Ronnie Apteker: Accidental entrepreneur who launched South Africa’s first Internet service provider

Ronnie Apteker, a South African Internet entrepreneur, made his mark in his late twenties. He co-founded Internet Solutions, the country’s first Internet service provider (ISP), which thrived in the post-apartheid era.

Born in Cape Town, Apteker held both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in computer science from the University of the Witwatersrand. Prescient about the coming tech boom, he entered the industry when most Africans were unfamiliar with computers.

Apteker, author of “Ronnie Apteker’s Funny Business: The Secrets of an Accidental Entrepreneur,” has since ventured into movie production, financing over 20 films.

Internet Solutions’ growth and acquisition

In 1997, Johannesburg-based IT services company Dimension Data acquired Internet Solutions. Having previously purchased a 25 percent stake, they bought the remaining 75 percent, netting Apteker a reported $55 million and propelling him to national and even global prominence.

Explaining the sale, Apteker cited a desire to enhance Internet Solutions’ market reach by joining forces with Dimension Data. Building on this foundation, Internet Solutions provided a milestone 1 Gbps uncapped Internet connection at rAge 2013, South Africa’s biggest LAN gaming event.

Dimension Data further expanded Internet Solutions through the acquisition of ContinuitySA, a business continuity management provider. ContinuitySA retained its brand and operational autonomy while remaining vendor-neutral.

Dimension Data’s acquisition and Apteker’s movie pursuits

Fueled by strategic acquisitions like Internet Solutions, Dimension Data itself was acquired by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) in July 2010 for £2.1 billion ($3.2 billion).

While Internet Solutions has grown into a major public and private sector ISP, operating beyond South Africa with offices in Mozambique, Uganda, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria, as well as sales offices in the UK, Singapore, and the US, Apteker has pursued his dream of producing blockbuster movies. However, a 2012 Forbes report indicated he had lost nearly $7 million in this venture over 11 years.

A lifelong movie buff who started writing scripts in 1996, Apteker has produced over 20 films. His latest, “57” (released in 2022), explores South Africa’s violent crime rate, with the title referencing the number of daily murders – a statistic that evokes a warzone rather than a civilian crime issue.