India's Wipro To Expand In South Africa

15 Nov 2011

India-based ICT and business process outsourcing company Wipro Technologies plans to set up a strategic delivery centre in South Africa that will create job opportunities for about 1000 skilled professionals over the next three years.

"South Africa's IT end-user spending, as a portion of real gross domestic product (GDP), will reach 8.6% in 2013," said Wipro Technologies senior vice president Manoj Punja. "This positions the country at the upper-middle level of IT spender nations within emerging markets."

High potential market for growth

The South African government has launched a number of initiatives to drive ICT sector growth and bolster the country's position in the global economy.

South Africa's IT spending is projected to increase from US$10.7-billion in 2011 to about $17.4-billion in 2015. The largest industries contributing to South Africa's GDP include financial services, business services and manufacturing.

According to the statement, the company sees the region as a "high potential market for growth" and will help diversify its presence and portfolio, especially in the financial and telecommunications sector.

"Factors like the time zone advantage, language, cultural compatibility and skill access makes South Africa a favourable destination for the growth of business process outsourcing and IT services," Punja said.

South Africa a Gateway to EMEA region

The country is a gateway to other countries in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region and Wipro has built up significant traction in telecoms, financial services and oil and gas industries in Africa.

Its large talent pool with multi-lingual skills, proximity to the Middle East and Europe and cultural and business understanding of the market in Africa is a huge benefit that Wipro is prepared to tap into.

"To tap the large pool of IT educated graduates, Wipro plans to initiate campus recruitment drives and establish training and skills development programs," added Punja. "These recruits will then undergo a competency evaluation test and be deputed on projects accordingly."