Photo by: Bloomberg
Information technology (IT) company SAP South Africa plans to increase its broad-based black ownership to 30%, announcing on Tuesday that it will issue 19.5% of its shares to a broad-based black economic-empowerment (BBBEE) trust that will distribute dividends to beneficiaries to cover education costs at accredited institutions.
Empowered IT organisation BLITEC already held a 10.5% stake in SAP South Africa.
SAP South Africa would, thus, meet the 30% ownership target set out in the BBBEE codes applicable to all South African IT companies.
The IT company would issue 19.5% of its shares to the SAP South Africa Empowerment Trust, the beneficiaries of which were previously disadvantaged black students. These beneficiaries would use the dividends received from SAP South Africa to pay for studies facilitated by the nonprofit Maharishi Institute, which provided tertiary education in the areas of finance and technology infrastructure, besides others, and including life skills.
"SAP is passionately driving the Africa innovation technology agenda by focusing on skills development initiatives that result in sustainable and meaningful empowerment of previously disadvantaged persons. Strategic skills development translates into job creation.
"We identified the Maharishi Institute because of its long-term record of success in facilitating the development of skills so that graduates get more than a piece of paper post-training and acquire the life skills and attitudes essential for the fast-changing technology arena in the twenty-first century,” commented SAP Africa CEO Pfungwa Serima.