Building on their 2019 commitment to the digitisation of South Africa, Cisco and the communications ministry yesterday embarked on the next phaseof their collaboration.
The entities signed a memorandum of understanding to continue the Cisco Country Digital Acceleration (CDA) programme in SA, says a Cisco statement
The Cisco CDA is a global programme aimed at accelerating national digitisation agendas to support job creation, innovation, and help drive economic growth and sustainable and equitable communities.
Since the launch of the CDA initiative, Cisco says it has worked with a number of countries on projects that have demonstrated the benefits of digital adoption to the country, including the delivery of smart cities and utility grids, and the digitisation of hospitals, schools and ports.
According to the statement, Nonkqubela Jordan-Dyani, director-general at the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies (DCDT), and Smangele Nkosi, Cisco SA GM, signed a memorandum of understanding, launching a new phase of the CDA in the country.
DCDT minister Mondli Gungubele and Cisco CEO and chairman Chuck Robbins oversaw the signing ceremony.
The next phase will focus on economic development, growing SA’s digital skills and talent development, sustainable critical national infrastructure, cyber security and digitisation of government services, says the statement.
Additionally, Cisco will support SA’s long-term digital skills movement and facilitate digital upskilling and training, promoting job creation and driving economic growth.
Gungubele says: “With digitisation as the engine of economic growth, we are proud that Cisco’s collaboration with DCDT will contribute towards the growth of SA’s economy. Together, we will accelerate digital skills transformation, empowering SA’s youth and SMMEs, while enabling an inclusive future for all.”
“Together with Cisco, we’ve made substantial strides in tackling challenges related to skills development, job creation and digital education. The positive results of our collaboration have inspired us to embark on the next phase,” adds Jordan-Dyani.
“As a result, we have agreed to further expand our collaboration and venture into new domains, with plans to harness Cisco’s expertise among others in cyber security. Reflecting on the achievements of our initial CDA collaboration with Cisco, I am confident we will continue to achieve our shared goals.”
“This new phase of Cisco’s CDA initiative reaffirms Cisco’s commitment to advancing socio-economic growth in SA by accelerating the digital economy,” comments Robbins.
“We believe that by empowering communities and businesses with key tools and technologies, they will thrive in SA and beyond.”
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