South Africa: Amazon Launchd An SME Skills Development Programme

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Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the launch of the AWS Equity Equivalent Investment Programme (AWS EEIP) on 11 November 2019,  which is designed by AWS South Africa and Amazon Data Services South Africa. Within the Information Communications Technology (ICT) sector, the AWS EEIP aims to see over R365 million invested in the development of sustainable 100 per cent black-owned South African small businesses.

For supporting the development of skills in advanced technologies such as cloud computing, Internet of Things (IoT), Machine Learning (ML) and mobile technologies etc, a seven-year programme designed by AWS EEIP.

Ebrahim Patel, the Minister of Trade and Industry said,  “The AWS EEIP will lead to the development of numerous highly skilled jobs in the local economy. The program intends to give the black-owned small businesses the knowledge, resources, and skills to be successful.  This will enable them to provide professional services to organizations, in both the private and public sectors, supporting them with their ICT strategy and helping them to take advantage of cloud computing and other digital technologies to innovate and grow. We seek to develop local businesses and ensure net job creation in the South African economy.”

South Africa has some of the most creative and technically gifted people in the world, according to AWS, and the EEIP wants to enable the nation’s entrepreneurs and technical talent to build businesses that can flourish.

“We have been blown away with the high quality of technical talent we have already seen in South Africa and are excited to see the creativity and unique thinking that the AWS EEIP will now drive,” says Prabashni Naidoo, Director at AWS South Africa.

“Through this new programme, we are committed to producing a new generation of highly skilled and productive black-owned South African small businesses. These new APN Partners will help create limitless opportunities for our customers, helping them to innovate and further contribute to the economic growth of South Africa.”