The Black IT Empowerment Company (Blitec), investment arm of the Black IT Forum (BITF), is positioning itself to capitalise on a major industry-wide shake-up, projected to happen in about six years' time.
Blitec CEO Nkosinathi Mbetha says he foresees the local ICT industry needing to consolidate in five to six years' time and Blitec wants to have the necessary clout at that time to capitalise on the move.
"It is a maturing market," he explains. "If you look at the growth margins, some sort of consolidation will have to take place."
Mbetha says Blitec wants to have a critical mass on its balance sheet, as well as a positive image, when the market starts to re-invent itself.
This will be achieved by moving outside of the ICT industry to access as many investment opportunities as possible, he says.
"We have developed a strategic plan where we will diversify outside ICT into media, logistics, infrastructure and financial services."
However, Mbetha is quick to add that the company's activities will not be limited to even these fields. "We will take any opportunity that gives a guarantee for returns - we are not limited to any particular focus area."
Currently, Blitec's only significant investment is 10.5% in the local division of software giant SAP.
While the BITF works towards advocating the empowerment agenda in the ICT industry, Mbetha points out "to transform a sector, you need capital", which is where Blitec fits strategically.
First league BEE drivers
Mbetha says one of the major challenges Blitec has faced is that, due to internal turmoil, it has missed out on most of the big empowerment deals that have taken place.
The turmoil he refers to dates back to an issue experienced by Blitec's parent body, the BITF. Pre-2008, the BITF suffered from attacks on its integrity by former members that subsequently had to be settled in court - in favour of the BITF.
It struggled to hold timely AGMs in its various regions, while its computer equipment was stolen at one point. In addition, delays in the implementation of the ICT BEE charter further frustrated the organisation.
Mbetha says "first league BEE drivers" have, therefore, benefited from existing BEE transactions, referring to the limited pool of individuals that generally appear in empowerment deals.
"Quite clearly, these deals took place almost simultaneously with the turbulence in Blitec and that suffocated the organisation," he admits. "It made it difficult to take the opportunities that were there and they were, therefore, missed, so we haven't made much inroads.'
However, Mbetha says that, by building Blitec's capacity and reputation in the next six years, it will be able to look forward to a vastly different future.
"This will be the basis for our future success," he maintains.
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