Abnoba shares president's vision for black women in ICT

Since its inception, local black empowered software solutions provider Abnoba has shared the president's vision for black economic empowerment (BEE) for women in ICT.

Abnoba employs the highest levels of BEE policies throughout the organisation and is 100% black owned with 50% black female ownership. Furthermore, Abnoba's employment of historically disadvantaged individuals throughout the staff complement, bears testimony to its commitment and dedication to the larger BEE strategy in South Africa.

According to Abnoba CEO Fairoz Jaffer, there are many organisations in South Africa today that claim to be committed to gender equality. "I agree with President Mbeki that many of these have produced very impressive statements that indicate strong dedication to the emancipation of women. Yet, actual practice is often worlds apart from the stated policies.

"We demand that women must have equal access to all opportunities our company provides as well as all positions of authority, without extending any favours to our women. To avoid the possibility of our vision becoming empty rhetoric, we have put processes in place to help us audit, periodically, our progress or lack thereof with regard to the empowerment of our women," he explains.

Skills development is a key driver within the ICT sector and through successful partnerships with its customers, Abnoba continuously improves the calibre of all individuals. Abnoba promotes diversity at every level within the organisation and strives for inclusiveness in everything it does. It believes that employing top talent from all groups within its communities helps it to better serve its customers and gives it a competitive advantage.

The dynamic nature of the IT industry requires that continual development of employees must be in line with the company's strategic direction. Its learning and development strategy will provide high-level guidelines within which managers and employees can develop the competencies that are integral to the contribution of its competitive advantage and core competencies.

The commitment to gender involvement as part of its strategy has ensured that women have a strong voice in Abnoba and play important roles in every aspect of the business. To this end, founding member and executive director Shanaaz Scharffenorth has been accredited by Enablis and was a finalist for 'African Achievers for Top Black Women in ICT'.

Jaffer says Scharffenorth is instrumental to Abnoba's operational efficiency, both internally and externally. "Scharffenorth brings invaluable experience to the fore and her leadership is a major force behind the organisation's continuous growth and success. She has a BSc degree in microbiology, psychology and chemistry. Her diplomas for public relations, human resource, management and industrial relations bring significant value to the operation of the company."

"Every successful corporation has a responsibility to use its resources and influence to make a positive impact on the African continent and its people. We provide an environment that creates the social and economic opportunities that can transform communities and help people realise their full potential. Through our programmes and partnerships, Abnoba supports numerous projects and organisations working to expand opportunities, and helps improve digital inclusion, through technology access and training," he continues.

The values and ethics within Abnoba are based upon solid principles of integrity, fairness, service, quality and ultimately customer satisfaction. "As President Mbeki stated, we should even today ask ourselves as to what have we done in the past 12 years to remove all laws, regulations, conventions and customs that discriminate against women. We should answer the question honestly - what have we done to remove obstacles that militate against women's progress in society and deprive them of their inherent right to the advantages, responsibilities and opportunities which other members of our society enjoy.

"More significantly, Mbeki said together as a nation, we must uphold the perspective that none of us is free unless the women of our country are free - free from race and gender discrimination, free from poverty and loss of human dignity and free from fear and violence.

"We should do this honestly in a transparent manner so that the entirety of the South African society can assist with ideas as to how we can accelerate the process of the true empowerment of women," concludes Jaffer.