Big win as Yola goes global

Johannesburg - South African technology entrepreneur Vinny Lingham has added another feather to his cap, after his company Yola signed a distribution deal with global PC giant Hewlett-Packard (HP).

A similar deal is on the cards for early 2011 with another tech heavyweight, in the form of AOL.
 
Speaking to Fin24, Lingham described the HP transaction as "probably one of the biggest technology deals any SA start-up has ever pulled off".
 
HP has more than a billion customers in more than 170 countries on six continents, and ships more than 48 million PCs each year.
 
Founded in 2007, Yola is a website-building and hosting service that helps small businesses obtain a web presence and develop their offering.

The Silicon effect

Effectively, a small business owner has the ability to develop a website using existing tools and with minimal technology know-how. In a nutshell, computers that go out from HP will now go out with Yola pre-installed on the desktop.
 
While the basic Yola product is free, a number of paid services linked to the offering generates revenue for the company. Yola has more than 5 million users across the globe.
 
With Lingham now based in Silicon Valley in the US, but having been backed by local investment firm Reinet to the tune of $25m, Fin24 asked whether Yola could still be considered a genuine South African company.
 
"In terms of origins, absolutely, but we now see ourselves as a global company," said Lingham.
 
Does it make a meaningful difference to be based in Silicon Valley, when there are technology hubs springing up in places like India, China and even Africa?
 
"If you're not out in Silicon Valley, it's hard but not impossible to build a global business in the Internet space," said Lingham.

He added: "It's no coincidence that Facebook, eBay, Google, Paypal and Yahoo are all multi billion dollar internet companies which operate within a 50-mile radius."
 
 - Fin24