IDZ needs motivate IT initiative

Steering committee will address six areas AN IT initiative aimed at consolidating and growing the province’s IT sector is being spearheaded by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC). The province’s two industrial development zones at Coega and East London, together with the strong automotive and manufacturing sectors, will drive up the demand for efficient IT, says Abu Abullatief, responsible for promoting investment into the IT sector at ECDC. The IDZs, in particular, lend themselves to a strong logistics sector that is highly IT intensive, he says. There is also the opportunity to develop and export specialist software for the auto value chain sector among others. A steering committee will address six areas. These range from increasing the number of SMMEs in the industry and increasing the number of start-ups and promoting their survival, to increasing BEE participation, reducing the negative effects of globalisation, and promoting further understanding of the sector through sectoral research. He is also satisfied that it will form a good platform to launch into the rest of the untapped African market. Most of this, he says, has the same time zones as Europe, has the same broad cultural base as Europe and has English as first language in the IT industry.