The man who invented free mobile service, Please Call Me, is set to become Africa's newest Billionaire after winning an ownership case of the concept against South Africa's telecommunication giant Vodacom.
Nkosana Makate, a director of finance control at the South Africa Local Government Association, could walk away with about Sh72 Billion if a previous agreement with Vodacom stands.
Makate was a trainee accountant at Vodacom in the year 2000 when he presented the idea to the then Product Development Manager, Phillip Geissler.
It is reported that Geissler was ecstatic about the idea and the two agreed that Makate would receive 15 per cent share of revenue generated by Vodacom from his product if the innovation was technically and financially viable.
According the judgement, the agreement did not take place even after Makate tried negotiating with the company over a period of four years before opting to sue his former employer.
During the trial, Vodacom insited that a former CEO was the inventor of the free service that uses a text message to request the recipient to call back.
Media reports in South Africa indicate that Vodacom made about Sh470 Billion out of the product in the last 15 years. This means that if the agreement is followed, Makate could smile all the way to the bank with about Sh72 Billion to his name.
"Its just a relief for me you know, eight years in trial. I'm just happy we are now at the end of this journey," Makate said in a TV interview.
“To tell you the truth, it hasn’t sunk in that I have won this long legal battle,” he said in another interview.
He further disclosed that the 'Please Call Me' idea came up when his girlfriend Rebecca Makate - now his wife - was at the University and often beeped him since she did not have airtime.
