New tenant secures world-class solutions 'for the love of the game'

Tswelopele Solutions, a business unit of Tswelopele Engineering (Pty) Ltd has recently taken up residence at The Innovation Hub. The exclusive distributor of SKIDATA™ Access Management Solutions in Africa, Tswelopele Solutions offers individual solutions for professional stadium management that are capable of simple and seamless integration into existing software and hardware infrastructures.

Tswelopele Engineering's senior management team ltr Mr Leon Knoll, Managing Director, Mr Bongane Madondo, CEO of the Group, Mr Daki Nkanyane, Managing Director of Tswelopele Solutions and Mr Aslam Khalil, Financial Director.

According to founder of Tswelopele Engineering, Bongane Madondo, and Tswelopele Solutions MD, Daki Nkanyane, the decision to take the journey from heavy engineering into the ICT arena was borne out of pure passion - not passion for the industry, but for the game of soccer.

"In 2005, while watching a championship match between Kaiser Chiefs and Orlando Pirates on television, we began talking about how best the ticketing and general spectator experience could be improved for the majority of soccer-lovers. By the end of the game, we had each resolved to go and research the problem and come back to each other with our findings", says Madondo.

It was through this research process that the two came across SKIDATA™ Access Management Solutions. Developed by an Austrian-based company, SKIDATA™ had already succeeded in implementing the vision of combining the highest technology with human needs. Through the use of barcode, magnetic strips and radio frequency identification (RFID) technology the SKIDATA™ system can admit 69,000 fans in an hour and a half, funnel supporters of opposing teams to separate sections, track occupancy of those sections in real time, block tickets in the event of theft or loss, and regulate turnstiles to ensure orderly exits.

SKIDATA™ holds more than 80% market share of mass access control in Europe and the system has been installed in stadiums serving as the venues for European and World Football Championships. In the case of FIFA World Cup in Germany last year, the SKIDATA™ system was the preferred choice. Handshake™, the flagship technology for sports arenas, is deployed in four of the World Cup stadiums.

Tswelopele Solutions has two key messages - sense and simplicity. "We want user friendly systems that have a clear and simple interface to the public", says Nkanyane. While 2010 is a major opportunity for the company to position its products, he says that most of all, they want the sports business - which has, until the last few years, lagged in the use of technology - to invest in lasting solutions.

With work continuing on rehabilitating the SKIDATA™ system for the unique South African market, Tswelopele have embarked on a focused awareness-raising drive and plan to grow their ICT base to eventually include wireless and cashless solutions, while penetrating the rest of the sports-loving African continent with their innovative mass access control system.

For more information on Tswelopele Solutions, contact Daki Nkanyane on
+27 83 267 2418.

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