SITA has celebrated the graduation of 13 SMME participants in its initiative to empower black small business owners in South Africa – the SITA Enterprise and Supplier Development program.
The program enables these suppliers to participate across the entire ICT value chain with the purpose to create specific support mechanisms in the way that it impacts these SMME’s positively for their long-term sustainability.
The program was a boot camp that aimed to equip these suppliers as whole-rounders through training at both technical and non-technical levels.
Dr Setumo Mohapi, Chief Executive Officer and speaker at the SITA SMME graduation ceremony explained, “What we’re doing here is beefing up specific skills of people who have been in our supplier database for years.
“We are beefing up their skills in business management, such as basic housekeeping of business management, the second part is Business Development, how to create products, how to create presentations and how to pitch under different circumstances, and essentially helping them create a value proposition.
“The third part is looking at the technical aspects of their work, we have a wide variety of, service providers, not just in the ICT sector. Participants choose a number of things that are available to them and we take them through that program,” he added.
“It is also in our interest to make sure that it is not just about training but about getting results of SMME’S participating practically in this,” added Mohapi.
The celebrants included the 13 out of 16 SMME delegates who have graduated from SITA’s Enterprise development program who passport their business and have technical aspects in place.
The event marked the culmination of the program for this financial year.
The program was initiated for the first time in the past year and means to engage with the number of the people who have been in SITA’s databases for years without work.
Mohapi noted that this should have been implemented long ago. “16 is small compared to the size of the industry since the government span for ICT is almost R20 billion, and the number of SMME’s in the system are quite large,” said Mohapi.
SITA aspires to expand the program by investing in it greatly in the future.
SITA’s Enterpise development supplier program represents and covers every province in the country.
“ICT, and non-ICT it is aligned with our transformation and partner policy, and we have set the target for the next year in terms of span in SMME, not to the mechanism PFA, direct span primary contractors of 30%,” he added.
“One of the obligations in SITA’s mandate includes driving transformation,” said Ms Jabulile Tlhako.
Thlako stressed the vitality of this program in the ICT sector and explained that it contributes to GDP growth.
It is projected that by 2020 the ICT sector has to spend R20 billion to sustain growth in the ICT sector.
These numbers are calling of associations, such as SITA to drive transformation through programs like these.
“Competition between entrepreneurs is good and essentially allows both SITA and our country to get the best out of the market from a business perspective which is another reason for this program.” said Mohapi.
