Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT), announced its growth plans for the region and said it plans to set up a strategic delivery center in South Africa and create opportunities in the region for around 1000 skilled professionals in the next 3 years. Wipro had chosen South Africa as a market for potential growth and created a special structure to drive global presence and business growth in these focus geographies.
South Africa’s IT spending is projected to increase from US$10.7bn in 2011 to about US$17.4bn in 2015. The largest industries contributing to South Africa’s GDP include financial services, business services and manufacturing. The South African government has launched a number of initiatives to drive IT sector growth and bolster the position of the nation in the global economy. The country is a gateway to other countries in the EMEA region and Wipro has built up significant traction in Telecom, Financial Services and Oil and Gas industries in Africa. Its large talent pool with multi-lingual skills, proximity to the Middle East and Europe, and cultural and business understanding of the market in Africa is a huge benefit that Wipro is prepared to tap into.
Manoj Punja, Senior Vice President and Head – Focus Markets and Global Sales Operations, Wipro Technologies said, “South Africa’s IT end-user spending, as a portion of real gross domestic product (GDP), will reach 8.6% in 2013. This positions the country at the upper-middle level of IT spender nations within emerging markets. Factors like the time zone advantage, language, cultural compatibility and skill access makes South Africa a favorable destination for the growth of business process outsourcing and IT services.”
Mr. Punja added, “To tap the large pool of IT educated graduates, Wipro plans to initiate campus recruitment drives and establish training and skills development programs. These recruits will then undergo a competency evaluation test and be deputed on projects accordingly.”
Wipro currently has an office in Johannesburg, South Africa and has around over 500 people onsite and offsite servicing its clients in the region. The company sees this region as a high potential market for growth and will help diversify its presence and portfolio, especially in the Financial and Telecommunications sector.
