UUNet SA, a WorldCom company and leading corporate network service provider in Southern Africa, has pledged its support for the development of SA`s small start-up IT sector, sponsoring R500 000 towards the Cape Information Technology Initiative`s (CITI) Bandwidth Barn project.
CITI is an independent, not-for-profit company promoting the development of the knowledge economy in the Western Cape. Its primary mission, in fostering a vision of the Cape as a gateway to Africa`s New Economy, is to stimulate and promote the IT and communication industries in the Cape and in South Africa, and in so doing create jobs and help derail the brain drain.
CITI`s biggest project to date - The Bandwidth Barn - is an IT incubator and hub of shared facilities in the Western Cape. Housing anchor tenants and incubator start-ups in a four storey building on Cape Town`s foreshore, its objectives are to serve as a focus point for IT entrepreneurship in the region, to provide affordable always-on Internet connectivity to small IT start-ups, and a supportive cross-pollinating community to create synergies.
The Barn will be officially launched on 18 May. Alec Erwin, SA`s minister of trade and industry, will digitally unveil the bandwidth powerhouse.
Linux of incubators
Said Justin Colyn, sales director for UUNET SA: "The concept of the Bandwidth Barn was introduced to us when we were investigating starting our own incubator programme for the SME market, so the timing was opportune.
"The Bandwidth Barn`s purpose is similar to that of UUNet`s in that we see ourselves as the global hub of information technology in SA and are already becoming the leading IT gateway into Africa. In ploughing our knowledge, skills and expertise back into the community by supporting entrepreneurs and start-up businesses in South Africa and Africa, we believe we are creating mindshare within the market and building a stronger economy."
"The Bandwidth Barn is a unique incubation model where the stability of anchor tenants is coupled with a dynamic and evolving set of incubytes or small start-ups. As an open-platform model for incubation, we see it as the "Linux of incubators" and there`s every indication so far that it will be very successful."
Taking a vested interest in the development of small companies, particularly those in the Information and Communication sector, Colyn says, should be a definite social responsibility of big business in South Africa. "The role of technology companies in our industry is extremely important and is an area that has previously been largely neglected. Corporates need to be proactive in supporting these markets not only through the products and services we supply, but also in terms of training and supporting the growth of these areas."
The only way small enterprises can really enjoy the benefit of the Internet, Colyn explains, is by pooling resources to attain the economies of scale that will ensure their sustainability and success. "And with growth comes job creation and the transfer of necessary skills. In SA, we have the population with the ability to fill the brain-drain and create sustaining jobs but we need to manage the process properly by creating and supporting initiatives such as the Bandwidth Barn."
And CITI`s doing just that - only two years since its inception, the independent private-public partnership has begun to show tangible results - it has jumpstarted no less than 20 enterprises and, in the last year, been closely involved in the creation of no less than 30 jobs.
Action speaks louder than words
Successes coming out of the Barn include SouthEaster, a start-up software development company, which recently secured R4 million in venture capital from London with CITI`s help and TimberAfrica, a newly-formed information and trading portal for the timber, furniture and related industries, which aims to secure 30% of the industry`s total turnover within the next two years.
Says executive director of CITI and last year`s Western Cape IT personality of the year, Peter Frampton: "There is a palpable we-can-do-it attitude within the Barn. We put our minds to the mission - whatever that may be - and get on with it. The Barn is about achieving a powerful vision and the promise coming true."
Looking ahead, Frampton says following the launch of Bandwidth Barn, the plan is to create an IT precinct around the Barn in Long Street. Negotiations to secure additional property are underway and there are also plans to extend the Bandwidth Barn concept to Johannesburg and Eastern Cape cities. There has also been interest from the Spanish tourism mecca, Barcelona, and other international delegations.
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