The ICT deregulation roadmap draft — which is on hold pending the finalisation of the Convergence Bill — will help Dimension Data clear the hurdles for future expansion in the country.
Speaking after the release of the dual-listed firm’s interim results on Tuesday, Didata CEO Brett Dawson said as a result of the deregulation changes being introduced in the information and communications technology sector, the group stood “to benefit”.
Following the legalisation of Voice over IP (VoIP), the firm landed a $22-million VoIP contract from listed retailer Shoprite Holdings earlier this year.
The group also cited the involvement of its empowerment partners, led by ICT entrepreneur Andile Ngcaba, as another key driver behind growth in sub-saharan Africa as well as in South Africa where it has been awarded contracts by the Pan African Parliament, the South African Revenue Services, the Post Office and numerous other public sector entities.
“We are expanding to the market segment that wasn’t open to us before our BEE partnership. . . We have also had success in countries such as Ethiopia and Namibia,” Dawson added.
The ICT firm achieved a 15,4% growth in group revenues to $1,296-billion for the six months ended March 2005 with basic earnings per share climbing to 0,5 US cents from 0,1 US cents previously. Cash and short-term investments rose to $408,1-million from $349,5-million in 2004. – I-Net Bridge