New IT business acceleration initiative for Cape

"VeloCITI will feature all the programmes companies enjoyed in Launchpad. However, we have significantly refined both our selection process and offering for the year that companies will be supported," says Odette Potter, GM of the Bandwidth Barn.

Selected companies will have access to a professional mentoring service, financial and business support, as well as all the networking opportunities CITI member companies enjoy. The selected companies will receive ongoing business support, including premises in CITI's business accelerator Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town's CBD, from which they will work.

"The Bandwidth Barn has given birth to some of the Cape's finest IT companies. In line with CITI's goals to grow, promote and transform the IT industry, CITI will be approaching both the private sector and our tertiary learning institutions to find young companies to nurture and help flourish," explains Potter.

"We have found that companies operating in the Bandwidth Barn are much more networked. In a country "where only 1.3% of our adult population are involved in entrepreneurial activities, working in isolation can be the fastest route to failure. Working in an environment surrounded by IT companies facing the same challenges allows companies to engage with their peers and, often together, come up with solutions to their business conundrums," Potter adds.

A selection process will begin shortly where CITI will interview young up-and-coming IT companies who have sustainable, innovative business ideas. All interested black companies and individuals who wish to join the VeloCITI programme should contact Potter on +27 (0)21 409 7000 or email .

CITI is an independent, not-for-profit, development agency supporting the growth of the IT cluster of businesses in the Western Cape. Operating on a business-like basis, the organisation is answerable to its paid-up members and IT businesses and stakeholders. CITI sits at the junction of business, education and government. It is a networking organisation, which unleashes the power of entrepreneurship, community and capital by bringing people and businesses together.