Information and Communication Technology (ICT) The IDC's “South Africa Vertical Markets 2013-2017 Spending Forecast" predicts that the biggest IT spenders in SA during this period would be consumers, financial services, government and the communications sector. IT spend was predicted to reach $3bn in 2014, accounting for 20,4% of the total market.
Focus areas for Joburg include ICT skills development, ICT research and development, provision of ICT infrastructure and ICT incubation and venture capital. The City is focusing on catalytic and sustainable projects and is partnering with business and academia to take these forward. Our new range of skills programmes directly supports the new digital economy. The Tshimologong precinct, in partnership with Wits University, is a new area of Braamfontein dedicated to digital start-ups; the Hack.Jozi programme – also in partnership with Wits – has sourced the best new app ideas to help the city run better, and will fund the winners; the JEDI programme is sourcing 1 000 new digital interns who will learn their craft working for the City.
In partnership with the University of Johannesburg, groups of young people will also have access to our Digital Ambassadors programme. As we accelerate the rollout of free public Wi-Fi hotspots, we will also deploy 3 000 young people, grouped as micro-companies, to provide digital literacy training.
According to the ITU's ICT Index, Joburg ranked 90th in 2013 in terms of ICT development, the best among African countries. The City is already the hub of the local ICT and telecommunications industry, with a significant number of the global players running branches out of Joburg, including Google, SAP, HP, IBM, Nokia, Siemens, LG, and Oracle or investing through partners based in Joburg, such as Neotel (Tata Communications), Dimension Data (Cisco), Vodacom (Vodafone) and Core Group (Apple), or using the City as a base for operating in the rest of the continent.
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