Mike van den Bergh is no stranger to the ICT industry in Africa and South Africa. He learned his trade in the telecoms space in 1991 and his company, FirstNet, was one of the first to acquire a VANS (value added network service) licence in South Africa.

He has been a prominent figure in the telecoms arena, always very vocal on local telecoms legislation and its dramatic negative impact on the local economy. One of his major concerns remains South Africa`s uncertain regulatory environment, which continues to hinder trust, stability, growth and investment of local companies in the telecoms industry.