SAP and Microsoft have signed up for the Information Society Partnership for Africa`s Development (ISPAD) as foundation, or platinum, partners for the price of around $100 000 each.
This was made public at a news conference held on Sunday after the President`s International Advisory Council (PIAC) meeting in Cape Town. Both companies are represented on the council, which also includes the likes of SA Internet millionaire Mark Shuttleworth.
Hasso Plattner, SAP co-founder and chairman of its advisory board, and Jean-Phillippe Courtois, CEO of the Microsoft EMEA region, made the announcements on behalf of their respective companies.
Courtois acknowledged that Microsoft had paid the sum of $100 000 for the privilege and that the company would also be involved in a number of education and upliftment programmes. Earlier this year the company began to roll-out free software for 7 000 schools throughout the country.
SAP did not say how much it had paid, but Plattner says the distinction reserved for a foundation partner was for corporations that have demonstrated a serious commitment to the continent.
"Specifically in SA, SAP supports e-learning programmes such as the African Drive Project and the financial management training programme for government officials, as well as the Distributed Advanced Strategic System for Industrial e-Learning project, which provides an ICT-based learning portal to engineering students at six participating colleges in the Western Cape region," he says.
ISPAD is part of the New Partnership for Africa`s Development campaign, spearheaded by SA president Thabo Mbeki.
Government officials say the money corporations pay in order to become members will go towards running the secretariat and other administration costs. Companies may also supply staff in various capacities to help implement programmes and supply expertise.
Share
