Zulfiq Isaacs is a social entrepreneur. He believes that "small businesses can contribute to innovation in the IT community and can pioneer the future for the digital economy. It is not just about implementing technology solutions, it's about transforming businesses, social investment and job creation."
He has already gone a long way in proving he is right.
Isaacs is MD of Liquid Thought (www.liquidthought.co.za), which offers IT consulting and e-business automation solutions tailored to reduce costs, increase business efficiencies and market reach in the SMME market.
Liquid Thought is one of the few black-owned start-up companies in the UUNET Bandwidth Barn. 90% of the company's BEE equity is split between two owner-managers and 10% to an institutional investor.
Isaacs' does not see ownership as the only requirement for BEE, internal skills development is also important. Liquid Thought employs a further three full-time and one part-time staff most of whom have postgraduate degrees in computer science or information systems. The company also has a learnership programme. It sponsors one staff member's BSc Computer Science degree and brings on board two further students on a part-time per project basis.
Business development and collaboration are part of empowering businesses. Liquid Thought has assisted in the incubation of Madoda Luphondo's business (i-Network Solutions) by sharing office space. It has also worked in conjunction with several other UUNET Bandwidth Barn tenants on the ground floor. Liquid Thought has consulted alongside or developed solutions in conjunction with Sense-i, Basix Automation and IntelligenceQ on several projects. In addition, the company utilises the corporate branding expertise of Starseed Enterprises to develop corporate identities for clients. In collaboration with the software development company Basix Solutions, a Barn anchor tenant on the second floor, Liquid Thought conceptualised a SMME joint tendering process initiative. This innovative initiative is to be rolled out by the IT sector training authority, the Isett-Seta, as a SMME development project.
The fact that each of these companies is in the same building as Liquid Thought demonstrates how the UUNET Bandwidth Barn is a hub for small business networking. In Isaacs' view, "This is not networking for networking's sake but strategic relationship building with the aim of securing collaborative business opportunities that generate sustainable long term revenue streams."
Liquid Thought has also developed innovative business automations solutions with companies outside of the Barn. The company is PriceTag's e-business partner for providing an online payment authentication service for transactional websites. Utilising PriceTag, Liquid Thought has successfully implemented an automated document exchange and submission solution for SA Company Formations (www.sacompanyformations.co.za) which interfaces with the Companies and Intellectual Property Registration Office (CIPRO) to facilitate the online registration of companies.
Isaacs feels that the South African e-business market has still to reach a critical mass. "There are still many opportunities for IT SMMEs to create niche markets for integrated B2B value chains, " said Isaacs.
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The UUNET Bandwidth Barn (BWB), located on Cape Town's foreshore, is facilitated by the Cape Information Technology Initiative (CITI). The UUNET Bandwidth Barn is a networked business incubator providing a dynamic platform to foster start-up IT companies in the Western Cape and stimulate growth and synergies via community interaction. The UUNET Bandwidth Barn (www.bandwidthbarn.org) provides start-up and small IT businesses with reduced Internet connectivity costs, affordable office rentals, shared office facilities, and a professional profile. It is a space for fostering an entrepreneurial IT community - and sharing experiences, expertise and resources. The UUNET Bandwidth Barn also provides proximity to companies supplying or buying technology related services, encouraging business to network and secure new business opportunities. The clustering of IT businesses is key to the success of UUNET Bandwidth Barn.
CITI assists incubytes, as tenants are known, through networking events held at the UUNET Bandwidth Barn, marketing the ICT cluster both in South Africa and abroad, and facilitating local business development through entrepreneurial support programmes.
Cape IT Initiative
The Cape IT Initiative (CITI) is a not-for-profit agency developing the Western Cape IT cluster. CITI's focus areas are: IT cluster marketing and networking, IT business development, IT skills development, research and IT policy. CITI's goal is jobs and prosperity through IT and its mission is to promote Cape Town as a global IT hub and gateway to Africa. CITI terms those who share these ideals CITIzens.
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