Johannesburg - IBM South Africa says that its Global
Entrepreneur Programme will for the first time, be extended to next generation
entrepreneurs in South Africa.
Start-ups that are privately held, have been in business for
five years or less and are actively engaged in developing a software based
product or service, as being called on, to sign-up for this global initiative.
"The Global Entrepreneur Programme is focused on
helping early stage entrepreneurs to capture emerging business opportunities,
especially in fast growing industries such as energy, utilities, healthcare and
telecommunications," said Clayton Booysen, ISV and Developer Relations
Lead for IBM South Africa.
"We are looking to convert start-ups to speed-ups by
providing coaching and connections to IBM clients and partners.
We want to help these start-ups to get to market faster and
at the same time, provide IBM clients with the hottest new technologies."
South Africa is one of 10 additional markets, including
Brazil, China, Mexico, Turkey, Spain and Germany, to join the Global
Entrepreneur Programme and will host SmartCamps in October 2012.
In addition to fostering technological advances, IBM's
Global Entrepreneur Programme supplements the company's Venture Capital Group,
by encouraging important strategic relationships with VCs and the start-up
community.
Concludes Booysen: "We have a deep commitment to the
entrepreneurial community; one that we believe is being stepped up in South
Africa and Africa, through our inclusion in this year's initiative."
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