Software services provider SAP aims to achieve at least $1 billion - or R8.1 billion - in revenue from operations in Africa within the next five years.
The group, listed on the Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges, is targeting Africa's fastest growing economies in a bid to reach this “conservative” target, says co-CEO Bill McDermott. McDermott addressed a media roundtable yesterday evening as part of a visit to SA.
McDermott says he wants the African business to grow in triple digits. “We have no interest in excuses, that's not how we roll.”
SAP recorded revenue of EUR3.9 billion (R39.4 billion) in the second quarter of the year. It provides services to 200 000 companies and has 61 000 employees across the globe. The group does not disclose regional revenue.
McDermott says SAP operates in 134 countries and provides solutions to 24 industries around the world. The group is targeting turnover of EUR20 billion (R202 billion) by 2015, of which EUR2 billion (R21 billion) will come from the cloud.
The group will invest multiple millions of dollars in its ecosystem in a bid to achieve a minimum of 50% yearly growth in Africa by 2020, says McDermott. The group wants a non-payroll workforce and will aid its partners to train employees.
McDermott says SAP would not make the investment without a return, but sees “a lot of opportunity here. You have to go where the market is.”
The group will maintain its South African base, and its African operations will report to SAP SA MD Pfungwa Serima.
Serima says the company is targeting Angola, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Rwanda, and will open offices in most of the countries, except Rwanda. In some instances, it already has a presence on the ground.
SAP is targeting industries such as resources, infrastructure and financial services in its bid to tap into Africa's growth potential. McDermott says the group will grow through its five core pillars of applications, analytics, mobile, database technology and the cloud.
There are 750 million mobile users in Africa, of which 25% use smartphones, says McDermott. “The mobile device is the desktop.”
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