Ronnie Apteker
Born (1967-08-19) August 19, 1967 (age 56)
Cape Town, South Africa
NationalitySouth African
CitizenshipSouth African
Educationcomputer science, University of the Witwatersrand
Alma materUniversity of the Witwatersrand
Notable workMaterial

Ronnie Apteker (born (1967-08-19)19 August 1967)[1] is a South African internet pioneer, writer and film producer.[2]

Early life

Ronnie Apteker was born in Cape Town, South Africa, and attended high school and University of the Witwatersrand,[3] from where he graduated cum laude with an M.Sc. in computer science.

Business career

In 1993, Apteker co-founded Internet Solutions, South Africa's first Internet service Provider (ISP) in 1993. It became a successful post-apartheid businesses,[4] winning numerous technology awards.[5][6] Apteker has written a number of papers, published both locally and internationally. In February 1994, he presented a paper in San Jose, California, on Distributed Multimedia to the International Society for Optical Engineering. This paper was subsequently published in the SPIE/IEEE Proceedings.[7]

In 2002, Apteker sponsored and produced the Laugh Out Loud fundraiser, South Africa's largest stand-up comedy TV show. It raised half a million Rand for the Reach for a Dream foundation.

Apteker is a partner in the video games company Room 8 Studio, which developed games such as Piano City and Cyto's Puzzle Adventure.

Apteker became an advisor at 10Guards in Kyiv, in December 2018.

Apteker has some IT investments and is currently involved with PYGIO.[8]

As a recognized business leader[9] and speaker he has appeared at the Discovery Leadership alongside others such as Sir Richard Branson, Tony Blair and Al Gore[10]

Books

Film production

Since 2000, Apteker has been one of the leading independent film producers in South Africa. His films include Material,[11] Tell Me Sweet Something[12] and Cold Harbour.[13] Etc. etc.[14] Despite critical and popular acclaim within South Africa, some of the films have failed to find the wider international acclaim that many feel they deserve.[weasel words][15][16] Apteker's involvement in the South African comedy club scene has led to several comedians appearing in his films, most notably Riaad Moosa, Joey Rasdien and Vincent Ebrahim from the BBC's The Kumars at No. 42 who appeared in the film Material.

References

  1. ^ Mookherji, Kalyani (2017). Digital Revolutionaries: Who Have Change the World. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 9788184305234. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  2. ^ "Ronnie Apteker". IMDb. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Ronen Apteker | Who's Who SA". whoswho.co.za. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  4. ^ Policy Choices for a Connected World US Department of State presentation, 13 November 2014
  5. ^ "Internet Solutions - Blog". Internet Solutions. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  6. ^ "Awards Category Archives - Connect". Connect. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  7. ^ SPIE Proceedings 1994.
  8. ^ PYGIO website
  9. ^ "Ten African Internet Millionaires to Watch", Forbes magazine, 6 August 2013
  10. ^ Leadership Summit speakers
  11. ^ Charalambous, Styli (23 February 2012). "The Entrepreneur Chronicles: Q&A with Ronnie Apteker". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  12. ^ Blaine, Sue. Review: Tell me Sweet Something Business Day, 14 September 2015
  13. ^ Muller, Stuart. "Cold Harbour Gets Moody About Corruption" twitchfilm.com, 22 July 2014
  14. ^ van Schalwyk, Karen "SA film industry going ‘up and up’" Mail & Guardian, 8 March 2013
  15. ^ The Strand arts programme Material: popular in South Africa but struggling for wider release, BBC World Service, 6 December 2012.
  16. ^ "Can SA's Film Industry", Financial Mail, 4 July 2012
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