Rinchi
TechInAfrica – Local small and medium businesses gathered at the SMMEs in ICT Summit and Expo located at the Sandton Convention Centre, South Africa. The event allows small businesses to gain access to development and training through a platform. Moreover, it also looks out the role of women in the SMME ICT environment as well as provides enterprises more leadership skills.
Among the key topics of the SMMEs in ICT Summit and Expo was the Fourth Industrial Revolution, how the country should equip themselves and embrace it. It’s more about the strategy, which was being discussed and focused at the Summit.
What’s interesting about this year’s SMMEs in ICT Summit and Expo is that around 60% of the sessions were led by women in the tech industry. It was also bringing President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver the opening address, setting focus on providing ICT Skills for youths, women, and SMMEs.
Motse Mfuleni, ICT Summit Executive’s Chairman remarked, “The SMMEs in ICT Summit and Expo was created in order to act as a platform where industry titans merge together in discussion, with the aim to comprehend the role that government together with the private sector play in the development of SMMEs, by emphasizing the need to utilize ICT effectively to enhance business growth.”
He added, “The Summit’s leading platform is focused on the exchange of information on regulations, policies, and processes and to formulate strategies which will assist the growth of SMMEs. The Summit offers vast business networking opportunities, the mass potential for growth, new technology innovations, and investments.”
According to Motse, they work with the government and state entities that provide business opportunities for SMMEs. He said that SMMEs had changed from providing services to splicing and becoming software developers, enabling them to work within different environments. Therefore, the SMMEs in ICT Summit and Expo collaborates with governmental entities and private sector such as the Vodacom Innovator Trust in order to provide opportunities to SMMEs.
“…These strides enable SMMEs to empower themselves and take advantage of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” Motse explained.
Takalani Netshitenzhe, Vodacom Group’s Corporate Affairs Chief Officer, commented: “The National Development Plan states that SMME’s are the cornerstone of economic development. In our view, SMMEs have the potential to be the driving force of SA’s economy. This is why we are committed to the empowerment of small business. Vodacom supports the empowerment of small businesses through a number of initiatives, programmes, and undertakings such as our supply chain management system whose policies have been aligned to the empowerment policies of the government.”
Source: biznisafrica.com
