Selected South African IT companies participated in a five-day Centre for the Promotion of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) workshop in Rotterdam, to test and improve their "export readiness" as part of an IT outsourcing programme.
The CBI and SA`s Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) select applicants which are well positioned to export IT skills, and to partner with appropriate European companies. The participating South African companies were 2Cana Solutions, Natcom Electronics, Epages.net, Psybergate, Gencentric, Technisoft, Digital Coast, Insignia Five Technology, Data World, and Pilotfish Digital.
The CBI hosted fifty companies in total from as far afield as Colombia and Egypt in Rotterdam.
According to Dave Carson, MD of 2Cana Solutions, the workshop was beneficial and answered every question he had about European ventures. "I came back with a really clear direction about how to market in Europe," he says. "Meeting people from different countries and making ties for possible joint ventures with them was awesome."
"SA enjoys a positive world image," says Penny Macpherson, MD of ePages. "We need to brand ourselves as an African success story - a nation of people who have the will and the capacity to succeed in world markets."
"The CBI programme provided us with a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the European market," says Adam Shapiro, director of Pilotfish Digital. "It was great to meet colleagues from interesting parts of the world, as well as form closer bonds with the South African participants."
According to a spokesman at the DTI, CBI will host a similar workshop for contact centre outsourcing in November. Four South African companies will participate.
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