Cape-based ICT companies were told to "wake up" and move out of their comfort zones if they want to become major players on the world stage.
This was the statement made by newly elected Cape IT Initiative (CITI) chairman Andrea B"ohmert.
Speaking at the CITI annual gala dinner last night, B"ohmert said the survey by CITI of IT companies in the Western Cape showed a sense of complacency had set in.
"Less than half the companies surveyed said they had some kind of international presence or ambition to create an international presence, compared to 70% of the companies surveyed three years ago."
B"ohmert said she had recently taken an international venture capitalist on a tour of companies located in the province and he pointed out to her that "many of these companies are just too comfortable here".
Limpopo risk
Guest speaker Hamilton Ratshefola, Cornastone CEO, also emphasised the fact that South African companies were, in general, too adverse to the perceived risks of operating in the rest of Africa.
"I don`t understand the idea of risk beyond the Limpopo," he said. "Mozambique, which is right next door to us, is flying in experts from Lisbon to do work that we should be doing, and Brazilians are flying across the Atlantic to do big jobs in Angola."
Ratshefola, who won the Computer Society of SA`s IT Personality of the Year for 2007, also pointed out that companies should not depend on government contracts to underpin their businesses.
"Government does pay, but it is a slow payer and this is not healthy for smaller companies. That is why we must look at doing business among ourselves and increasing co-operation among ourselves and looking beyond our borders," he said.
During the dinner, CITI announced the overall winner of the Women in IT Programme, Kathy McCabe. McCabe runs Radical Learning, which supplies bespoke learning software, as well as training, to a number of underprivileged schools in the Western Cape.
In the Microsoft-sponsored VIP Graduate Club competition, Lee Meyer walked away with the prize in the corporate stream, and Nayeela Joomaye scooped best entrepreneur title.
McCabe and Joomaye will join other Western Cape entrepreneurs in the CITI incubator, Bandwidth Barn, for the duration of 2008. McCabe will also accompany other CITI member companies to the premier IT exhibition CEBIT, in Germany, next year, where she will showcase her products and services to a global market.