Seven South African IT companies were invited to test their "export-readiness" at a five-day workshop in Rotterdam. Fifty companies from as far afield as Colombia and Egypt were hosted by the CBI, an agency of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
ePages.net, a Durban-based Web software development company, was one of the companies selected.
MD Penny Macpherson found the workshop very encouraging for South African IT companies. "South Africa enjoys a positive world image," she commented. "Twelve years on, we are still perceived as the country that achieved a miraculously peaceful transition to democracy. 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," she said.
South Africa is well positioned to export IT skills. As the language of business, English is widely spoken, time zones are compatible with Europe and there is a good cultural affinity between South African and European companies. Compared with other developing countries, South Africa enjoys a First World communications infrastructure.
During the week-long visit, the delegates attended lectures on quality issues, legal requirements and marketing strategies as well as one-on-one sessions where the strengths and weaknesses of individual companies were work-shopped. The companies had the opportunity to meet with potential business partners as well as discuss common issues that affect South African companies such as cost competitiveness.
"South Africa is not the cheapest option," remarked Macpherson. "A reduction in telecommunications costs would allow us to be more competitive."
One of the key issues of the workshop was quality. Although South African IT products were deemed to be of high quality, there was a lack of formally recognised quality standards such as ISO 9001:2000.
Roger Couzens of Natcom Electronics, a Durban designer and manufacturer of military grade communications systems, commented that the path to establish business in Europe is tough, but the CBI workshop "provided a clear vision of what we as South African IT companies need to do to secure European contracts".
As a starting point to achieving European trade relations, the CBI will provide funding to the South African companies selected, allowing them to achieve ISO 9001:2000 or CMMI quality certification.
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