Digital services and infrastructure provider Cassava Technologies has pledged a total of R4.5 billion towards supporting SA’s ICT sector, through its Liquid Intelligent Technologies, Africa Data Centres and Distributed Power Africa business units.
The announcement was made during the fifth South Africa Investment Conference held in support of president Cyril Ramaphosa's initiative to drive investment in the country.
Established in 2018, the annual investment conference provides a platform to showcase new investment opportunities in SA by attracting local and global leaders from business, government and the investment community, to forge relationships and explore ways to reignite economic growth.
Cassava has operations in Africa, Middle East, Europe, US and Latin America.
Through this investment, it will continue to bring internationally-recognised services and products to SA through the group's renewable energy, cloud and cyber security, data centres and broadband connectivity business units, it says.
“South Africa accounts for the largest proportion of Africa's industrial GDP with a sophisticated and growing ICT sector,” states Hardy Pemhiwa, president and group CEO of Cassava Technologies.
“The country's unique combination of highly-developed first world economic infrastructure and a stable macro-economic environment affords businesses like ours a conducive investment environment in which we can partner with government to drive economic development and create jobs."
Cassava's investment pledge comprises key projects, including the expansion of the Liquid Intelligent Technologies fibre network; the extension of Africa Data Centres capacity and footprint; enhanced cloud and cyber security capacity; and the rollout of clean, renewable energy by Distributed Power Africa in SA.
It points out that SA’s $6.75 billion ICT sector represents one of Africa's most investment-attractive and growth-bound industries today.
There has been more than 10% growth in the number of internet users in SA from the pre-pandemic period to the winding down of the lockdowns – to an estimated 40.8 million internet users in SA, according to the SA Social Media Landscape 2022 study.
The Independent Communications Authority of SA says national population coverage for 4G/LTE was at 97.7% in 2021, placing the nation years ahead of its peers in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Cassava's investments will contribute towards positioning SA as an attractive investment destination and enable greater inclusion of all South Africans, consistent with Cassava's vision of a digitally-connected future that leaves no African behind,” comments the company.