Nkosana Makate Biography: Net Worth, Age, Wikipedia, Wife, Children, Career

Nkosana Kenneth Makate is a South African former Vodacom employee and inventor best known for creating the “Please Call Me” message service — a simple callback message that allowed prepaid users without airtime to ask someone to call them back.

Makate’s invention became a hugely successful feature that generated significant revenue for the telecom operator and ultimately led to a long-running legal battle over recognition and compensation.

Profile

• Full Name: Nkosana Kenneth Makate
• Born: 1976 (approx.)
• Age: 49 years old (as of 2025)
• Birthplace: Gauteng Province, South Africa
• Nationality: South African
• Occupation: Businessman, Inventor, Former Vodacom Employee
• Religion: Christianity (not officially confirmed but commonly reported)
• Spouse: Married (wife’s name not publicly disclosed)
• Children: Yes (number not publicly known)
• Relationship: Married
• Net Worth: Estimated between $10 million – $25 million (following settlement with Vodacom, 2025)

Early life and background

Nkosana Makate was born in the mid-1970s in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Raised in modest circumstances, Makate trained and worked in Vodacom’s finance and product development environments where he was exposed to customer pain points — especially the needs of prepaid mobile users who often lacked airtime but needed a way to communicate. These early experiences shaped the idea that would later become the “Please Call Me” service.

The idea: “Please Call Me”

In November 2000 (some sources cite early 2001), while employed at Vodacom, Makate shared the idea of a free short message that prepaid subscribers could send to request a callback. The proposal was practical and low-cost to implement but enormously valuable to users and, eventually, to Vodacom’s business. The feature allowed millions of users who couldn’t afford airtime to still reach out and request a call, creating both social value and incremental revenue for the operator.

From idea to product — and the broken promise

According to court papers and later rulings, Makate discussed the concept with a Vodacom executive who allegedly agreed to put the product on trial and to pay Makate a share if it proved successful. The feature was rolled out commercially, but Makate did not receive any payment or formal recognition at the time. This broken promise sowed the seeds for one of the most closely watched intellectual property and employment disputes in South Africa’s recent corporate history.

The long legal battle

Makate’s legal claim against Vodacom began in 2008 and moved through multiple levels of South African courts over many years. In 2014 and later, courts examined whether Makate had indeed originated the idea and whether there had been an enforceable promise that entitled him to compensation. The matter reached the Constitutional Court, where in 2016 Makate secured a landmark judgment recognizing his claim and ordering Vodacom to negotiate a fair payment. That judgment attracted national attention and fueled conversations about corporate ethics, innovation rights, and the protection of ideas from junior employees.

After the Constitutional Court — negotiations and ongoing disputes

Following the Constitutional Court decision, negotiations between Makate and Vodacom continued for years, with offers and counteroffers debated publicly. Makate at times rejected settlement figures he deemed inadequate; Vodacom defended its position and the legal complexities around compensation for inventions conceived by an employee during employment. The dispute resurfaced in public debate repeatedly as commentators weighed in on fairness, institutional power, and the value of grassroots innovation.

Landmark settlement (November 2025)

In early November 2025, after roughly 17 years of litigation and negotiation, Vodacom and Nkosana Makate reached an out-of-court settlement approved by Vodacom’s board. The company withdrew its appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeal and confirmed the matter had been settled; the settlement amount was not publicly disclosed at the time of the announcement but will be reflected in Vodacom’s financial reporting for the relevant period. The settlement brought finality to a saga that had captured national and international attention.

Why Makate’s story matters

• Worker innovation rights: It spotlighted the rights of employees who contribute ideas and the legal frameworks that should govern remuneration and recognition.
• Corporate accountability: The dispute raised questions about how large firms manage intellectual property and reward internal innovation.
• Public conversation on fairness: Makate’s perseverance made the public debate about fairness, power, and economic inclusion more visible — especially in the South African context where access and opportunity remain uneven.

Personal life and legacy

Public profiles of Makate emphasize his quiet determination and the human story behind a legal headline: an idea born from necessity, a broken promise, and an insistence on justice that lasted nearly two decades. While exact personal details (family, finances) are often kept private, his legacy now extends beyond a single product: it is about precedent, recognition of grassroots innovation, and the potential for ordinary employees to shape the products and services of major companies.

FAQs

Who invented “Please Call Me”?

Nkosana Kenneth Makate is widely recognized and legally acknowledged as the originator of the “Please Call Me” callback message concept.

When did the legal battle start and end?

The legal dispute began publicly in 2008 and culminated in a Constitutional Court judgment in 2016; an out-of-court settlement was announced in November 2025, bringing finality to the long-running case.

How much was Makate awarded?

The 2025 settlement amount was not publicly disclosed at the time of Vodacom’s announcement; details were indicated to be included in Vodacom’s upcoming financial results.

Why is the case important?

It set a public precedent about the rights of employees who generate valuable ideas, prompted debate over how corporations should reward internal innovators, and highlighted broader issues of fairness and access.

Is “Please Call Me” still in use?

Yes — as a concept and as a message feature, callback-style services remain widely known and have been implemented in various forms across multiple networks. The commercial use of such features historically generated significant revenue for operators like Vodacom.

Conclusion

Nkosana Makate’s biography is a striking example of how a simple, empathetic idea can transform into a commercially valuable product — and how recognition for that idea can become a long, difficult struggle. From his early days at Vodacom to the Constitutional Court victory and the eventual 2025 settlement, Makate’s story is about persistence, legal precedent, and the ongoing conversation around who benefits when innovation happens inside large corporations. His legacy will be measured not just by any settlement figure but by the awareness his case created about protecting and rewarding innovators at all levels.