Zimbabwean value-added reseller Twenty Third Century Systems (TTCS) has swept the boards at the SAP Partner Awards, mainly as a result of signing the biggest-ever SAP public sector contract in Africa – to digitise many of the Zambian government’s functions.
Although firm figures for the value of the five-year contract, which bridges a number of government departments, are available, it will have a software value of €13,2-million (about R183-million).
Gwendal Pelicot, channel head: Africa at SAP says the contract grew out of a digital citizen registration contract TTCS completed for the Zimbabwean government, where citizens have an electronic ID card that stays with them from birth to death.
The idea was expanded for the Zambian government to include more e-government services and to deploy and end-to-end SAP systems that spans most government departments, Pelicot says.
TTCS was founded by Ellman Chankira in 1996 and operates in Zimbabwe Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and French-speaking Africa. Since 2009, the company has almost doubled turnover every year, a trend that it expects to continue.
The company aims to provide a turnkey services, so alongside the SAP practice, TTCS group companies include Seven Seas, which provides hardware; Triple Play, which offers communications; and Devoted Business Solutions, which was the first African company to offer BusinessOne in the cloud.
Although much of its recent successes can be attributed to public sector deals, Chankira’s vision is to see technology rolled out to SMEs, in order to improve the lives of more Africans.
The cloud will be central to this goal, he says, and TTCS has set up an innovation department focused on developing cloud-based solutions for the African continent.
“A lot of SMEs are not in the formal economy, mainly because they have no access to technology,” Chankira says. “With the cloud we have the ability to bring the informal sector into the formal economy.”
Among the other African channel award winners was ROFF, a Portuguese company that has seen phenomenal growth in Africa. CEO Goncelo Seixas says there are tremendous opportunities for growth in Africa, and ROFF is expanding its operations to address them.
The company is established in Angola, where it has operated for about 10 years, as well as in Morocco and Ivory Coast. It’s growth plans include operations in South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria and Ghana.
Its 900 SAP consultants are recruited from both Europe and the countries it operates in, and Seixas points out that its staff and corporate culture are a major reason for the company’s success.
Staff members enjoy working for the company, and the countries where they are based, and Seixas believes this translates into customer satisfaction. “Our first-ever clients are still clients today.” He says. “We believe in long-term relationships, and in integrating our clients’ businesses with our business.”
ROFF is targeting 70% growth from its African operations in the next year.
