Zimbabwean value-added reseller Twenty Third Century Systems (TTCS) has signed a five year contract with SAP, a contract deemed as the biggest ever SAP public sector contract in Africa. The contract entails digitizing many of the Zambian government’s functions.

The firm will be giving software valued at R183 million, that will bridge a number of government departments.

Gwendal Pelicot, channel head: Africa at SAP says that the contract grew out of a digital citizen registration contract TTCS completed for the Zimbabwean government, where citizens have an electronic ID card that stays with them from birth to death.

The idea was expanded for the Zambian government to include more e-government services and to deploy and end-to-end SAP systems that spans most government departments, Pelicot says.

TTCS aims to provide a turnkey services, so alongside the SAP practice, TTCS group companies include Seven Seas, which provides hardware; Triple Play, which offers communications; and Devoted Business Solutions, which was the first African company to offer BusinessOne in the cloud.

The cloud will be central to this goal, he says, and TTCS has set up an innovation department focused on developing cloud-based solutions for the African continent.

Among the other African channel award winners was ROFF, a Portuguese company that has seen phenomenal growth in Africa. CEO Goncelo Seixas says there are tremendous opportunities for growth in Africa, and ROFF is expanding its operations to address them.

Its 900 SAP consultants are recruited from both Europe and the countries it operates in, and Seixas points out that its staff and corporate culture are a major reason for the company’s success.

ROFF is targeting 70% growth from its African operations in the next year.