Ayanda Mbanga signs alliance agreement with LinkedIn Talent Solutions

Ayanda Mbanga

LinkedIn became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft in December 2016 and the company’s mission is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. By September 2021, LinkedIn had more than 774m registered members from over 200 countries and territories. LinkedIn Talent Solutions helps customers make data and insight-driven talent decisions, thereby improving customers’ time to hire, cost to hire and quality of hire. The offering includes the LinkedIn Learning platform which provides more than 16,000 expert-curated learning courses.

According to CEO Ayanda Mbanga, the deal is true globalisation in action. “The narrative surrounding globalisation has been around for years and has not necessarily been real for many people. With this agreement, Ayanda Mbanga Communications will be offering value-added services to its customers. Once you’re partnering with an international organisation with offices all over the world and sharing daily operational  responsibilities, that differentiates you as a global player. The story behind this deal is no longer about being black, female and BBBEE-compliant. It has become about deliverables and our reputation of being able to deliver on our promises.”

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 Ayanda Mbanga Communications was established in October 1998 as a media buying agency specialising in recruitment advertising placements. They have received numerous awards for their work in this niche industry over the years. Moving from traditional markets such as newspapers, they made the digital move to online platforms such as LinkedIn.

The deal has been in the making since 2019 and took two years of rigorous scrutiny and operational unpacking before coming to fruition. “We were brought within LinkedIn’s line of sight because of the way we have been operating for the past 23 years. It was not luck, it was hard work and being in the right place at the right time. Our proven track record was the reason why a small South African business run by competent South African women had been able to become the first certified LinkedIn partner in the country.”

Mbanga is adamant that their corporate reputation was key to the deal. “We came to the table with hard-earned credentials based on integrity and strict principles. Naturally, we have evolved as a business over the years. We stayed on the mark through perseverance and determination. And obviously our clients in the public, private and NGO sectors have consistently supported us over the years, because we have consistently given them what we promised them. If you keep on doing the right things, good things will happen to your business.”

She is however also firm about the future trajectory of the project. “Signing the deal is one thing and the door of opportunity has been opened for us, but the real hard work starts now. More than ever before, we are going to need the support from our staff, clients and the government. Now we need to make things happen.”

Mbanga is confident that this deal is also beneficial to South African clients as they can now depend on exceptional service with a global footprint, but with local support and expertise. “We are providing ease of doing business in this market for our clients, while facilitating these transactions for LinkedIn and complimenting their existing strategy in the region.”

This agreement looks to further accelerate LinkedIn’s vision of helping create equitable economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce.