Enablis, the innovative global non-profit organisation of entrepreneurs dedicated to help bridge the digital divide by helping other entrepreneurs develop sustainable businesses, has announced that local black owned and empowered company Abnoba has been selected as one of the five winners in the Enablis Business Report ICT Entrepreneur Challenge 2005 for its Business Process Automation and Management submission.
Business Report and Enablis launched this exclusive and exciting business plan competition for ICT entrepreneurs in the small and medium enterprise sector.
The competition was open for technology entrepreneurs who were looking to turn an idea into a business and those who had a business and were looking to expand it. The winners share R5 million funding, Hewlett-Packard notebooks and printers, Microsoft software, business consulting services and lots more in prizes.
Abnoba CEO Fairoz Jaffer says these prizes will help Abnoba become a formidable player in the market. "Through Enablis, we can accelerate our business growth and ensure sustainability. It will also allow us to create jobs and develop technology skills in South Africa. It allows us to strengthen and grow an already successful company."
Martin Feinstein, CEO of Enablis SA, says: "Abnoba`s Shanaaz Scharffenorth and Fairoz Jaffer are the type of entrepreneurs that South Africa needs. Their business passion, integrity and vision are what Enablis is all about."
Speaking at the announcement of the winners of the Enablis South Africa ICT Entrepreneurs Challenge, Charles Sirois, Global CEO and Chairman of the Enablis Entrepreneurial Network, said Enablis will look at other opportunities in 10 countries in sub-Saharan Africa to help develop technology entrepreneurs.
"South Africa is strategic for us, this is where everything starts. We are looking at implementing the same model in other countries," he said.
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Abnoba is a South African-based software solutions provider that has followed black economic empowerment (BEE) principles since inception, focusing on business process automation. We provide business solutions that improve productivity and reduce operational costs - ultimately improving profitability.
We provide information capture, imaging, management and process automation consulting and solutions for today`s rapidly changing and complex needs. Abnoba enables customers to leverage existing ERP and line of business investments by accessing and storing business information, automating processes across the organisation and externally with partners and customers, and enabling online, real-time collaboration around transactions. As a result, organisations can significantly improve processing efficiency, reduce operating costs and enhance customer and partner satisfaction.
Abnoba is 100% black owned with 50% black female ownership. We are a "Technology Top 100 Company" and a "Finalist for African Achievers for Top ICT SMME". Shanaaz Scharffenorth, Abnoba shareholder, is a "Finalist for African Achievers for Top Black Woman in ICT". Fairoz Jaffer was a finalist in two categories for Black ICT Achievers 2001 for Black ICT Professional of the Year and Infopreneurs in Africa. www.abnoba.co.za
Enablis
Enablis is an innovative global non-profit organisation of entrepreneurs dedicated to help bridge the digital divide by helping other entrepreneurs develop sustainable businesses. The digital divide is the gap between those with access to, and knowledge of, information and communications technology (ICT) and those without.
The Enablis team aims to achieve these objectives by supporting member entrepreneurs with small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that use, or are intending to use, the power of ICT in ways that expand digital opportunities and social impact, and widen access to technology.
Operating on commercial principles, we provide intensive business guidance and support combined with critical early-stage business financing. Enablis member entrepreneurs become part of a close-knit business network with access to wider local and global business expertise, opportunities and funding.
As founding private sector sponsors, Accenture, HP and Telesystem provided the resources, skills and expertise required during the start-up phase of the company. www.enablis.co.za
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