New Tech Hub for George
Eve Dmochowska 
Press Release:
A consortium of Garden Route based companies is ready to launch an IT technology hub in George which will create jobs and train up new skills.
George’s IT company owner Imel Rautenbach is currently drumming up support for the initiative at provincial and national level. The consortium aims to use the Western Cape Province’s business arm to market and develop in order to get launched nationally and internationally. IT technology and electronic centred businesses will be the engine that will drive this local initiative. “The idea behind pooling resources and skills is to keep all our software and hardware developmental work in the Garden Route. We already have around 30 businesses on our data base that have all the necessary skills and technology to form the nucleus. “
“We plan to link up our efforts with that of the Province. By collectively marketing and taking on projects jointly we can land contracts which may otherwise have been outsourced to companies outside the region. With the skills data base we now have we can take on big contracts, and the risk of one small company folding, is eliminated because collectively we can pool our skills to ensure continuity” says Rautenbach who was recently elected the Vice President of the George Chamber of Business.
On www.gardenrouteconsortium.co.za you can read more about their quest to “Provide project management and quality control services during the full lifecycle of large and complex projects. To define, enable, and manage key technology growth areas in the region.”
Provincial government support
Rautenbach has just returned from a very successful round of meetings with Western Cape Government on how the IT Consortium can link in to and benefit from the Western Cape’s own IT strategy and marketing initiatives. Alan Winde, MEC for Finance and Tourism is very excited about the potential the consortium holds for the Garden Route region. He has committed to bringing a high powered delegation of provincial officials to the region to further explore this potential.
”This initiative fits perfectly with our own plans for the growing of the Technology industry within province”, said Jo-Anne Johnston, Western Cape’s Chief Director of Trade and Industry Development. She has committed her department’s full support for the initiative and is exploring ways of bringing other government departments onboard as well.
Jenny McKinnel, Executive Director of the Cape IT Initiative (CITI), is equally excited. Citi is a non-profit organisation established in 1998 to develop and support the information and communications technology (ICT) cluster in the Western Cape. “CITI is keen to support the Garden Route IT Consortium as their goals are directly in line with our own”, said McKinnel. CITI are going to be working together with the Garden Route IT Consortium to unlock government funding and help promote the region as an IT destination, especially focussing on the impressive line-up of currently supplied services and R&D projects the various consortium members are working on.
Research and Development
The Consortium also has a strong focus on Research and Development (R&D), with several innovations currently in the works. These includes projects like fridge magnets that will show the current water level in your rain tank, a stock theft project that tracks animal and vehicle movements on farms in real time and alerts the farmers the moment the animal’s movements indicates distress, as well as a project to track hikers in remote mountain hiking trails.
CITI’s McKinnel is putting her full support behind the formation of a new R&D Lab in the Garden Route, which will help accelerate these R&D ventures. The Western Cape Agriculture department has also been tasked to get involved in some of these projects. DTI and other government funding for R&D spending will be applied for to cover the lab setup and initial phases of some of these projects. Talks with the Small Enterprise Development Agency (SEDA) on how it can assist the consortium in its R&D and marketing initiatives is ongoing.
Wireless technology is ready to be unfolded
As part of the R&D venture a state of the art wireless network is being set up. This network will eventually cover the entire Garden Route but is currently being rolled out in the George area. The network uses the latest wireless technology which promises much faster speed than traditional networks.
The network will be non-commercial and completely free to join. The network will not supply internet access but rather will be a backbone for R&D projects and educational programs. Through wireless technology business can monitor activities through CCTV camera link-ups and WEBCAMs. Regional weather and water consumption monitoring can be done for instance through wireless technology. “The potential of the new network is limitless. With remote monitors farmers can even check-up on where their cattle is grazing, or see what vehicles are accessing their farms.” said an excited Rautenbach.
Western Province Government is busy drafting a policy on City based networks and will be liaising with the consortium to learn from the initiatives taken in the Garden Route.
Training
On of the consortium’s major aims is to boost education in the Southern Cape. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT University) in the USA, has made available to the consortium around 2000 online programs focussing on science and technology. These programs will be made available to local schools completely free of charge, once they have connected to the new network. “The beauty of this is that it is all so achievable. Video conferencing can be set up so that children in a small rural school can also listen to and view someone in the USA giving a lecture and so be brought into the world of science and technology.” Students can do courses as well through internet. Ms Johnston from Western Cape Government is currently exploring ways of unlocking government funding to get all the region’s schools connected to this initiative.
Virtual hub
“By creating a virtual hub, we want to create a momentum which will bring about enough technology based work here in George which will mean that those people who are currently commuting to bigger centres, and living in George, can in future work here as well.
“We are having a road show to launch the roll-out and we are pleased that Western Cape Finance and Tourism Minister Allan Winde’s revitalization programme happens to coincide and slot in with our initiatives, and we hope to tap into those being rolled out.”
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SAfrica goes to SxSW – but who’s going?
There are about 3 weeks left before a contingency of South Africans hits one of the biggest and best geek conferences in the US: SxSW (South by South West). I am hoping that the group will use this blog to post their experiences, views, opinions etc from SxSW. In the meantime, I thought I’d post a list of who exactly is going. So here it is, in no particular order:
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Personera.com ’s story
Sheraan Amod writes on the ISLabs blog about how he founded Personera, “a personalized publishing service offering useful print products enhanced with Facebook content“.
Sheraan’s story is one of those that any budding South African entrepreneur has to love: the concept of Personera is innovative, unique and has global potential and reach (in fact they do have customers from around the world). It is the first project launched under the SiliconCape banner, and they have a bridge to the global markets via Vinny Lingham who is an investor in the startup. They have been covered in the international media, including Techcrunch.
I will be watching them with keen interest, mainly because we really do need success stories, don’t we? And they have managed to overcome the hurdles that most local startups face, mostly with ingenuity and hard work. So it can be done 
Mostly, though, I will want to see where they go from here…and I mean “where”, literally. Will they stay in Cape Town and manage to run a global startup from Africa’s tip, or will they consider it worth their while to move to San Francisco (for instance)?
Either way, I am keeping tabs Think I will create a separate category about “Companies to watch”, and will then follow my own advice.
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Netprophet signups open
Registration is open for this years Netprophet. I missed the one last year, but I am definitely going to this one – it’s happening May 13, and if last year is anything to go by, it is guaranteed to be a hit.
Oh, and the conference is FREE. So register now!
This off their website:
Take the most innovative/successful/creative/ambitious thinkers and entrepreneurs in the Internet space, and ask them to share their stories, ideas and predictions for the future in a format that is fresh, relevant and engaging. The result: Net Prophet.
Planning is well underway for our 2010 event. Although the date is set (so you can clear your schedule for that time) we can’t give away all our secrets just yet. What we can predict however, is an event double the scale of Net Prophet 2009, new prophets, appearances from previous prophets, an after-party of epic proportions and some interesting surprises along the way…
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Quadcamp signups open
From the Quadcamp Facebook page:
QuadCAMP is a revolutionary new movement which aims to bring together both abled and disabled members of society with a common passion for technology, media and business.
Similar in style to 27Dinners, BarCAMP and MobileMonday. QuadCAMP will be a great place to come and network with industry leaders from around the world. Come and see first hand how the severely disabled members of our society manage to live semi normal lives thanks to the marvels of modern technology. See the quads in action and learn much from their sad experiences.
The main goal of this years Camp is to empower disabled members of the Ama Wheelies NPO (www.amawheelies.co.za). Helping them to reach their full potential through informal computer, cellphone and techno educational workshops.
Companies will be invited to demo new techno gadgets designed to improve the lives of the disabled. A select group of quadriplegics and paraplegics from the Ama Wheelies NPO will be on hand to demo these gadgets.
Attendees will be asked to donate unwanted old working computers, cellphones and all other techno gadgets which can be used to improve the lives of these previously and currently disadvantaged individuals.
BOOKING:
We are currently putting together a list of at 100 individuals from the blogging, media, and internet world who are interested in attending. Once the attendance register has been finalised we will provide the exact date and venue info. If you would like to attend QuadCAMP 2010 please add your name to the list and get your friends to come.
Companies who are interested in sponsoring meals, drinks, Accommodation, Transport and or anything else at this the first ever QuadCAMP should email or call Simon (friends@amawheelies.co.za Cell: 083 240 7796) for more info.
We look forward to seeing you at QuadCAMP 2010
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Cape Town Startup Digest
Sheraan Amod is the curator for the Cape Town Startup Digest (it’s not affiliated with the GeekDigest, which you are now reading). It’s a Techcrunch project, run all over the world. In Sheraan’s words:
Basically, it’s a weekly digest of the best startup events happening in the Cape area, emailed to you every Monday. It’s the fastest and easiest way to know what’s happening in the tech/web/startup community.
Personally, I think it’s a fabulous idea, and I hop it takes off. Ideally, I think we should have one for the entire country, but I guess doing it by city is the default.
If you want to receive the digest, please sign up at thestartupdigest.com, and if you know of events happening, please send Sharon the link or additional info.
Popularity: 2% [?]
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