PBICT Unveils Member-Owned Digital Platform to Drive Networking, Trade and Transformation

PBICT Unveils Member-Owned Digital Platform to Drive Networking, Trade and Transformation

By Luvo Grey Secretary General of PBICT

The Progressive Blacks in Information and Communication Technology (PBICT) has taken an important step towards building a stronger, more connected and financially sustainable organisation through the soft launch of its new membership portal.

The virtual session brought together 56 members to experience the platform, interrogate its functionality and contribute towards shaping its future. More than merely a membership database, the portal is envisioned as PBICT’s digital home: a professional networking platform, marketplace and opportunity hub owned and shaped by its members.

The launch comes at a significant moment as PBICT prepares to celebrate its tenth anniversary in 2027. For almost a decade, the organisation has operated without charging membership fees, while continuing to advocate for transformation, represent Black ICT professionals and businesses, and engage government, regulators and industry stakeholders.

However, a revolution cannot survive on goodwill alone. It must be organised, resourced and financed.

Building an institution that members can own

Opening the session, PBICT Secretary General Luvo Grey explained that the portal was developed to give members something tangible that they could own, use and continuously improve.

“This is not the final product. It is a platform that our members must test, challenge and help us build. We want it to become the digital home of Black professionals, entrepreneurs, students and businesses across the ICT sector,” Grey said.

Modelled partly on professional networking platforms such as LinkedIn, the portal will allow members to create professional profiles, showcase their qualifications, skills, work experience and businesses, and connect with other members throughout the country.

The platform is also intended to enable members to establish partnerships, trade with one another, participate in sector-specific groups and access employment, procurement, investment, training and development opportunities.

In time, it should become a living marketplace for the Black ICT community—connecting talent with employers, businesses with customers, innovators with investors and members with opportunities.

From registration to meaningful participation

During the demonstration, Kwanele guided members through the registration and email-verification process, profile creation and completion of professional information.

Members can add their educational background, employment history, skills, profile photographs and links to professional platforms such as LinkedIn and GitHub. The system also provides access to messaging, member connections, groups, jobs, events, newsletters, training programmes, notifications, payment records and searchable member profiles.

Certain opportunities and activities will be linked to a member’s subscription category and good-standing status. This will allow PBICT to build a verified membership base and distribute appropriate benefits more effectively.

PBICT President Welcome Magagula informed members that the platform would be migrated to a procured virtual private server. The planned infrastructure is intended to provide the capacity required to scale the portal as membership and activity increase.

Financing the work of transformation

The membership model includes categories designed to accommodate students, professionals, supporters and ICT businesses at different stages of development.

Individual categories include student, good-standing, professional and patriotic membership. The SMME categories include green, gold and black membership tiers, while honorary membership and funding-in-kind options will allow other forms of contribution to the organisation.

Annual membership fees range from R20 to R5,000, depending on the category selected. The proposed SMME tiers are priced at R600, R1,400 and R2,400 annually.

The revenue generated through membership will support PBICT’s advocacy, administration, policy research, technology, travel and representation work. It will strengthen the organisation’s ability to participate meaningfully in regulatory and policy processes while remaining accountable to the members whose interests it represents.

Members and partners will also be able to contribute in kind by providing professional expertise, infrastructure, services, training or other resources that advance the organisation’s programme of action.

This is essential to protecting the organisation’s independence and ensuring that PBICT can pursue transformation with the necessary institutional capacity.

Members help shape the platform

The soft launch was deliberately structured as a consultative process rather than the unveiling of a finished product.

Members raised constructive questions about technical support, registration challenges, monthly payment options, identity-document requirements and the future role of existing WhatsApp groups.

Simon proposed that PBICT consider monthly membership subscriptions to accommodate members who may not be able to pay annual fees upfront. He also raised concerns about the registration flow and the use of passport numbers within the identity-verification process.

SSS Systems asked whether PBICT’s WhatsApp groups would be discontinued and called for stronger representation of software developers and other ICT subsectors. The intervention highlighted the importance of expanding advocacy beyond connectivity and internet service provider matters.

Mongezi and Talita asked how the platform would ensure that opportunities reached members in provinces, rural communities and areas outside the country’s established economic centres. Ndumiso emphasised the importance of giving equal attention to questions submitted through the online chat. These contributions will inform the next phase of development.

WhatsApp remains, but the portal becomes the opportunity hub

PBICT confirmed that its WhatsApp groups would remain active as instruments for mass mobilisation, organisational communication and policy discussion.

The membership portal will, however, increasingly become the primary platform through which verified members access targeted opportunities and benefits. This distinction is necessary to ensure that membership carries practical value and that opportunities are distributed transparently to eligible members.

PBICT will also establish focus groups for different ICT subsectors, including developers, cybersecurity specialists, cloud practitioners, infrastructure providers, digital entrepreneurs and other professional communities.

An opportunity-tracking system is also being considered. This system would monitor public- and private-sector opportunities, classify them according to ICT subsector and geographical location, and notify members whose profiles match the relevant requirements.

This would help ensure that a developer in the Eastern Cape, a student in Limpopo or an emerging business in a rural district has a fair opportunity to access information that may otherwise remain concentrated within established urban networks.

Expanding opportunities across the ICT value chain

PBICT continues to engage institutions such as ICASA, SITA, Microsoft, Oracle, AWS and other public- and private-sector stakeholders to advance transformation and unlock opportunities for Black professionals and businesses.

The organisation recognises that the ICT sector is broader than telecommunications and connectivity. Its future programme must therefore represent the entire digital value chain, including software development, cloud computing, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, electronics manufacturing, digital platforms, data centres, skills development and emerging technologies.

The membership portal will help PBICT understand the capabilities within its own community and advocate from a stronger evidence base. When the organisation knows where its members are located, what skills they possess and which businesses they operate, it can pursue opportunities and interventions with greater precision.

A platform built by the movement

The soft launch marks the beginning of a new chapter, rather than the completion of the platform.

PBICT will evaluate the introduction of monthly payment options, review the ID and passport requirements, establish ICT subsector focus groups and develop mechanisms for tracking and distributing opportunities across provinces and industries.

Members are encouraged to register, complete their profiles, test the available functions and submit recommendations.

The portal must ultimately reflect the collective intelligence, economic ambition and transformative purpose of the PBICT community. Its success will not be measured only by the number of registered users, but by the partnerships created, businesses supported, jobs accessed and opportunities placed in the hands of Black ICT professionals and entrepreneurs.

As PBICT approaches its first decade, the organisation is building the infrastructure required for its next phase of growth.

The revolution must be connected. It must be organised. It must trade, and it must be financed.