Rupert Bryant’s passion for computers was triggered when he was 10 years old.
Four years later, in 2000, he left school and started his first web-hosting business. He taught himself to code and in 2003 teamed up with Matthew Tagg to found Web Africa.
In 10 years the company developed from a small web-hosting service with almost no capital to one of South Africa’s largest independent service providers with over 130 employees, generating a turnover of more than R100 million a year.
In 2013 he shifted his attention to relaunching Accommodation Direct – an online tourism business that specialises in short-term accommodation rentals. In 2015, Forbes Africa included Bryant in its list of 30 Promising Young Entrepreneurs under 30.
Although he left school at a young age, this 29-year-old is a big believer in self-education.
He simply did not fit into the formal education system, but he kept learning by constantly reading up on technology and business management. Now the chief operating officer of Web Africa, he encourages other potential entrepreneurs to do the necessary homework and find good people they can work with.
Find Rupert on Twitter: @waroop
