Internet Solutions Ignites SME Market

Dimension Data unit, Internet Solutions (IS), has launched a new division specifically aimed at small and medium (SMEs).

The newly-unveiled Ignite brand will absorb the existing divisions of the pan-African telecoms service provider that deals with the SME market. Ignite brings together the IS Ignite offering – which was launched two-and-a-half years ago; IS Direct; as well as the MWeb Business brand, which was bought from Naspers over a year ago.

"The reason we acquired MWeb Business initially was that we knew we wanted to play a bigger role servicing the SME sector in SA. MWeb has been servicing the SME sector for the past 17 years, and we see it as a massive growth segment," Tony Koutakis, Ignite executive head said.

Ignite offers SMEs a range of services, from Internet connectivity to communication, cloud, payroll, accounting and recruitment services.

"The SME market in South Africa right now is around R12.9 billion and it's predicted to grow at about a 6.9% compound annual growth rate over the next five years, to around R16.9 billion, so that's the size of the potential market," Koutakis added.

Koutakis says there are about 450 000 active SMEs in SA, and they contribute between 30% and 35% to GDP and make up about 30% of the labour force.

"We have got a percentage of that market that is not huge at the moment, but we want to expand through the Ignite brand because there is huge potential."

He said Ignite also plans to expand further into the African continent in the medium to long term, ideally within the next three years. The division will look to Nigeria and Kenya first.




NIMC Misquoted on 'National ID to Replace PVC in 2019' -Ogbonna

By Peter ugwu

The management of the National Identity Management Commission  (NIMC) has refuted reports on some national dailies and online platforms (CommunicationsWeek excluded), that the National identity card will replace the permanent voter's card (PvC).

Mr. Loveday Ogbonna, head, Corporate Communications Unit at NIMC in a press release Friday night, said that the purported report claims that the Delta state coordinator of NIMC made the announcement while paying a courtesy call on a traditional ruler in the state.

The attention of management of the National Identity Management Commission has been drawn to a publication in...newspapers (online) and carried by several blogs/news websites with the caption 'National ID Card To Replace INEC Voters Cards in 2019'.

Ogbonna said, "The report claims that the Delta state coordinator of NIMC made the announcement while paying a courtesy call on a traditional ruler in the state.

"Management wishes to state that the said headline is false and that our State Coordinator was quoted out of context by the reporter".

Hr said that the electronic ID Card issued by NIMC has a number of applets built into it, which makes it capable and available for use in up to thirteen use cases and scenarios, "but at no time during the advocacy visit by our Delta state team to the royal father did the state coordinator announce that the eID Card will replace the voters card presently issued and used for elections by INEC.

"The state coordinator did not grant any press briefing or interviews during the visit, neither was she at the palace to make any announcement concerning any elections".

Ogbonna explained furthet that the primary reason for the visit was to seek the support of the royal father in the renewed drive by the new DG of NIMC Engr. Aliyu Abubakar Aziz to increase the number of enrolment for the National Identification Number (NIN) and brief him on the collaboration between NIMC and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture to uniquely register and issue NIN to farmers in Delta state under the National Agricultural Payment Initiative (NAPI).

"The NIMC and INEC are both working harmoniously with other data collecting agencies of government towards the aggregation of all citizens’ biometric data in order to achieve a single national database as directed recently by Mr President.

"That is the extent to which both Commissions of government are in partnership at the moment.

We wish to remind our friends in the media that our doors are always open when and where they require any information as regards the National Identity Management System and NIMC," the statement read.