About our partners
Teraco is not only excited but privileged to be founding partners of the Tshimologong Precinct. As Africa’s largest data centre we are proud to support the foresight and vision of Wits University and the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE). In creating a vibrant digital technology hub in Braamfontein, Tshimologong will support much needed skills development, job creation, entrepreneurship and the rejuvenation of Johannesburg’s inner city. Teraco looks forward to partnering with the hub, providing colocation space as well as Tshimologong becoming a member of NAPAfrica, Africa’s largest Internet Exchange Point (IXP).
TIA became a Strategic Founding Partner to the Joburg Centre for Software Engineering's Tshimologong Precinct by assisting in conceptualising and funding the establishment of the Marker Space. The funding that has been provided enables the Maker Space to be equipped with a wide variety of prototyping tools that support experimentation and sharing of ideas among technology enthusiasts. The kinds of prototyping tools that are provided within the Maker Spaces include 3-D printers, unmanned drones and "computers on chip" (e.g. Raspberry Pi, Arduino, etc.). More importantly, the diversity of people who are expected to be attracted to the Tshimologong Precinct will form a melting pot of innovation projects and ventures that TIA should be able to support through its Technology Development and Commercialisation Support Schemes. To stimulate activity within the Maker Space, the support that TIA has provided will enable the Tshimologong Precinct to host community meetings such as open learning sessions to facilitate development of innovation projects.
KMJ is a financial advisory, consulting and solutions company. Through its partnership with Teraco, Africa’s largest data centre, KMJ is a strategic partner to Tshimologong Precinct. Providing innovative and sustainable risk and investment advice and products; KMJ is very excited about being part of this new and visionary initiative. Building skills, developing technologies and innovating are key to KMJ, making their investment in Thsimologong Precinct well aligned and exciting for them team
MMI Holdings, through its innovation unit Exponential Ventures, is proud to be a founding partner of the newest digital technology hub in Johannesburg, the Tshimologong Precinct. Digital innovation is where future growth and employment will be created. As mooted at the World Economic Forum in January 2016, we are entering an era of automation, constant connectivity and an ever-increasing pace of change. The business world is already experiencing the disruptive powers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution through the sharing economy and the technologies and innovative business models that enable it. Similar trends and potentially disruptive business models are starting to emerge in the financial services industry as well, for example in the FinTech, InsureTech, EduTech and HealthTech startup worlds, where MMI clearly has a strategic interest. Furthermore, over and above our own strategic interests, we believe it is our responsibility to help create the space for these businesses to be born and nurtured and we are privileged to be able to partner with the Joburg Centre for Sotware Engineering (JCSE) and our other founding partners to make this happen.
Cisco has invested R12 million in technologies to the Tshimologong Precinct. Cisco’s technology will help the Precinct grow capacity to deliver world class software, and develop research and development (R&D) initiatives that will impact innovation in the country in line with National Development Plan. Cisco’s vision is to change the way the world lives, works, and plays and being part of this project allows us to change the way students, our future global workforce, lives, works and plays. We want to help the JCSE realise its ambition to contribute to job creation, especially for the youth, and the growth of the ICT sector.
The Gauteng Department of e-Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Hub which will collaborate with the DAV (Design and Validation) Centre in respect of incubating digital entrepreneurs. The department has kicked off initiatives with Wits Tshimologong with a joint ICT summit in October. This will be a partnership between Wits Tshimologong, the Departments of Economic Development and of e-Government. The eKasi Mobile Tech Summit is a provincial initiative to advance mobile technology for SMEs, digital entrepreneurs, local businesses and communities at large.
The “Design and Validation” (DAV) Centre was established by the Gauteng Department of E-Government as part of the provincial strategy to provide efficient services, to improve service delivery in the Gauteng City Region (GCR) and to create opportunities for the growth of the Gauteng’s digital economy in support of job creation and enterprise development. The Department and the Joburg Centre for Sotware Engineering (JCSE) have concluded a Memorandum of Agreement which includes the relocation of the DAV Centre from its initial location in Sandton to the Tshimologong Precinct. The DAV Centre will provide the following services to GPG:
- Testing and Validation in Support of Procurement
- Quality Assurance Services
- Stimulation of ICT Entrepreneurship in Support of the Township Economy
- ICT Skills Development
- Promoting Innovation
- Demonstration and Briefing Centre
The Department of e-Government has identified the first set of apps that will be submitted for validation, testing and recommendations.
Telkom is proud to support Tshimologong, Johannesburg’s own digital technology and innovation precinct in the heart of Braamfontein. We are excited to be part of Tshimologong, which enables us to extend our enterprise and supplier development programme, FutureMakers, to entrepreneurs in South Africa’s economic centre. We believe that by supporting innovation throughout the technology sector, we will create jobs, improve digital access, and develop a stable and competitive supply chain. FutureMakers aims to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and business development within the technology sector. Through Tshimologong, Telkom is able to provide a third FutureMakers Hub for co-working and business incubation, after Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town and Propella in Port Elizabeth. The company has already invested almost R6 million towards the renovation of Tshimologong. FutureMakers was launched in May last year, with a R100 million initial investment. Since then, over R43 million has been invested in eleven companies, with support and training for over 600 entrepreneurs through business incubation programmes in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. Now, the programme will be able to offer similar support in Johannesburg.
Airports Company South Africa (ACSA), in partnership with Wits University and other strategic founding partners, celebrates the official opening of the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in Braamfontein. ACSA invested R5-million as a founding partner of the Tshimologong Precinct incubation programme. The funds were used to establish the centre, its marketing and training of young people. We support education as a focus area, and the development of science and technology through partnering with stakeholders is one way of improving ICT and skills development. This Precinct provides an ideal opportunity for Airports Company to extend this support to the development of young people and new black-owned businesses. We are proud to be part of the Tshimologong as part of our commitment to transformation and sustainable social and economic development. We will continue to invest in projects such as this precinct and we believe the hub be a valuable source of skills and entrepreneurship.
As a founding member of the Johannesburg Centre for Software Engineering (JCSE), Microsoft is committed to working with the Joburg Centre for Sotware Engineering (JCSE) and Wits University to drive the Centre’s mission to promote investment, support transformation, encourage innovation, and build capacity and skills for the new digital world. The JCSE’s vision to build the Tshimologong Precinct, a beacon for technology in the heart of Johannesburg, is core to this mission – and as such Microsoft leapt at the opportunity to become a founding partner. Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more and Tshimologong will serve as a major avenue of delivering upon our goals locally. Together with our partners and fellow JCSE board members, we will train and support the next generation of innovators and business leaders who will help close the local skills gap and become entrepreneurs whose companies create jobs, boost the South African economy, and deliver world-class offerings for the global marketplace.
As part of IBM Research – Africa’s 10-year investment program through South Africa’s Department of Trade and Industry and working closely with the Department of Science and Technology, the new IBM Research lab is in the Wits Tshimologong Digital Innovation Hub. Researchers in this lab will explore the use of cognitive computing, the Internet of Things and Big Data to support South Africa’s national priorities, drive skills development and foster innovation-based economic growth. By making the decision to plant IBM’s roots in Braamfontein’s Tshimologong Precinct and along with the lab’s partners at Wits, IBM believes it can catalyse a technology revolution in the city and inspire startups to take root and sprout. The lab’s three key focus areas will provide wide-ranging opportunities for academic and industry partnerships while addressing South Africa’s biggest challenges: data driven healthcare, digital urban ecosystems and exploring the universe. About a dozen projects are already underway ranging from Tuberculosis tracking, traffic optimization, wildfire risk assessment, and even a partnership with NASA to analyse millions of radio signals from outer space to detect terrestrial interference. Our goals are to develop new technologies, advance science, publish, keynote conferences, and unearth discoveries.