Johannesburg, 30 Oct 2008
It was another good day at the office for the management and staff at the Integr8 Group after an associate company within the group, Integr8 FAX, clinched second place in the Young Enterprise Sector Award at the 2008 Africa SMME Awards.
The awards ceremony forms part of the annual Africa SMME Conference, hosted by the Africagrowth Institute in conjunction with the Department of Trade and Industry, and is considered a key event on the itinerary.
This year's awards took place at the Lord Charles Hotel, Somerset West, Cape Town on 23 October.
The main purpose of the awards is to acknowledge the contribution of this sector towards the greater socio-economic development of the continent and recognise the achievements of Africa's small, micro and medium enterprises.
The Young Enterprise Sector Award identifies and acknowledges organisations considered to be among the fastest growing companies in southern Africa.
Integr8 FAX is a global provider of a free fax-to-e-mail solution and services. It has developed its offering in line with international market trends and has successfully expanded its reach into South Africa, Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia.
According to Walter Bredell, CEO at Integr8 FAX, the recent global financial crisis is forcing companies to review spending patterns, operational costs and budget control. He also points to the ongoing focus on green IT and the advantages of contribution to cleaner, more environmentally-friendly infrastructure. “Technology like fax-to-e-mail makes good business sense and is a cost reducer and it is proven in terms of productivity, with strong ergonomic and environment consideration.”
“This award means a lot to us as a company. We are a young and vibrant organisation and the award will help us to grow our solution and company even further into Africa. We recently launched the fax-to-e-mail solution in Namibia and Uganda, and we are in the process of doing so in Mauritius and Botswana,” Bredell continues.
However, as Bredell notes, the award serves more than to simply reward achievement. There are long-term spin-off benefits associated with it.
“This award will also help us to give back to the community in developing markets. We have a solid reseller programme that continues to be used to empower other young and newly established companies to share in our success and give them the necessary backing and support to grow their own fax business in their respective countries. It is aligned with the spirit embodied in ubuntu and the collective responsibility we have to empower the business leaders of tomorrow to help them generate revenue streams and develop communities,” he adds.
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