Communications technology and infrastructure multinational Cisco's Edge centre, located within the East London Industrial Development Zone (IDZ), will provide opportunities for Eastern Cape youth to develop information and communications technology (ICT) skills and will incubate startups to provide greater opportunities for growth and the development of people and companies in the province.

This is Cisco's fourth Edge centre in South Africa and forms part of its worldwide Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) programme.

The aim was to support the digital transformation of economies and, in South Africa, to close the digital divide and provide opportunities for youth to develop next-generation digital economy skills, said Cisco South Africa GM Smangele Nkosi.

"Connectivity is becoming increasingly vital for people to access jobs and education opportunities and, at Cisco, we strive to ensure that no one is left behind in the digital economy," she said during the launch on March 3.

As part of the Cisco CDA, the company committed to invest R140-million focused on three core areas of job and startup creation, skills and talent development and national cyber-capabilities.

The company's research also indicated that connectivity is especially critical for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because they do not have the same resources and information technology infrastructure that larger enterprises have.

"This is where the centre comes in – to provide an environment in which SMEs can access high-technology facilities and services, as well as to foster innovation and prosperity across industries, not only in the ICT industry, through the development and application of digital technologies," said Nkosi.

The Cisco Edge centres provide small business enablement and access to industry-specific experts and tools, as well as conferencing and training facilities, and access to the global network of Cisco experts.

"We look forward to innovations and collaboration from this centre and seeing local business growing and creating meaningful jobs to transform the Eastern Cape to become a digitally forward region," she said.

Further, the centre provided a platform for SMEs to unlock opportunities. The vision was to create an enabling environment for digital technology entrepreneurs, and for every young South African, irrespective of where they were from and the socioeconomic conditions they experienced, to venture into the digital space, said Department of Communications and Digital Technology (DCDT) acting director-general Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani.

"Our hope as a department, and the hope of the Eastern Cape Premier's office, is that the next digitech [digital technology] solution company comes from [the province]. We look forward, as government, to receive innovative digital technology solutions created by local entrepreneurs. This will ensure that there is an uptake of digital resources and technologies in the country and the continent," she said.

The centre was open to any SME to develop a venture, test and pilot solutions and help the IDZ and the Eastern Cape to serve as a base for business development. The department wanted to ensure that local SMEs leveraged the resources and collaboration networks to make South Africa vibrant in this space, she added.

The DCDT had also set a goal of training 2.5-million youths in digital skills by 2024 to ensure South Africa produced a new workforce of the future and created a digitally astute society to grow the economy and make South Africa competitive, Jordan-Dyani said.

The past year-and-a-half had highlighted the importance of digital access so that people could access critical resources, including education, healthcare and work opportunities. As many daily activities moved online, it highlighted not only that technology enabled this, but that people with digital skills were critical to ensure the digital networks and infrastructure kept running, said Cisco country sponsor Francine Katsoudas.

"Opportunities are unevenly distributed, but human potential is not. Through centres like this, we can help to tap this potential to ensure everyone has opportunities to develop skills to participate in the digital economy," she said.

The support provided by Cisco has a ripple effect, with supported startups, entrepreneurs and individuals able to improve their positive impacts in turn on their lives, companies and communities.

"It is vital that South Africa overcomes the digital divide and closes the gap in access to allow more people to participate, particularly in rural areas, in the global economy and access the digital world. Through training and access to networking opportunities, Cisco is working to increase digital literacy in South Africa.

"Our hope is that the centre helps to address the sizeable gap between available jobs in the new economy and the skills and know-how to do them," said Katsoudas.

Meanwhile, US consulate general principal commercial officer Tyler Hacking addressed those attending the launch of the Edge centre, stating that the US government had a key objective to promote prosperity in South Africa through economic growth and investment.

He visited the centre in December with the US consul general as a demonstration of the support of the US government for Cisco's efforts.

"US companies play an important role, not only in commercial trade and investment, but also through positive impact on the lives of individuals and communities through job creation, technology transfer and capacity building. Cisco is a good example of how local investment can lead to mutual prosperity," he said.

The positive impact of SMEs yields long-term benefits. In the US, there are about 26-million SMEs generating about 50% of gross domestic product and they contribute to growth and vitality in the economy and socioeconomic conditions.

This is the same in South Africa, and small businesses create jobs, spark innovation and provide opportunities for people to achieve financial success and independence.

"SMEs complement the economic activities of large organisations and communities, such as by providing components, services and distribution, all of which are essential. We understand that technology is critical in today's world, and helping SMEs bridge the digital divide is key to the success and prosperity of communities and the country," he said.

Reducing unemployment was one of the objectives of the US government, and it was pleased that Cisco was working with local communities and SMEs to reduce joblessness and empower small business in the Eastern Cape, said Hacking.