International Data Corporation’s (IDC) South Africa IT Services Market 2017-2021 Forecast and 2016 Analysis shows that the South African IT Services market grew 15.13% in local currency terms last year, but remained flat in US dollar terms,
Jon Tullett, research manager of IT Services at IDC Africa, says the ongoing macro-economic difficulties in the market are expected to continue, and this will, in turn, continue to inhibit growth in dollar terms.
“2016 was another challenging year for IT Services, and IT in general in South Africa,” says Tullett. The economic climate and several years of austere spend are starting to come to a head with confidence in future growth at a very low level. Opportunities remain in key areas such as outsourcing and cloud, but more strategic and longer-term engagements are under pressure and may remain on the back burner until the economy improves.”
In the previous years, there has been a notable trend by enterprises to rely on services to facilitate cost-cutting and to restructure infrastructure spend, improve efficiency, and position themselves for digital transformation. “This trend is starting to decline because of continued economic pressure, with many organisations now operating in a fully defensive model, with longer-term strategic investment on hold,” he says.
These forecasts do, however, remain subject to ongoing exchange rate fluctuations, with questions remaining over economic and political stability.
Some notable developments in the market included Microsoft’s announcement earlier this year that it would establish an Azure cloud region in South Africa, deploying infrastructure in collocated data centres in Johannesburg and Cape Town to offer locally hosted cloud services to customers. This follows announcements by IBM, in partnership with Vodacom and Gijima, and T-Systems, in partnership with Huawei, to provide cloud infrastructure in the country.
“Another key development was the conclusion of Telkom’s acquisition of BCX.” (via Bizcommunity)
Investec Asset Management, RMB Ventures Acquire Stake In Botswana-based Retailer
Kamoso, a Botswana-based retailer and consumer goods company, was acquired by a consortium that includes Investec Asset Management Private Equity, RMB Ventures, local partners and Kamoso’s senior management team.
The transaction is believed to be Botswana’s largest ever private-equity investment.
Kamoso is a manufacturer and supplier of consumer goods and healthcare products to retailers in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. It operates from facilities in Botswana and South Africa, as well as Liquorama, Botswanan liquor retailer, and Builders Mart, a DIY and hardware chain.
Kamoso was formed in 2015 as part of an investment by Development Capital Partners, a New York investment firm and Standard Chartered Private Equity. Both firms have now sold their shareholdings. Over the last few years, Kamoso has expanded from its roots in Botswana to supply retailers across Southern Africa. (via Bizcommunity)
Seedstars World Announces 10 Startups To Pitch At Seedstars World Harare
On October 27th, 10 of Zimbabwe’s most promising seed stage startups will compete to represent the country at the Regional and Global Seedstars Summits, and to win up to USD 1 million in equity investments and other prizes.
Seedstars World, the global seed-stage startup competition for emerging markets and fast-growing startup scenes has brought its pre-selection rounds to an end and selected 10 promising tech startups to pitch at the Seedstars Harare pitching event on October 27th at 2pm at Impact Hub Harare.
The top startups selected to advance to the pitching event are:
- Commonground is a peer-networking app that connects university students to share projects, ideas, and opportunities
- Badala helps online businesses to receive payments using a Direct Mobile Billing driven wallet and payment gateway
- Equities Nest.org is a platform will help you get started on the African stock markets with a few clicks
- FundoLinker has created a platform where schools, companies, skilled people and donors meet to overcome skills building challenges
- JMP Africa’s focus is on the development of energy access to developing urban and rural communities in Africa and offering onsite generation solutions
- Munch is a tech based, logistics, online food ordering company that connects hungry food lovers with local restaurants in their city.
- myRunnerOver a million people travel by bus each month,their vision is to change the way bus travel is experienced and make it easier and safer
- Shirishanu Promoplus is the first SMS and social media platform in Zimbabwe that is fully cloud-based. The system is cheaper and easy to set up
- Tipster is democratising the news making process by placing the power of the media into the hands of the ordinary people
- Plan My Wedding is a platform that allows couples to plan and manage their wedding from logistics to invitations and costs all in one place
