Equity Equivalent Investment Programme to drive digital transformation and create economic empowerment in South Africa.
Seven years on after launching the Microsoft Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP), the company evolves the programme. Microsoft announced the EEIP in 2011 where they committed 7 years to support black owned Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) helping them develop and expand.
The evolved Microsoft EEIP will now focus on investments in technology solutions in agriculture and digital transformation in the manufacturing sectors. It will also include funding of skills development of South Africa’s young software developers. Through multiple AppFactories hosted by strategic partners across the country.
According to Microsoft South Africa managing director, Lillian Barnard “these are two areas where government’s priority and Microsoft’s focus overlap. We are evolving the program to meet South Africa’s shifting social economic needs. As well as take advantage of the economic opportunities presented by public cloud and Microsoft datacenters (cloud services) now available in South Africa“.
As part of the Trade Ministry’s requirements for any multi national company operating in South Africa. Microsoft had to make a contribution towards the objectives of South Africa’s Trade and Industry Ministry Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) initiative. In 2011 Microsoft launched the Microsoft Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (EEIP) as a means of supporting South Africa’s transformation imperatives. It was established to address the ownership element of the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Act and approved by the Department of Trade and Industry.
Microsoft’s Equity Equivalent Programme injects direct funding and business development assistance into several sustainable, independent and majority black-owned software companies in South Africa. The programme targets investments that promote socio-economic advancement and development within the South African economy.
Empowering Next Gen companies
Over the 7 years, Microsoft has identified and supported 8 independent software vendors. For Microsoft the evolved EEIP will drive innovation. Through access to technology solutions and digital transformation to help businesses in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors compete and be successful. Microsoft wants to create experienced and employable young software developers to take advantage of the 4th Industrial Revolution and contribute towards the economic growth of South Africa.
Beneficiary ceo’s from Chillisoft, Maxxor, mmapro IT Solutions, Home Grown and iSOLV Technologies talk about the Microsoft EE program.
Home Grown – Microsoft Equity Equivalent Investment Programme recipient.
It has made a massive difference to our capabilities as a busines. Our status as a Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme partner gives us a great deal of credibility.
One such early beneficiary of the Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme is Home Grown. Home Grown is a utility management service provider. Developing solutions for the mobile cellular industry with a focus on the energy sector. The smart utility management platform uses Microsoft’s cloud technology Azure to forecast electricity demand in real time. It also incorporates external data such as weather measurement and GPS coordination to assist in more effective resource distribution and management.
Then a startup in Kwazulu Natal, Home Grown’s CEO Thaisi Shale, was looking for a way to break into the bigger South African market.
“In 2011 Microsoft confirmed that Home Grown had been formally identified as an Equity Equivalent Programme partner. Securing the business long term financial and strategic assistance from one of the globe’s largest technology pioneers.
Home Grown’s status as a Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme partner has afforded us the opportunity to solidify our internal resources. Since the announcement we have been able to take on valuable staff in marketing, administration and development. It has made a massive difference to our capabilities as a busines.
Our status as a Microsoft Equity Equivalent Programme partner gives us a great deal of credibility. Microsoft’s input from a strategic perspective has been invaluable. We believe that with their continued assistance we can competitively introduce our solutions to a global market.” – Thaisi Shale, CEO Home Grown
Microsoft Announces Africa Datacenters are available. Its Africa Cloud Regions are live.
Today, Microsoft announced its Africa datacenters are live. The two Datacenters located in South Africa will bring Microsoft’s total available and announced cloud regions to 54. Microsoft says the datacenters will begin to generally offer Azure service followed by office 365 and Dynamics 365 services in the near future.
“Azure is the first of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud services to be delivered from the new datacenters in South Africa. Office 365, Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity solution, is anticipated to be available by the third quarter of calendar year 2019, while Dynamics 365, the next generation of intelligent business applications, is anticipated in the fourth quarter”.
The two regions, South Africa North and South Africa West are located in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively.
“Azure is the first of Microsoft’s intelligent cloud services to be available from the new Microsoft cloud datacenters in Africa. And will be followed in the future by Microsoft’s cloud-based productivity solution, Office 365, and Dynamics 365, the next generation of intelligent business applications.”
Announced first in May 2017 with initial availability in 2018. The infrastructure had some setbacks that Microsoft said had to do with third-party supplier unable to deliver to specification. It was however expected in 2019.
Yousef Khalidi Corporate Vice President of Azure Networking at the event said; “with the availability of Microsoft’s cloud services delivered from Africa it will mean local companies can securely move their business to the cloud”.
Microsoft becomes the first cloud provider ahead of Amazon and Huawei go to live with its datacenters. The other cloud providers are scheduled to open or run Africa cloud regions.
New Microsoft South Africa Managing Director, Lillian Barnard spoke at the event and had this to share. “Technology is changing the way we live and work. She also says it will ultimately determine how businesses grow and innovate and Africa and Africa will not be left behind. At Microsoft we strongly believe that these substantial development in infrastructure, innovation and skills development will help South Africa navigate the fourth industrial revolution and set the country up for digital success. With today’s announcement we are aiming to accelerate these opportunities“.
Microsoft announces that Lillian Barnard, Director of Public Sector will assume a new role as South Africa Managing Director.
Lillian Barnard we know has been very active in fostering the women at Microsoft community. DigiGirlz, and other coding initiatives that empower women and girls in technology.
At AfricaCom 2017 we had the opportunity to hear her talk about Microsoft’s Digital transformation being critical to businesses in Africa.
As Microsoft South Africa Public Sector Director, she has helped in shaping the countries digital transformation journey. With programs that include digital skills developement and digital transformation of businesses.
New South Africa Managing Director
Microsoft says “During her tenure at Microsoft, Barnard has pulled together a strong Public Sector team that has delivered innovative digital solutions and helped digitally transform the South African Government. She has also been pivotal in re-igniting the South African chapter of Women At Microsoft and spurring a culture that embraces gender equality in the workplace. Her development and impact as a leader, as a spokesperson, as technologist and as a seller within Microsoft have positioned her as an ideal successor capable of leading Microsoft South Africa into its next exciting chapter“.
Lillian will take over from Zoaib Hoosen who has been at the post for about 5 years.
“Succeeding someone who has led with such distinction is an honour” she shares. “Zoaib has ensured that I will be taking over an extraordinary organisation. The business truly is in a strong position as a result of his commitment over the last five years. I am planning to continue to drive this growth as we move forward“.
It’s been reported that the planned 2018 initial availability of Microsoft’s datacenters didn’t go live because of “the inability of a third-party supplier to deliver to specification“. It is however expected in 2019, but no dates have been confirmed yet because apparently it is an “unprecedented level of infrastructure“.
Microsoft announced in May 2017 that it was going to deliver its Microsoft Cloud from datacenters in Africa. By opening an Azure region in Africa, with two datacenters in South Africa. In Johannesburg, South Africa North and Cape Town, South Africa West. The announcement said the datacenters will be delivered with initial availability in 2018. I have often wondered and paid attention to know when, as this affects our region in many ways.
Microsoft South Africa’s Director of Commercial Partners, Lionel Moyal, said the two Azure datacenter regions are due to go live at the end of 2018. He said we are within weeks. Lionel was speaking to entrepreneurs and startups at the Global Entrepreneurship Week 2018 in South Africa about Microsoft’s new Head Start initiative. He shared that “latency will not be an issue any more. It is not just for South Africa it is a cloud for Africa. About creating trust and impactful projects”.
From an investment point of view Lionel Moyal said IDC reports South Africa expects to add 112,000 IT specific jobs by 2022. That there is a shortage of skills in IT jobs. And the growth rate of IT jobs is 3 times more than national job opportunities. People need to skill up in cloud technologies, machine learning, AI, mobile technologies, development tools.
Head Start initiative to provide support for startups in South Africa
Microsoft introduced a new initiative designed to help startups at this years Global Entrepreneurship Week in South Africa. During the tech day session it announced Head Start, an initiative to provide the package it offers its partners to Startups in South Africa.
Making the announcement and speaking on Building an IP economy in South Africa was Lionel Moyal, Director Commercial Partners Ecosystem. It is an exciting day to take what Microsoft does with partners in south Africa and extend it to what startups actually need. We get how critical entrepreneurship is especially in the South African context where job creation is vital if we are to improve our economy.
We will support you
to find your first customers
and get your products to market
as quickly as possible.
He shared that Head Start is about opening doors. Opening the Technology, Business and Compliance, Regulation and legal door to startups. It is a support program, through skills development, access to coaches and mentors. (As a startup you can be alone, you don’t know where to go, you need advise, to talk to someone who understands AI, Services, Manufacturing, etc.)
Lionel shared that Head Start isn’t about Microsoft giving you funding nor taking equity in your startups. It’s your IP(intellectual property), we just want you to leverage our platform and use the ecosystem we make available. We will support you to find your first customers and get your products to market as quickly as possible. We know that is one of the hardest thing to do from a startup perspective.
More on what Lionel Moyal shared about Microsoft Head Start
We are in a transformative time where Digital technology is taking over. Everything is becoming digitized. There isn’t a single industry which hasn’t had an impact with digital technology. All the different tools exist today on demand.
Microsoft today is a completely new organization. We are a platform company with a mission to empower every person and organization on the planet to achieve more. It’s about we make the technologies that other people use to make solutions. We enable but our partners create the solutions that solve the worlds challenges.
As a startup time isn’t your friend.
Our partner model is fundamentally founded on being proactive. We enable success and require our partners to deliver transformative solutions. We proactively work with you to deliver great solutions using out platform.
As a startup time isn’t your friend. Your success is deepened on your partnerships and how well you can leverage the ecosystem. We want to create an ecosystem of creators not consumers. It is about the startups and partners who will make something about it. If you are a startup in tech, there are no borders in this digital economy, your market is the world.
The head start initiative will launch with local Microsoft partners tarsus, BUI, First Distribution, Britehouse, Rectron, Senetic, CloudLogic, Tangent Solutions and Liquid Telecom volunteering to help startups take products to market at scale.
As a startup partner you’ ll get ;
Interested in knowing more and want to get started?
You can also listen to Lionel’s discussion with Africa Business Radio podcast about this initiative or watch the event video below.
Microsoft hosts event to celebrate partner achievement in South Africa.
The award event set aside each year recognizes the contributions of the Microsoft partner community. The community that enable and empower Microsoft’s customers do more.
Microsoft South Africa Managing Director, Zoaib Hoosen, speaking at the award ceremony said “Our partners are the lifeblood of our business. Bringing our platforms and solution areas to life and enabling the success of our customers”.
He reiterated words from Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, from the Inspire 2018 partner event. “What binds us together is not our success, but the success our customers achieve”.
Zoaib Hoosen told partners they met their fiscal year 2018 targets as was also shared during the Microsoft Partner CEO Forum in Accra. Where Ibrahim Youssry said Microsoft recorded a record growth in Africa for the first time.
Here are the partners who were adjudged the best in the solutions and services they offer:
Microsoft South Africa FY18 Partner Award 2018 Winners
Managing Director’s partner of the Year
Winner : Mint Management Technologies
Cloud Solution Provider of the Year Tarsus On Demand
Licensing Solution Partner of the Year Dimension Data – Britehouse Group
Cloud Solution Reseller of the Year First Technology Group
Dynamics Customer Relationship Management Partner of the Year Mint Management Technologies
Dynamics Enterprise Resource Planning Partner of the Year Karabina Business Technology Solutions
Data, Analytics and Artificial Intelligence Partner of the Year Karabina Business Technology Solutions
Microsoft Hybrid Cloud Platform Partner of the Year AccTech Systems
Industry Application Development Partner of the Year Karabina Business Technology Solutions
Modern Workplace Partner of the Year Mint Mangement Technologies
Microsoft Software Asset Management Partner of the Year First Technology group
IP Co-Sell Partner of the Year Ascent Technology
Microsoft Retail Partner of the Year Incredible Connection
Microsoft Intelligent Edge Device Partner of the Year Mustek
Best New Practice Partner Ascent Technology
Best Go-To-Market Execution Partner of the Year Award Xcontent Business Solutions
Consumer Distributor & Sub Distributor of the Year Axiz
