JabulaBets co-founder Caly McCall is taking a different approach to building a betting brand, putting the people behind sporting success at the centre of its identity. Her starting belief is simple: nobody gets there alone.
It started with a question 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 stayed with her, eventually becoming the seed for JabulaBets, the proudly South African sports betting brand the couple co-founded.
Starting their own business was one decision. Deciding what kind of betting brand they wanted to build was another. McCall wanted JabulaBets to have an identity people could recognise beyond its products and promotions, with South African experiences, relationships and a sense of belonging giving the business its character.
“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.”
That thinking now finds its clearest expression in Beyond the Name, JabulaBets’ 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.
Featuring Handré Pollard, Jurenzo Julius and Danie “Pitbull” van Heerden, the campaign takes an approach that reflects McCall’s ambitions for the business. Sporting achievement introduces the names, but the stories centre on fatherhood, family sacrifices, private doubts and the people who helped each athlete get there.
For McCall, Co-Founder and Director, those choices matter. They give audiences a fuller picture of the people representing JabulaBets, while showing what she wants the brand itself to stand for.
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.”
The decision brought a personal commitment that reached well beyond the business plan. Building JabulaBets meant navigating the demands of a new company while carrying the responsibility of what they had invested in it.
“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 kept building, supported by a team whose commitment became particularly important during the difficult periods.
“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.”
That experience helps explain why people feature so prominently in the brand’s public identity. For McCall, the idea of collective success began with the people doing the daily work of getting the business established.
“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.”
It also informs the way JabulaBets introduces its athlete ambassadors. Beyond the Name gives their achievements context, exploring the discipline, setbacks and relationships that have shaped their careers. Their value to the campaign lies in what they are willing to share about the journey, including the parts spectators rarely see.
For McCall, that connection between individual effort and collective support has guided the business from the beginning.
“We have always believed that no individual is bigger than Jabula. We are all Jabula, and when Jabula succeeds, we succeed together.”
Taking a different route
McCall’s approach to differentiation comes through most clearly when she talks about what a betting business can make its own. Products and promotions form part of the offering, but she sees the brand’s identity and its relationships as reasons for people to remember it.
That has meant building with partners who understand the direction, including an international investor who shared their values.
“That partnership gave Jabula the support to compete without compromising the heart of our brand,” she says.
The name provides a starting point. Jabula is the isiZulu word for “to be happy” or “to rejoice”, and McCall wanted the brand to reflect the ways South Africans experience that feeling together.
“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.”
Beyond the Name puts that thinking into practice. The campaign makes room for a father arriving home to his child, a young player calling his parents with good news and a fighter explaining the struggles behind the results. These are the moments McCall has chosen to help introduce a betting brand with a more personal voice.
A Squad South Africa can feel part of
Pollard, Julius and van Heerden each bring a different experience to that story.
“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.”
Their public profiles bring attention, while their personal accounts give audiences something familiar to connect with: the pressure to succeed, gratitude towards family and the reassurance of having someone in your corner.
“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.”
For McCall, the responsibility attached to building those relationships extends to how the business treats its customers.
“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
When McCall talks about JabulaBets, she keeps returning to the people who made it possible: the husband who backed the business plan, the team who stayed committed through uncertainty and the partners who supported its growth.
Beyond the Name carries that same thread into the brand’s first major national campaign. Each athlete has a different story, but the role of the people behind them gives the campaign a connection to McCall’s own experience of building the business.
Her ambition for where it goes next remains clear.
“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.”
