India’s Zensar Technologies Ltd has become the first Indian IT firm to close an agreement with majority black owned investment business Kapela Fund 1 (Kapela) and The Tomorrow Trust to set up a new Broad Based Black Economic Empowered company in South Africa.
The deal will see Zensar become the majority shareholder of the Broad Based Black Economic Empowered Company and will also expand Zensar’s presence in South Africa.
According to Dr Ganesh Natarajan, Vice-Chairman and CEO of Zensar Technologies the new Company reiterates their commitment to South Africa and its transformational agenda will help consolidate their leadership in the region.
“We have had an extraordinarily successful decade of operations in South Africa and established leadership in providing technology solutions to the Banking, Insurance, Retail, Manufacturing and Mining sector,” Natarajan said. “This venture will help us expand our footprint into Government contracts and also enhance our standing in the Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) code of the Government.”
Israel Skosana, Executive Chairman of Kapela Holdings is delighted to partner with one of India’s IT leaders to establish a trailblazing venture in South Africa and promised to work with them.
Kim Feinberg, CEO of The Tomorrow Trust said they are ensuring that we have youth who are educated up in order to be proactive participants in South Africa’s economy and society.
“For business to succeed we have to make sure that education is a priority in our country. Zensar has acknowledged and has committed to this fact and therefore has partnered with us to make sure that this indeed happens. Our synergies with bursaries and leadership will be highlighted and developed, creating sustainable impact. The Tomorrow Trust Board of Trustees and I are all very excited about this deal,” Feinberg said.
Earlier on, Zensar launched its Learnership Development Program (LDP) and has been identifying local students from the PDI community in South Africa and training them in both South Africa and India. Harish Lala, Vice President and Africa Region Head, Zensar said, “In line with Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) framework, We are pleased that over eighty of them have already joined the workforce. The new Company will widen and deepen these partnerships for community development and reinforce our ‘Proudly South African’ vision for the country.”
The Learnership Development Program primarily equips students with crucial IT skills, such as software development and testing to ensure they are eligible for quality jobs. Sarvesh Batta who heads the initiative said, “Our aim is to home grow skills to service local Zensar clients in South Africa and also across Africa and increase our global capacity. By building a globally competent IT workforce, we can be part of the development of a world-class IT industry in South Africa.”
The South Africa program is part of Zensar’s Centre of Excellence (COE) initiatives around the world focused on training local students to join the workforce.