Small, black-owned IT companies are being given a boost through a Cape IT Initiative (CITI) project, which was officially launched by Western Province MEC for finance Lynne Brown yesterday.
The project, the UUNet BandWidthBarn Launchpad, was started about nine months ago, when 11 companies were selected to be the first of what CITI hopes will be a succession of enterprises that will help keep the province at the forefront of IT innovation.
Of the original 11 companies, eight have made it through the three-phase process that should provide them with a stable platform for future growth. As part of the sponsorship, the companies are given subsidised rates and facilities at the UUNet BandWidthBarn, and have access to mentors from established businesses that can guide them on how to deal with various issues. They are also provided with incentives to actively go out and canvass for clients.
"There are no cash handouts and this is no free ride. Just because it may be a BEE company, it doesn`t mean it can coast," CITI executive director Masedi Molosiwa Molosiwa told ITWeb.
The three companies dropped out of the programme as there was a lack of commitment from the individuals forming them, he says.
Brown said in her speech that the Western Cape government had donated R250 000 to the project as part of a wider strategy to encourage employment in sustainable industries throughout the province.
"This province is very fortunate as it produces 10 000 graduate and 20 000 matriculants every year. However, we still have a very high unemployment rate of around 500 000 people," she said.
Companies in the Launchpad project are:
* Delta Computer Solutions, which aims to address the fears of SMEs that depend on the computer to conduct business.
* UniNet, a wireless Internet service provider that covers 80% of the greater Cape Town area and plans to roll-out its network nationally.
* Iclub, which provides video steaming entertainment to the nightclub market.
* JT IT Solutions, which develops customised solutions for SMEs in the Eastern Cape.
* 4 Pals IT Solutions, which provides video jukeboxes to shebeens in the townships to bring a previously inaccessible audience to the advertising industry.
* Knowledge Crucible, which provides simple but specific knowledge solutions, using its own CASE tool, OnCrucible.
* Rylurx IT, which is developing a Western Cape football domain as a hub for soccer development and growth.
* Ubhedu Business Solutions, which provides SMEs with computer training, PC solutions and accounting software.
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