integrates multiple previously separate channels (web, mobile, email etc) and boasts increasingly advanced integrated functionality, thanks to its success in attracting developer and user interest. […]
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Embrace online channels to ride out the recession’s aftermath
As the after-effects of the global recession continue to suppress demand, many businesses are discovering the benefits of an online strategy. A great example is British retailer Marks & Spencer. Hard hit throughout the recession, M&S reported mildly resurgent figures for the first quarter of 2011 in July 2010, mainly on the back of a […]
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E-business evolves
The e-business provider arena has grown into an enormous, complex industry with numerous specialist areas in the last 10 years. And yet providers continue to claim one-stop shop status and fail to carve out clear niches. As a result many top-flight projects stutter and fail as teams are forced to hire more help and members […]
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E-books: Publishing on the eve of a revolution
The mercurial world of the internet remains a catalyst for change. In recent history, iTunes, the seminal digital music download platform, has turned music distribution upside down. Now, with e-books poised to hit the mainstream, we’re on the eve of a revolution to rival that. People don’t appreciate how deep the impact will be on […]