BuaNews (Tshwane)
14 July 2008
Johannesburg — Head of Microsoft South Africa, David Ives, has announced that four Microsoft Innovation Centres will be built in Africa in the next two years, two of which will be located in South Africa.
He said the centres act as economic 'spark plugs' for local innovators and the local software industry.
They will also provide an estimated 6 000 businessmen and women per year with the technology they need to start up businesses or further their careers.
"The two new local centres will supplement South Africa's existing centres, at SmartXchange in Durban and the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE) in Braamfontein.
"These new centres will provide a huge boost for skills development in the local technology industry by providing world-class facilities and support programs in innovation, intellectual capital, technology and business skills for start-ups, software developers, IT professionals, government and universities," Mr Ives said.
Speaking at the 7th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Government Summit in Mauritius at the end of May 2008, Mr Ives said Microsoft would be stepping up its operations in South Africa.
"Microsoft is further stepping up its skills development efforts by expanding its S2B job enablement programme, which helped more than 1 000 graduates find jobs in its first year in South Africa," said Mr Ives.
S2B helps local companies find and hire technology students, and provides the necessary certification to qualified candidates.
This in turn enables them to participate in the technology economy and fuel new growth and innovation at local companies
The summit was organised to bring together key ICT decision makers together to robustly discuss how ICTs can help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
At the end of the summit, a declaration was drafted outlining key outcomes and suggestions on how to implement change and find champions to drive it.
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