Denis Ackulay – Africa’s Global Connection

He is a proud father and husband and currently resides in Hartbeespoort. Although Denis finds it hard to recall details of his childhood, he can remember that he had a somewhat mischievous streak and always had an aversion to discipline. Conspiracy theories and the world of politics fascinated him. As a child he could identify any African country on the map, its capital and president. He could also recite some of these countries local greetings. As an adult he became less interested in that kind of knowledge and more focused on his personal goals and visions as an entrepreneur. As a teenager he showed interest in events planning by organising a couple of cultural events for the school and the local parish. After school he decided to go into Information Technology specialising in Web Development, programming and computer science later on.

“Destiny is something we can’t change. In my second year of Computer Science at Rand Afrikaans University, I was already a computer science tutor to first year students. I later got a job as computer lab assistant and started working for Gauteng Online. I taught computer literacy to teachers. This opened my eyes to the life and challenges of the education system in the townships.  It forced me to come up with solutions and it fired my passion for teaching.”

Denis sees himself as a liberal and flexible person and feels that human beings should be kind, approachable and resourceful. “I support open mindedness and enabling opportunities. I believe in freedom within reason and unity in diversity. When I moved to Hartbeespoort, I fell in love with this town and I spent a full year looking for an opportunity to start a home-based business as the two businesses I had required a extensive travel. That was when I hit on the idea of a Spanish-style restaurant and Siesta Tapas resulted.” It’s easy to see why this cosmopolitan traveller and innovator was successful in this enterprise. It’s a wonderful experience to dine there, and with the city about to celebrate its centenary, the restaurant’s ongoing success is sure.

Myarts International was Denis’ very first business. He gave birth to the idea while living in Bloemfontein where he came to realise that in terms of career development, there was a major gap between township, rural and urban schools. He took the plunge and registered his business and then hosted one of the biggest career exhibitions Bloemfontein had ever seen, making use of his well-connected friends in Gauteng. Over thirty companies supported the exhibition which lasted 4 days. He gradually grew his business by hosting constant events. He added PR services to his retinue and put on some of the largest trade-shows ever held in the Freestate and North West Province.

“With Myarts involved in so much global travel I began investigating international trade as an added business option. I joined forces with my family and entered the global events market, and Afrivotiex was formed – an international import and export company. This company made it possible for Myarts International to include different fields of trade. We included events in agriculture, energy, machinery and manufacturing – in addition to the arts.”

“What I appreciate about Afrivotiex is that it is an investment, promotion and facilitation agency. It operates in Africa with its focus on developing investment opportunities, international trade and attracting foreign investments in Africa. Afrivotiex uses a shared-value business model. The model  equips investors with tools and innovations that can be used by both the public and private sector. It helps them consider African countries for business, development and expansion.”

“I currently work across 3 different industries – events management, international trade and hospitality. I have interlinked them in my international events hosting business. This synergy enables the company to make sure that my clients are comfortably accommodated and that they eat great food while talking business and making new connections.”

“Event planning is very challenging and fun at the same time. These international market-access events allow me to meet and work with people from various countries. We have been engaging with people from Poland, Denmark, Switzerland, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Indonesia, Singapore, Serbia, Rwanda, Botswana, Kenya and Ethiopia to name just a few.”

“I am very comfortable in a space of concept creation, innovation and media – but my main responsibility is to create world-class events that will be profitable to the company. I really enjoy effecting global partnerships and creating new opportunities, not just for our companies but also for people who are attending our events or participating in our programs. It is also very important to know that for every concept I create, I must develop a full Revenue and Income Generation Plan to show how we will be able to Mobilise, Manage, Market and Monetize the project.”

Sound advice from a global connector

“First, I must say that success in business is not always a straight path. There are setbacks, zigzags and various challenges that you need to overcome. Where you succeed you praise God and build on your success. Where you fail, you pick up the pieces, dust yourself off, learn from the mistake and move on. Never dwell on failure.”

“Customer service is of utmost importance. When a client is happy, you will be happy.  Believing in yourself is not enough, you need your customer to believe in you and then come back because you gave them excellent service. Customers appreciate good communication, integrity and gratitude. “ 

“Secondly, it is important to always have a positive attitude – a winning attitude. Stay positive about your journey regardless of the challenges. Where there is life, there is hope and where there is hope, there is life.”

“Young South-Africans must not rely on hand-outs from the government. They should work hard and not work alone. It’s easier when you work with someone who shares common goals with you. They should seek to work with people of different background, gender and races.”

The biggest challenges in business are the internal ones! Once you succeed in getting your own team to understand and execute your vision well, everything else will fall into place.”

Denis found that he was influenced by someone or by someone’s story in each stage of his life or even by his own life’s events. He believes that People are the DNA of his success. It inspires him to inspire others and make positive contributions to them. Living in different communities and travelling all over the world helped him discover other perspectives – it helped him look at business and people from a multi-dimensional angle.

This man is proudly South African and South Africa in return is proud of having him to introduce them to an international platform …… which might have remained a distant dream – but for Afrivoteik!