Relaunched last year, after being inactive for several years, ICT incubator the Eastern Cape IT Initiative (ECITI) has recorded a R1.8 million turnover in the 2010/11 financial year.
ECITI is a non-profit company, established by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation in 2004. It facilitates sustainable development for small, micro and medium enterprises in the ICT and film sectors in the Eastern Cape.
Although it was initially launched in 2004, ECITI was inactive for a number of years and was relaunched last year with 14 incubates.
The 14 incubates have created a total of 114 jobs in the last quarter of the year. Of this total, 68 were permanent and 46 were contract jobs. Eight of the 14 businesses have women co-owners, while three are 100%-owned by women.
Clear exit
“ECITI provides on-site and off-site incubation support for small businesses in the ICT and film space. This includes tailor-made business development and mentorship support,” says ECITI head Patricia Dlamini.
“SMMEs benefit from shared office facilities and spaces, as well as IT infrastructure and connectivity to reduce the cost of doing business. It also reduces the risk of failure, thus fast-tracking them into sustainable enterprises.”
ECITI also offers SMMEs links to tertiary institutions, access to local and international markets, funders and potential investors. The incubates are put through an 18- to 24-month programme. The programme has clear entry and exit criteria.
Boosting marketability
Dlamini says part of promoting ICT is the development of critical skills in the sector in line with industry demands to address skills shortages within the region. In partnership with academic and training institutions, ECITI trained 98 people in the last financial year in the film sector, entrepreneurship, business and financial skills and ICT-specific programmes.
This week, ECITI announced that 35 unemployed IT graduates have boosted their marketability and chances of finding employment after an intensive week-long open source software workshop organised by the incubator.
“The open source software training conducted by lecturers from some of SA's leading tertiary institutions late last year, is designed to increase the employability of hundreds of unemployed IT graduates in the province. It is work-oriented and teaches skills required by the market.”
Dlamini says ECITI is planning another training workshop this year and the incubator intends to partner with municipalities to absorb graduates once they have acquired the relevant skills.
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