Adapt IT's purchase of a 49% stake in Uyandiswa Project Management, for an undisclosed amount, will enable the 100% black woman owned company to grow its business, at the same time as bolstering skills.
Founder and CEO Amanda Dambuza explains there are synergies between her company and Adapt IT as they both operate in the IT field. She explains Uyandiswa runs IT projects, while Adapt IT provides IT implementation skills and services, and the companies could partner in cases when Adapt IT needs project management skills, or Uyandiswa has clients requiring IT services.
"It's about sharing opportunities and clients," says Dambuza. Adapt IT CEO Sbu Shabalala adds: "We foresee excellent synergies between our businesses."
Dambuza says there are opportunities to upskill Uyandiswa's staff as the areas Adapt IT operates in are niche, such as its SAP capabilities. In addition, the deal is solid enough to support growth in Uyandiswa, she notes. "It really is a great opportunity.
"Project management is a business imperative. Our mission is to optimise project delivery, to help clients grow their project management capability, and increase their success in the delivery of projects, thereby increasing their bottom line. This is a mission shared by Adapt IT and I look forward to growing the collective business immensely," comments Dambuza.
In August, Adapt IT hinted at empowerment deals, as Shabalala said the company was looking into several possible share placements that will boost its black ownership from the current 30% to 50%, although it had not set a timeframe for the equity changes.
The 49% investment into the project management company forms part of its increasing commitment to enterprise development, it says.
Dambuza has spent most of her corporate career in the financial services sector, having run large programmes for Nedbank and FirstRand. She spent time at Standard Bank before joining Barclays Africa.
Her final role at Barclays Africa was that of CIO for the core services of the bank.
She retains 51% of Uyandiswa.
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