Onwards
& upwards.
Entrepreneur, advisor, investor, board member and long-time builder of the African Internet.
Entrepreneur, advisor, investor, board member and long-time builder of the African Internet.
Edward Lawrence is an entrepreneur, investor and board director who has spent more than two decades building and backing businesses across Africa. He started his first company at 19 and co-founded Workonline Communications in 2006, growing it into the leading IP transit and connectivity provider in sub-Saharan Africa.
His current interests span long-haul fibre networks through Yafibr, satellite ground infrastructure through Magic Space Dust, wholesale transmission through Transmission Co and equipment distribution through Hardware Co. He also advises mobile network operators through Elephas and founded Unicorn Factory Advisory Services, one of Africa’s leading capital advisory businesses.
Edward brings a founder’s perspective to the boardroom, drawing on practical experience of starting and scaling businesses in African markets. A member of the Institute of Directors in South Africa (IoDSA), he serves on several pan-African technology boards and supports skills development and efforts to tackle youth unemployment through Africa Transformation Services (ATS).
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Dark fibre, satellite, transmission, equipment and operator strategy — plus investment, capital advisory and youth employment.
Supports management in the buyout (MBO) of Afrika Tikkun Services to form Africa Transformation Services (ATS), which trains young people and places them in work opportunities in South Africa.
Co-founder of Transmission Co to provide high-capacity, wholesale DWDM transmission services in Africa.
Co-founder of Hardware Co, a distributor of telecommunications equipment, predominantly in Africa.
Co-founder of Elephas, which advises African mobile network operators (MNOs) on strategy.
Launch of Unicorn Factory Advisory Services which raises capital for Unicorn Factory subsidiaries, as well as carefully selected external companies.
Leads transaction to form the Yafibr partnership in Kenya, securing a tier 2 (national) infrastructure license.
Co-founder of Magic Space Dust, a global engineering franchise which builds, owns, and operates satellite communication infrastructure.
Founder of Unicorn Factory which grows enterprises through sustainable impact equity investments. Together, we are stronger.
Forges partnership with Afrika Tikkun to provide free high-speed Internet to thousands of children in South Africa.
Co-founder of AIK Group (rebranded to Yafibr in 2023) which designs, installs, and manages long haul terrestrial dark fibre infrastructure in Africa and Europe.
Johannesburg, London, Kenya and Singapore — and Africa's first RPKI-secured network.
Workonline Communications becomes the first African network to deploy RPKI-based BGP Origin Validation to help secure the African Internet.
Workonline Communications launches first Asian POP in Singapore.
Launches WomenTechConnect programme for the African Internet community at the African Peering and Interconnection Forum (AfPIF) in Cape Town, South Africa.
Appointed to advisory board of leading pan-African carrier neutral data centre operator.
First Workonline Tour – subsidises delegation of carefully selected Internet engineers from across Africa to hold in person workshops with leading engineers in Europe, Asia, and North America.
Awarded finalist in the IT Personality of the Year in South Africa in recognition of exceptional contribution to the South African ICT industry.
Workonline Communications launches in Kenya, marking the beginning of an expansion into many other African markets.
Workonline Communications introduces free IPv6 IP Transit service to ISPs in South Africa.
Forges a strategic partnership between Level3 Communications, the largest network in the world at the time, and Workonline Communications.
Workonline Communications launches first European Point of Presence (POP) in London.
Moves to Johannesburg and opens Workonline Communications office in Johannesburg.
A first company at 19, a first exit at 22, and the founding of Workonline Communications.
Co-founder of Leopard Luxury Car Hire in Cape Town, South Africa.
Co-founder of The Code Studio in Cape Town, South Africa.
Sale of Workonline Interactive's website hosting business. First exit.
Co-founder of Workonline Communications in Cape Town, South Africa.
Founder of Hush Hush Marketing in Cape Town, South Africa.
Starts his first company, Workonline Interactive, aged 19, in Cape Town, South Africa.
Leaves school in London, England, to muster cattle in the Australian outback.
Moves from American school in France to join French school in England.