Two groups of physically disabled entrepreneurs are using IT to launch their own businesses in KwaZulu-Natal and Cape Town.
The Quadriplegic Association of South Africa says one of the businesses, CyberCopy in Pinetown, was established with the help of a R300 000 investment from the Vodacom Foundation last year.
The CyberCopy bulk photo-copying, networking centre and Internet caf'e in Umdoni centre is run by Sipho Ntombela, an amputee, and Justin Weare, a quadriplegic.
They recently completed a one-year Services SETA New Venture Creation learnership at the Ethekwini Business Development Centre under the guidance of the Quadriplegic Association of SA. The learnership covers business creation and the sustainability of small businesses.
CyberCopy has four staff members and sources its business from training institutions and companies.
Another quadriplegic-owned business is EGA Computer Services in Cape Town, founded in August by Edward Matdat, Grant Hutton and Ashton Newman. The company provides software automation, Web site development and computer hardware services.
EGA Computer Services targets small to medium businesses. "We have chosen this market as we feel the IT companies all concentrate on the corporate or medium to large companies as this is where the money is," says Hutton, associate of EGA Computer Services. "We feel, however, that if we concentrate on the small to medium companies, we can offer professional and reliable computer services at affordable rates.
"Our Web sites range from individual to corporate; our software development is from the basic macros to building sophisticated databases; our computer hardware sales from basic computers to sophisticated components."
The company has secured a contract to compile a database for Habitat for Humanity South Africa.
"This is a major project for us. It entails importing data from various entities around SA into an international database design by Habitat for Humanity International.
"We are a BEE-compliant company and are busy with a Services SETA course, Amasondo Esibindi. This is empowering us to overcome almost any challenge in business," says Hutton.
The Amasondo Esibindi learnership, which aids people with disabilities to start a business, is a one-year entrepreneurial programme held at the Cape Town University of technology.
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