Telkom has unveiled a partnership with the Eastern Cape business incubation centre Propella FutureMakers Hub to establish a new business incubation centre in the province.
According to Telkom, this is the second business incubation centre to be unveiled under the company's enterprise development programme, FutureMakers, following the Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town.
The partnership aims to train and support entrepreneurs within the technology sector with critical business development skills and provide them with financial assistance, the company says.
Telkom's chief administration officer Ian Russell says the heart of the FutureMakers mission is to enable, empower and inspire entrepreneurs, particularly within the field of technology, by providing ongoing support and coaching, in order to grow young, small businesses into big businesses.
"Ultimately, by supporting innovation throughout the technology sector, we can create jobs, improve digital access and develop a stable and competitive supply chain," he asserts.
According to a statement from Telkom, in May 2015, the company announced it would invest more than R10 million into FutureMakers. Since then, the FutureMakers Fund, which provides seed capital to entrepreneurs, has invested more than R28 million in seven companies.
FutureMakers has helped develop more than 600 entrepreneurs through business incubation programmes in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth to date, says Telkom.
Jaci Barnett, chief executive officer of Innovolve and chairperson of the Propella board, says having the Propella Futuremakers Hub will help keep highly sought-after computer science and information systems graduates in the metro.
"It is important that we retain the skills in order to grow the economy of our city and create sustainable jobs," she says.
Alumni from the mechatronics, engineering and chemistry departments are also being encouraged to stay and develop their own advanced manufacturing businesses through the support being offered at the Propella Business Incubator, she adds.
"In the converged world of what is known as Business 4.0, it is as important for manufacturers to have high-speed data connections as it is for them to have the research back-up and equipment that we provide through the Propella programme," explains Barnett.
As part of the Propella sponsorship, Telkom says it has installed a dedicated 100 MB fibre link, the fastest business data line available in the Eastern Cape. It is able to download a 2MB movie or its equivalent in 25 seconds.
The high-speed line will help accelerate the establishment of successful new businesses in the Eastern Cape.
Wayne Oosthuizen, managing director of Engeli Enterprises, manages the Propella hub in partnership with Innovolve, the commercialisation company of the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University.
He says this fibre link will enable local tech entrepreneurs working on app development to have adequate connectivity and capacity.
"In addition, our advanced manufacturing enterprises will be able to share engineering files and collaborate with other entrepreneurs around the world," observes Oosthuizen.
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