04 Apr Avatar marks landmark ten years

JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – FROM humble beginnings with R2 000 (US$117), South Africa’s largest 100-percent black-owned agency has grown into a multimillion-Rand business.

Avatar, founded by entrepreneurs Zibusiso Mkhwanazi and Veli Ngubane, is celebrating its ten-year anniversary.

In marking the occasion, Avatar also announced a new talent programme for ten students in the creative field.

The programme will open in the second quarter of 2023, with further details will be shared closer to the time.

“As we continue our mission to do world-class work for world-class clients through our world-class people, we’ve been hard at work in the last ten years strengthening our core: building a business culture that wins,” said Mzamo Xala, Group Chief Executive Officer.

The humble beginning of Avatar is reminiscent of the usual bootstrapping story – starting out in Mkhwanazi’s bedroom with R2 000 to its name.

M+N, the holding company which Avatar belongs to, has now grown to a R400-million business.

It counts the likes of Tecno, one of Africa’s biggest smartphone makers, among its clients.

The agency group works on brands including Caltex, Central Energy Fund, Converse, BCX, Development Bank of Southern Africa, KFC Add Hope, South African Airways, Telkom, Unilever and Wesbank among others.

More recently, Avatar was named as Isuzu South Africa’s Agency of Record.

“But 10 is only the beginning,” Xala said.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do if we are going to liberate our fellow Africans to power their own stories with ideas that move people, so clients can build greater brands, and we can be in a great place to shine our talents.”

– CAJ News

Issued By: AKANI CHAUKE