WILLY YAV – FROM M.E.D.I.A TO P.Y.G.M.A f you have been in South Africa for much of the past two decades, then you have probably heard or seen Willy Mukiny Yav from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Heard – on his radio segment the Willy Yav show. Seen – on either the SABC TV music show known as Jukebox Africa that aired in the nineties, on Summit TV presenting
began with a slight French accent when we recently met at a Sandton hotel. “I had come to the country to join my brother Alain who was studying at Wits. We were struggling financially, so much so that he had to run a salon in Hillbrow to pay for his fees and I had to abandon my studies and take up a position as a French translator at the SABC.”
and business partner, an architect who hails from Rwanda - Gatarhaiya Jean Pierre (J.P.). The Msimang family has always welcomed us and treated us as one of their own. Their daughter Mandla runs Pygma Consulting and is the M in the name while my brother Alain who is responsible for our communications business completes the acronym.”
At the young age of 20, Yav was trained within the SABC to handle various media assignments on the
It all began when Alain who was a marketer at Cadbury Schweppes came across an opportunity to assist a Cape Town based company that was looking to expand its activities to the rest of the continent. Willy indicated that they worked on a unique proposal focused on a marketing approach that created a perception of quality and it was this that won them the lucrative contract. “Soon after, we assisted FCB in establishing an agency in the DRC,” he recalled. “We realised from this experience that there were opportunities in advertising and approached Ogilvy to start an agency in the capital Kinshasa together. Alain relocated to head the new entity and with the assistance of South African creative director Kris Lukraj; a decade later they have built the largest agency in the country with significantly improved quality and approximately 100 employees.” The most significant challenges they faced in the DRC according to Willy was that of finding appropriate staff in light of the fact that they were one of the first agencies in the country with world class standards. They
“We established Pygma Communication as the largest advertising agency in the DRC...”
African Business Tonight or as the host of two popular events of that era; Miss Malaika and the Kora African music awards. “I got into media soon after arriving in the country in 1991,” Willy
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African continent that brought him into contact with key decision makers in the region. In 1996, he felt that he had learnt enough to start his own television company which he used to produce various shows for his former employer. Shortly after, he got the chance to move into the corporate environment to pursue other business opportunities with family and friends. This was the birth of the PYGMA group. “Pygma is an acronym of the names of the five founders of the group, which has diverse interests and is united by a pan African vision,” he revealed. “P is for Paul Kasseyet who is our chairman and a Congolese entrepreneur who has worked in remote parts of the continent pursuing unique opportunities in mining and property development. The Y is derived from my surname while the G refers to my best friend