Download presentations presented at the Phakisa launch on 27 February 2008!
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The official launch of Phakisa took place on 27 February 2008 at the Bytes Technology Centre in Midrand.
Platinum Sponsor for this event: Bytes Technology Group!
Gold Sponsor:
Other Partners
“Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” (Henry Ford)
The ITA offers, as part of its commitment to ASGISA (Accelerated and Shared Growth - South Africa), an institutional strengthening and capacity development programme for SME’s in the ICT sector. The ITA SME Development Programme, Phakisa (Sesotho word meaning “accelerate”), aims at enhancing managerial and business skills and hopes to cover subjects of strategic importance to ensure economic and social development in this sector.
Background
The core objective of the South African Government as set out in 2004 is to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014. The ITA believes that these objectives are feasible through cooperation, partnerships and sustainable development initiatives encouraging new businesses to proliferate and expand.
The overall aim of the ITA SME Development Programme, Phakisa (Sesotho word meaning “accelerate”) is to strengthen the performance and competitiveness of SME’s in the ICT industry in order to pave the way for industry growth and thereby add to the creation of increased added value production and additional employment opportunities. The specific objectives of Phakisa are to:
Improve the profitability and competitiveness of SME’s in the ICT industry.
Improve the management capability of SME’s by increasing participants’ awareness and application of modern business principles.
Develop the ability of SME managers to access and improve business performance as part of the continuous learning process.
Facilitate the use of existing networks as a business development tool.
Facilitate the use of business management tools for diagnosing and early warning.
Assist SME managers in the preparation of business plans.
The programme is divided into four main areas, each addressing one or more of the programme objectives, namely Mentorship, Networking, Training and Recognition.
1. Mentorship.
Various mentors from both our industry partners as well as public partners have been identified. Besides giving guidance on developing a sustainable business plan, mentors will meet with SME’s on a quarterly basis to address specific business development needs.
2. Networking.
SME’s will be encouraged to actively participate in the various networking events, industry initiatives and special interest groups run by the ITA where they will be afforded the opportunity to forge new business relationships. Participants in the programme will receive exposure on all existing ITA marketing platforms (ie. ITA Website).
3. Training.
SME’s will firstly be educated on how to make use of existing structures such as NAFCOC and SEDA to the benefit of their business. Secondly, focused training sessions addressing the various aspects of managing a profitable business will be presented on a monthly basis. Experts in the field of business management will present these sessions ensuring that participants gain maximum benefit from each event. Themes to be covered include:
· Enterprise management in a changing business environment.
· Improvement of competitiveness through customer orientation and quality management.
· Production management.
· Financial management.
· Business planning and performance monitoring.
· Marketing management: market analysis and sales planning.
· Human resource management.
· Management of technology.
· SME support institutions.
4. Recognition.
All participants of Phakisa will be automatically entered into the ITA ICT Awards and recipients will be announced at the ITA ICT Awards evening covered by various media partners.
There are several initiatives designed to support small businesses. The National African Federated Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NAFCOC) has a vision to promote and facilitate the development of business in South Africa and is committed to establishing 100 000 new SME’s per year. The Information Systems, Electronics and Telecommunications Technologies SETA (ISETT SETA) seeks to develop South Africa into an ICT knowledge based society by encouraging more people to develop skills in this sector and thereby contributing to the economic growth of South Africa. Other interventions are supported by the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) based at the DTI. Through our close relationship with the ISETT SETA, NAFCOC and SEDA we are able to bring these initiatives to SME’s in the ICT industry.
The ITA comprises a body of members including all the top names concerned with the supply of IT equipment, systems, software and services nationwide. This initiative is supported by all ITA members, and the ITA Executive Council (EXCO) is committed to actively participate in, and support the programme. The ITA EXCO comprises representatives from the following companies:
· Accsys
· Anglo e-Waste
· Axiz
· Bateleur Holdings
· Business Connexion
· Comztek
· GOL Telecoms
· IBM SA
· KTS
· Laragh Skills
· Microsoft SA
· Paracon SA
· SAP Africa
· Siemens Business Services
· Softline VIP
· Swicon SA
· Torque IT
The National Small Business Act defines five categories of business, namely:
Survivalist enterprise. The income generated is less than the minimum income standard or poverty line.
Micro enterprise. The turnover is less than the VAT registration limit (R150 000 per year).
Very small enterprises. These are enterprises employing fewer that 10 paid employees. These enterprises operate in the formal market and have access to technology.
Small enterprise. The upper limit is 50 employees.
Medium enterprise. The maximum number of employees is 100.
As per the definitions above, the ITA invites all SME’s with a turnover of between R150 000 and R5 million per annum operating in the ICT industry to apply for participation in Phakisa.
All applications will be reviewed by the ITA EXCO to determine eligibility for participation in the programme. Application forms can be requested from the ITA Office.
We look forward to welcoming all SME’s to Phakisa and believe that by “coming together, keeping together and working together” we will be able to ensure the sustainable growth of the ICT sector!