Bold steps to resuscitate Eastern Cape ICT capability
Posted by getnews.co.za in the category ECITI news.
Article posted on
Another bold step has been taken to build the Information Communication Technology (ICT) capacity of the province with the official re-launch of the Eastern Cape Information Technology Initiative (ECITI) in January.
Established to develop an ICT hub by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC) and various industry players for the Eastern Cape, ECITI supports 11 small ICT businesses – nine of which operate at the ECITI hub employing about 25 full-time staff.
Although all the businesses are from East London, there are plans to set up ICT centres in other regions in the Amatole District Municipality and the OR Tambo District Municipality.
The Eastern Cape needs an Information Communication Technology platform that can drive other sectors of the economy.
ICT envisaged as platform to drive growth in other sectors
The small ICT entrepreneurs operating from the ECITI hub use shared infrastructure and services such as boardrooms, training and meeting rooms and IT infrastructure.
"The Eastern Cape needed an ICT platform which could be used to drive other sectors of the economy, using technology."
"This is how we came up with the idea of locating small businesses who are interested in ICT in the hub. You have to create a hub to attract small enterprises to come together and develop solutions to enable growth in other sectors of the economy," says ECITI executive manager, Patricia Dlamini.
Virtual programme to reach small ICT players
Besides the entrepreneurs in the hub, ECITI also supports those enterprises who are not located within the hub or have office space. ECITI plans to use this model to reach small ICT players in other parts of the province.
"ECITI’s role is to help small ICT businesses to properly manage their businesses. They are put through an 18 to 24 month programme. The length of time spent in the programme depends on the needs of the business."
"I am proud to say that many of the entrepreneurs in the hub are performing within expectations. We also encourage our ICT entrepreneurs to attract public and private sector clients to reduce the dependency on a single client," explains Dlamini.
ECITI a key player in science and technology park
The former head of entrepreneurship development at Southern Africa’s first Science and Technology Park, the Innovation Hub in Pretoria, says ECITI is one of the key backers of the East London Industrial Development Zone’s (IDZ) planned Science and Technology Park in East London.
"The Science and Technology Park is an exciting project which will place small entrepreneurs at the forefront of technological innovation," says Dlamini.
ECITI business support services
The hub which offers business support services such as links to tertiary institutions, mentorship, networking, access to local and international markets, funders and potential investors to name a few, is working on establishing relationships with academic institutions, government and industry.
ICT entrepreneurs supported by ECITI are Virtual Afrika, OCE Information Technology, Phila Development Agency, Ocean Media, Swayani Films, Zweni ICT Solutions, Khula Holdings, Afrocentric IP, Cut and Splice, Inbusiness magazine and Webeyed.
Currently, ECDC is the key funder of ECITI. The hub is finalising an improved funding model to include Amathole District Municipality (ADM), the provincial Department of Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEDEAT) and other funders.