GijimaAst looks beyond SA

Johannesburg, 30 Oct 2007

GijimaAst wants to beef up its international presence as it seeks to leverage its relationship with SAP.

It is the only company locally to have been selected by the international software vendor to integrate its mining application onto SAP`s platform.

GijimaAst CEO Jonas Bogoshi says this partnership with SAP opens up many opportunities for the company to expand beyond SA`s borders.

"We are looking at how we are going to build the business over the next two to three years and this is certainly a key area. It`s not generally known that our SAP consulting capacity is one of the best in both installation and support. This is particularly the case for our mining business," he explains.

Preparing the base

During its 2006/07 financial year, the company`s mining solution centre returned lower profits due to "significant research and development expenditure". This spend was split between expanding on its proprietary mining software range and readying it for an international SAP certification process.

The certification process could take anything between five and 10 months, says Bogoshi.

Its proprietary software is unlikely to be sold without a mix of GijimaAst`s services, adds Bogoshi.

"We have great opportunities in the mining sector, locally and internationally. We have already secured a strategic partnership with Anglo American at a corporate level, which is likely to place them as our second or third highest revenue-contributing customer.

He adds: "The next obvious step is to look at the opportunities in South America. With its considerable mining sector and relatively close ties with SA, it`s time we started looking at how we can best address that market. One part is the SAP certification, the other is looking at how we will beef up our presence in the region."

Contracts in the region are predominantly serviced from the company`s Canadian operations.

Local growth

Despite eyeing foreign prospects, Bogoshi says GijimaAst will not be distracted from its local ambitions.

"The merger between Gijima and AST was certainly difficult at times, but in the main it is now bedded down. Now we are looking to how we can build critical mass, reduce costs and improve services. I firmly believe that we can and will do this. Our focus is squarely on profitable growth."

Meanwhile, GijimaAst executive chairman Robert Gumede expresses his confidence in Bogoshi`s leadership: "Bogoshi has only been with us for a short while, but he is already proving to have been the best choice we could have made for the company.

"He is doing great work, energising the workforce and ensuring we are doing the right things to achieve our aims."