Tsebo Solutions group IT manager Vinesh Gramny shares his journey into IT leadership and why he believes the future of IT belongs to the relentless.
Most people in IT are chasing the next great innovation. The next skill. The next cloud certification. The next title.
But what if I told you that the real breakthrough, the one that shapes careers, isn’t in code or certificates? It’s in character. In the things that don't show up on your CV but define your trajectory.
I didn’t start with a degree 25 years ago, I started with a dishcloth in one hand and an unwavering drive to succeed in the other.
Today, I help lead group IT across 25 African countries. Not because I was the most qualified, but because I was the most committed to learning, adapting and delivering.
This isn’t just my story. It’s a challenge to the IT industry to rethink what leadership and innovation really mean and from whom they should come.
Talent doesn’t always arrive in a suit
I began in hospitality, on the ground, in kitchens. No fancy certifications. No technical training. But I had something arguably more valuable: exposure to problems.
I saw inefficiencies. I heard user frustrations and I observed how badly organisations needed systems that made life easier, not harder. Naturally, when I transitioned into IT support in 2003, I didn’t bring textbook answers. I brought context. And context became capability.
By the end of that year, I was named Support Person of the Year for Fedics Cape.
That moment taught me something I now tell every junior professional I mentor: You don’t need a head start. You just need a strong start – and the consistency to keep showing up, long after motivation fades.
The smartest innovation is building before the trend
We rolled out wireless networking in 2006, before WiFi was widespread. We hosted our ERP and mail in private clouds back in 2005, before “cloud” had branding. We implemented eProcurement in catering in 2000, solving procurement pain points no one else wanted to touch.
This wasn’t innovation for prestige. It was innovation out of necessity. That is something African IT leaders understand intuitively. We don’t chase transformation because it’s trendy. We do it because it's how we survive, scale and succeed.
As I grew into senior roles, I realised the biggest skill wasn’t coding or architecture, it was understanding people.
Tech doesn’t fail because the system breaks. It fails because no one adopts it. That’s why every migration, integration, or new platform I’ve led, whether it was VOIP, Office 365, or cybersecurity, is first grounded in human adoption.
Standardising platforms across 25 countries wasn’t just a technical feat, it was a diplomatic one. It taught me that culture is the first system you need to integrate.
No degree, no limits
For 20 years, I built solutions, teams and strategies without a formal degree. I earned trust not because of what I studied, but because of what I delivered.
Later, I pursued my BCom in information and technology management and graduated with distinction. It wasn’t a validation. It was a continuation, the next step in a lifetime of learning.
To everyone in the industry climbing without the "right" credentials: You’re not behind. You’re just taking the longer, deeper, more resilient route.
The future of IT isn’t just cloud-based – it’s character-based
We love talking about future-ready technologies. But what about future-ready mindsets? In a world of automation and AI, the people who will thrive are those who:
- Learn without being told to.
- Lead without a title.
- Build when it’s unpopular.
- Start when conditions aren’t perfect.
And more than anything, the ones who see technology not as an end – but as a means to elevate people, businesses and society.
Africa is at a digital tipping point. We’re leapfrogging, disrupting and creating in ways that the rest of the world is only beginning to understand. That said, potential is not enough. We owe the next generation more than connectivity, we owe them belief.
Belief that leadership can come from the warehouse floor. Belief that innovation can start without funding. Belief that a young person with drive but no degree can lead tomorrow’s digital economy.
How do I know that? I’ve lived it.
The industry doesn’t need more stars, it needs more builders. Titles don’t inspire teams. Traction does. To the young professional wondering if they belong in this industry, let me be clear: You do. Especially if you’re willing to build, fix, listen and learn.
We are the infrastructure behind Africa’s economic rise. Let’s make sure it’s built not just on smart tech, but smart, relentless people who see what’s possible…and get to work making it real.
