# Pieter de Villiers

> Pieter de Villiers is the South African co-founder and CEO of Clickatell, established in Cape Town in 2000 to connect the internet to mobile phones through SMS. After roughly a decade in Silicon Valley, he returned to South Africa as the company expanded into payments and chat commerce. He founded and chairs SiMODiSA, co-founded The Collective X, and serves on Endeavor South Africa’s board, with a focus on entrepreneurship and digital skills.

- **Role:** Co-Founder & CEO at Clickatell
- **Organizations:** Clickatell, SiMODiSA Association, The Collective X, Endeavor South Africa, YPO
- **Nationality:** South African
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Optometry, University of Johannesburg, Executive leadership studies (not a verified degree award), London Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded and led Clickatell from its Cape Town origins into an international messaging, payments and chat-commerce company., Led the first African company to receive backing from Sequoia Capital., Clickatell helped authenticate WhatsApp’s first 500 million users through SMS one-time passwords.

## Career timeline

- **1997** — Began his professional career in optometry.
- **1999** — Joined Micrologix, working on internet opportunities and e-commerce strategy.
- **2000** — Co-founded Clickatell in Cape Town with Casper de Villiers, Danie du Toit and Patrick Lawson; the SMS API launched in November.
- **2001** — Clickatell received angel investment and moved from a free messaging offering to paid services.
- **2006** — Clickatell acquired California company MultiMode and obtained a Sequoia Series A term sheet.
- **2007** — Clickatell became a US corporation and closed its Series A after South African regulatory approval.
- **2013** — Launched SiMODiSA to support South African startup success.
- **2015** — Returned to South Africa after approximately a decade living in the Bay Area.
- **2018** — Clickatell worked with Absa on WhatsApp banking.
- **2019** — Clickatell enabled WhatsApp payments with MTN South Africa for prepaid recharge; selected as an Endeavor Entrepreneur at the 92nd International Selection Panel.
- **2022** — Clickatell announced a $91 million Series C led by Arrowroot Capital on February 22.
- **2025** — Joined Endeavor South Africa’s board; Clickatell celebrated its 25th anniversary.

## Achievements

- Co-founded and led Clickatell from its Cape Town origins into an international messaging, payments and chat-commerce company.
- Led the first African company to receive backing from Sequoia Capital.
- Clickatell helped authenticate WhatsApp’s first 500 million users through SMS one-time passwords.
- Founded and chairs SiMODiSA and co-founded The Collective X.
- Named among Global Telecoms Business’s top 40 under 40 executives in 2011, according to The Collective X.
- Received the San Jose Business Journal Social Economic Impact Award in 2012, according to The Collective X.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Listed in the Converge Africa 2026 speaker lineup for the May 4-6 event in Cape Town.
- **2025-12** — Featured in Endeavor Founder Stories, episode 7, published December 1, discussing Clickatell and SiMODiSA.
- **2025-10** — Discussed Clickatell’s 25th anniversary and AI-powered chat commerce in an October 31 Disrupt Africa interview.
- **2025-03** — Clickatell announced his appointment to Endeavor South Africa’s board in a March LinkedIn post; Endeavor confirmed it in its Q1 newsletter.

## Links

- Website: https://www.clickatell.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pieterdevilliers/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/pieter-de-villiers
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-11