Telecom entrepreneur
and author, connecting the next 3 billion
With a track record of groundbreaking ventures from pioneering mobile tech startups to empowering communities with affordable pay-as-you-go fiber, my entrepreneurial journey has disrupted industries and created new ways for people to connect.
Bridging the digital divide through affordable fiber internet
Notable achievements
21
Companies co-founded or funded
20000
+Lives improved with fibertime™
10
Books published
Alan Knott-Craig
Who I am
I’m Alan Knott-Craig, an entrepreneur, author, and founder of fibertime™, on a mission to bridge the digital divide through pay-as-you-go fiber internet.
From Pretoria, I began studying at Nelson Mandela University before qualifying as a CA at Deloitte. My entrepreneurial journey sparked in 2003 when I founded Cellfind, a mobile location pioneer.
As former CEO of iBurst’s massive wireless broadband network and founder of World of Avatar, where I acquired Mxit, Africa’s largest social network, I’ve dedicated my career to connecting people and communities online.
In 2013, I started Project Isizwe, an NGO bringing free public WiFi to townships. By 2014, I had founded HeroTel, which became South Africa’s largest rural broadband provider, before selling it in 2022 to launch fibertime™ and its pay-as-you-go township fiber model.
With over 21 co-founded or funded companies, ten published books like “13 Rules of an Entrepreneur”, and a Top 100 Choiseul Africa leader, my work goes beyond business – facilitating a digitally inclusive future for Africa.
Founder
fibertime™
Connecting everyone to the internet through affordable, pay-as-you-go fiber
In November 2022, we launched a proof-of-concept fiber network in Kayamandi township near Stellenbosch. With free installation, no debit orders, and R5 vouchers for 24 hours of 100mbps uncapped internet, it introduced a radical new fiber-to-the-home deployment.
Why? Because townships are perfect for fiber: more people, less space. Our model lowers costs, driving profit and accessibility.
As the Kayamandi Connected network expands to connect nearly every home and shack, our open approach welcomes others to replicate our high-density, profitable township fiber model.
Our mission is simple: fast, affordable fiber for EVERY South African. We’re not in this alone. Let’s build the future together.
Connecting Africa
Connecting Africa
My RECENT POSTS
My daily blog
Pearls of Wisdom
Anonymous
Twain
Franklin
Conchis
Churchill
Abraham Lincoln
Mayer
Books
Lessons and philosophies on entrepreneurship
13 Rules for being an Entrepreneur by Alan Knott-Craig
A concise handbook on cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset, covering key principles like:
– Follow your dreams. Don’t follow your passion.
– Don’t be afraid of fear. Welcome it.
– Make a living and live it at the same time.
– How children help you become a better person.
– The art of selling
– Rules for happiness
Life Lessons - How to fail and win
A business biography that follows the life of Alan Knott-Craig as a serial entrepreneur in the telecoms and tech spaces, tracking his wins and losses, and the lessons along the way for both business and life. Known in Stellenbosch business circles as the ‘Weapon of Mass Financial Destruction’ after a major flop at Mxit, he was able to rebuild his own confidence and that of his peers by becoming a shrewd, highly innovative and successful businessman, true to his own principles and convictions.
Don't Panic!: A Book by South Africans for South Africans
An inspirational book capturing a moment in South African history when Alan’s viral email rallied the nation with a positive mindset during challenging times. A deluge of optimistic perspectives from South Africans finding the silver lining.