One of the youngest directors in South Africa’s iGaming operator space, the JabulaBets co-founder built a challenger brand on one belief. Nobody gets there alone.
It started with five words on an ordinary afternoon. Caly McCall was working on a project for her previous employer when her husband, Darren McCall, looked up and asked, “Can we do this ourselves?” Her initial refusal was instant. “Absolutely not!” But the question planted a seed, and that matured into JabulaBets, the proudly South African sports betting brand the couple co-founded.
Today, JabulaBets is the brand behind Beyond the Name, its first major national campaign and the launch of The Jabula Squad, a growing community platform bringing together athletes, personalities and an expanding network of members.
For McCall, Co-Founder and Director, and one of the youngest directors in South Africa’s iGaming operator space, the campaign is the clearest picture yet of what she set out to build: a brand that belongs to its people.
“We saw an opportunity to create something different,” she says. “Not just another betting platform, but a proudly South African brand built around people, community, opportunity and a genuine sense of belonging.”
The bond that built a brand
McCall is the first to say the story is not hers alone. “The person who inspired me to take that leap was my husband, Darren McCall. None of this would be possible without him.”
Three months after that afternoon, she came back to him with a business plan. “His first question was, ‘How much?’” she recalls. “He believed in our dream enough to take out a bond on his already paid-off home to fund it. We quickly discovered that our initial investment was nowhere near enough, but giving up was never an option. What followed has been the most humbling, challenging and inspiring chapter of our life,” she says. “We have never had to fight so hard for something, but we have also never believed in something more deeply. It has taught us resilience, humility and the importance of surrounding yourself with people who share your purpose.”
Louder than the whispers
Walking away from an established career to build a brand from nothing took courage, and not everyone was convinced. “I remember the whispers of ‘They’ll never make it,’” she says. McCall built it anyway, and she is clear about who helped her drown out the noise.
“Building Jabula taught me that believing in yourself doesn’t mean never being afraid. It means finding the courage to keep going, even when you are,” she says. “We were never in this alone. Behind Jabula is a team of extraordinary people who bought into our vision, and on days when we struggled to believe in ourselves, they believed in the vision enough for all of us.”
It is why she has never measured the journey by her own success. “We work hard because we genuinely believe in the people who make up our Jabula family. If we can help create a space where they have the opportunity to grow, succeed and shine, we will fight for that every single day.”
Her greatest lesson is one she now shares with anyone willing to listen. “Back yourself, trust your journey and never underestimate the power of the people standing beside you. Because on the days you can’t carry yourself, they will carry you.”
A sportswoman’s heart
Long before she was a founder, McCall was a competitive sportswoman, and the field shaped the leader she became. “Sport taught me the discipline to work hard, the determination to keep going when things get tough, and perhaps the most valuable lesson of all, learning to celebrate someone else’s victory just as genuinely as your own,” she says.
That mentality now runs through the business. “We are a team that competes fiercely, celebrates each other’s victories and understands that our greatest strength lies in growing together,” she says. “Sport taught me how to compete, but more importantly, it taught me how to be part of something bigger than myself. And that is the heartbeat behind Jabula.”
Jabula’s athlete ambassadors represent the perfect fusion of relentless drive and extraordinary talent. Beyond their trophies and titles, it’s their willingness to embrace the grind, learn from every obstacle, and bring unapologetic energy to everything they do. They wear their passion on their sleeves, proving that peak performance is driven by sweat, story, and pure ambition.
It is also why one line has guided the brand from day one. “We have always believed that no individual is bigger than Jabula. We are all Jabula, and when Jabula succeeds, we succeed together.”
A challenger with a feeling behind it
South Africa’s betting market is fiercely competitive, with established local operators and international brands fighting for every customer. McCall and her partners did not enter it simply to compete. They set out to build something that would stand out and endure, backed by the right people, strong partnerships and an international investor who shared their values. “That partnership gave Jabula the support to compete without compromising the heart of our brand,” she says.
That heart is in the name. Jabula is the isiZulu word for “to be happy” or “to rejoice”. “South Africans have this incredible ability to find joy, celebrate together and create a sense of belonging, even through life’s challenges,” she says. “That is the spirit we wanted to capture in Jabula. Odds and offers can be matched, games can be replicated, but the identity, emotion and connection you build with people is something uniquely your own.”
A Squad South Africa can feel part of
Beyond the Name brings that spirit to life through Handré Pollard, Jurenzo Julius and Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden. “Handré embodies legacy, experience and excellence, while Jurenzo represents the exciting future of South African rugby,” McCall says. “Then came Danie, the ultimate challenger, a man whose extraordinary strength, determination and resilience embody the spirit of never backing down. In many ways, that is exactly who we are at Jabula.”
“At Jabula, it’s never just about the name on the jersey,” she adds. “It’s about the person wearing it, the people who stand behind them and the feeling they inspire in others. The Jabula Squad isn’t just about the three men representing our brand. It’s about every South African who knows what it feels like to work hard, overcome challenges, celebrate victories and stand behind one another.”
That care extends to every customer. “Trust isn’t something you can simply ask for. It’s something you have to earn, protect and continuously work to maintain,” she says. “Gambling should always remain a form of entertainment, never something that comes at the expense of someone’s financial security or personal wellbeing.”
Only getting started
The husband who put his home behind her idea, the team who believed when belief was hard to find, the partners who backed the vision and now three athletes who carry it onto the national stage. For McCall, every one of them is Jabula. And she is clear that the best is still ahead.
“We’ve always embraced being the challenger brand, but let’s just say we have no intention of staying the underdog forever,” she says. “We’re not here to make up the numbers. We’re here to make our mark. South Africa hasn’t felt the full Jabula Effect yet.”