Gauteng Business 2017-18 edition

OVERVIEW
ICT
Financial institutions are investing in ICT.
Gauteng is a leader in the ICT sector. With several global
companies choosing to station their South African headquarters
in Gauteng, the province is well connected.
Spending on ICT in South Africa is expected to reach
R266-billion in 2017, according to market analyst Gartner, quoted in
ITWeb. Software spending is driving growth. Among the biggest
spenders on ICT are banks and other financial institutions. The Big
Four banks spent R30-billion in the year to June 2016, with Standard
Bank laying out R14-billion in that period (Tech Central).
The new mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, recently announced
that, “We will be aggressively expanding the rollout of our
free Wifi network across the city.” The City of Tshwane’s free service
TshWi-Fi is available in 780 zones such as libraries, educational
institutions, clinics and libraries.
Premier David Makhura announced in 2017 that more than 1 500km
of network fibre has been rolled out in Gauteng since 2014. A total of
3 000 access sites should be connected by 2020.
The Small Enterprise Development Agency (Seda) runs the
SoftstartBTI ICT incubator in Midrand and Tuksnovation, a high-tech
incubator, at Pretoria University. Seda is an agency of the National
Department of Small Business Development, and gives non-financial
support to entrepreneurs.
The National Electronic Media Institute of South Africa (NEMISA)
was originally created to create skills for the broadcasting environment,
but it is now being integrated with eSkills Network and the Institute
for Satellite and Software Applications (ISSA) to form Ikamva National
e-Skills Institute (iNeSI). The focus is on developing e-skills capacity
in South Africa by creating partnerships that guide e-skills initiatives.
The head office is in Johannesburg.
CONTACT INFO
Department of Trade and Industry: www.dti.gov.za
Technology Innovation Agency: www.tia.org.za
Ikamva National e-Skills Institute: www.enesi.org.za
Independent Communications Authority: www.icasa.org.za
State Information Technology Agency: www.sita.co.za
SECTOR INSIGHT
Johannesburg and Tshwane
have free Wifi zones.
The Universal Service and
Access Agency of South Africa
(USAASA) is providing connectivity
for schools in five provinces,
and smart devices have been
distributed to schools.
A number of incentives relevant
to companies and educational
bodies in the ICT sector are available
from the Department of Trade
and Industry (dti). These include:
• The Technology and Human
Resources for Industry
Programme (THRIP): companies
and educational institutions
working to improve
technology; 50/50 cost sharing
grant to a maximum of
R8-million
• Technology Development
Fund: the Technology
Innovation Agency makes up
to R50-million available for up
to 10 years
• Technology Venture Capital:
managed by the Industrial
Development Corporation;
commercialisation of innovative
products, processes and
technologies.
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