The Black IT Forum (BITF), in partnership with various other organisations, will launch an initiative to develop black-owned small companies in the ICT sector by the beginning of 2008.
Known as Project Tswelopele ("going forward"), the initiative will seek funding from larger ICT corporates. The BITF will then run a 12-month pilot with between 10 and 20 small firms, according to the forum's Gauteng executive Brandon Redcliffe.
The firms' specific needs and shortcomings will be analysed, and professional consultants will be brought in to address these issues.
Redcliffe, whose BITF portfolio focuses on the development of SMEs, says the overall performance of each participating business will be tracked throughout the period.
If Project Tswelopele is successful in this 12-month pilot, it will be expanded to more SMEs. This will encompass BITF constituted offices in the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State and Eastern Cape.
Securing funds
"There are various organisations running SME development projects, but we have found that nobody is accurately measuring the success of these initiatives," says Redcliffe.
He adds that research - conducted by the BITF and Thabiso Consulting - has sought a deeper understanding of the needs of SMEs.
The BITF is now in the final stages of organising the initial corporate investment, he notes. These "inception partners" will need to contribute a combined investment of about R500 000 to get the pilot off the ground, he points out.
Motivation
Redcliffe dismisses the idea that the larger ICT companies will get involved in the project for their own selfish reasons - like finding talented black management or technical experts to bring onto their own payroll.
"We wouldn't want it to be a scouting mission," he says, preferring to focus on the fact that some of these smaller businesses will be able to form direct, useful partnerships with larger players in the technology sector.
The major SME challenges, he points out, are a shortage of R&D funds, an inability to compete in price wars, and weak delivery capabilities.
He believes this needs to change, as "most emerging markets are built on the development of small businesses".
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