SAP, a German-based enterprise software provider, plans to invest US$500 million in its operations throughout the continent.
The investment is to enable the company to profit from Africa’s promising growth, which currently stands at double digits on annual basis.
The company’s investment plans for the continent were announced earlier this week and it comes on the back of similar plans by other multinationals such as IBM and General Electric (GE) in Ghana and on other parts of the continent.
While IBM, the global technology giant, plans to invest US$66 million in its operations in Ghana, GE intends to spend a total of US$2 billion on strengthening its operations, upgrading the skills of employees and improving the supply chain facilities throughout the continent.
These investments are in response to the promising growth and future prospects that the continent has, a statement from SAP said.
“The African market is unique in its growth potential and readiness to innovate. The Executive Board strongly believes that now is the right time to take our engagement and commitment to expand in Africa to the next level,” Mr Robert Enslin, a member of the Executive Board of SAP and President of Global Customer Operations at SAP said.
He explained that SAP’s additional investment in the continent reflected the company’s vision of helping the world run better by delivering leading-edge innovations.
“In Africa, we plan to engage and invest in even more markets while helping build the appropriate talent base for the information and technology (IT) industry and support our customers and partners by actively contributing toward crucial technology and business skills-sets and new employment opportunities in Africa,” the Chief Executive Officer of SAP Africa, Mr Pfungwa Serima, also said.
The total investments, it said, would be spread between now and 2050.
Source: Daily Graphic