Circumstances being what they are, I find myself in the mostly lush, somewhat pastoral, and it must be said - often damp country of Wales. From the look of things, I may be here for some time.
That`s not as bleak an outlook as one might expect - or at least, what one who knows precious little about Wales might expect. Having arrived here with only the vaguest set of expectations, I`ve been pleasantly surprised at almost every turn.
One of the gems within this 'Silicon Vale` is the @Wales Digital Media Initiative - a business incubator with several key twists.
Basheera Khan, UK correspondent, ITWeb
In addition to being a considerably cheaper place to live than London (but then, what place isn`t?), it`s substantially friendlier and definitely easier on the eye. And when it comes to business and technology development, it`s an almost serendipitous find - in much the same way that first-time visitors respond to SA`s level of development in those areas of industry.
Although there are clusters of tech-based business dotted all over Wales, Cardiff Bay in the south, in particular, plays host to a slew of technology companies, dominated by animation, new media and software development companies. These are almost all small to medium-sized enterprises, and as such the business landscape bears more than a passing resemblance to that of SA.
It`s when it comes to the subject of incubation that the similarities fall away. One of the gems within this 'Silicon Vale` is the @Wales Digital Media Initiative - a business incubator with several key twists.
For starters, it is a government initiative; it is spearheaded by the Welsh Development Agency (WDA), an economic development agency charged by the National Assembly for Wales with helping existing businesses expand and thrive, while encouraging inward investment, industry relocation and job creation.
It (@Wales) was created in response to the increasing trend of Welsh technology companies seeking funding and/or incubation support beyond the Welsh border - mainly because none of the existing government-backed business support services could cater to the specialised needs of technology companies.
It opened its doors in January 2001, and provides a range of services to more than 300 tech companies across Wales. The most intensive support goes to a handful of companies that have managed to meet the stringent application criteria.
The second difference lies in the @Wales approach to incubation; instead of funding, businesses taken under the @Wales wing get office facilities (including all technology infrastructure and support) and mentoring in the various arts which contribute to a successful business - subjects like marketing, accounting, strategic planning and implementation and the like.
Demand for the service is clamorous; the initiative plans to move house next year for the sole purpose of accommodating up to three times as many businesses as it currently does.
This is only one of the interesting projects run by the WDA, which has an international investment arm seeking to promote investment and trade between Wales and other countries with similar objectives and interests.
It makes me think that someone, somewhere should get the ball rolling in encouraging something similar between Wales and SA, especially in the area of animation. Despite my only tenuous links to the South African animation industry, even I know that the local market for animators` skills is limited at best, and almost every animator I know, firsthand or otherwise, is considering leaping on the brain drain bandwagon, seeking a business climate in which their skills are appreciated both aesthetically and financially.
The idealist in me would love to see an exchange programme evolve out of this set of similar circumstances. There could be the option of animators serving an internship overseas, returning to SA with a broader perspective, and experience of the networking knowledge required to successfully lure international contracts to South African shores - in much the same way a lot of South African software developers currently operate. One thing`s for certain - if nothing is done to combat current market trends, SA`s animator talent seems set to trickle away as steadily as it is discovered.
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