Few South African start-up entrepreneurs have the necessary technical skills to develop software capable of delivering their vision, says an industry insider.<\/p>\n
While SA has a number of companies in the tech start-up scene, local business owners are often at a disadvantage because of a skill shortfall, says an expert.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe start-ups in SA have great \u2018business\u2019 minded founders, but far too few have solid technical skills to handle the many components that make up a software company,\u201d James Coetzee, co-founder of software development firm Empire State, told Fin24.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s tricky to find individuals who excel in both, for example, back end data base type development, and front end web development,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Empire State, itself an 18-month old start-up, has launched a contest where it will provide free software for start-ups, including web or application development with no strings attached.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have very strong agreements in place with any client we build software for. They are the owner of that intellectual property and obviously we have huge respect for that \u2013 these are the guys who pay our bills and thus we do our best to make sure they\u2019re properly protected,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The company has worked with large corporates such as Barclays and in fields ranging from medicine to augmented reality.<\/p>\n
Coetzee said that they were focused on building the South African tech ecosystem in an environment where start-up founders were often cash-strapped to produce applications fit for purpose.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyone with a great idea and ambition to change South Africa for the better. They could be a social enterprise or a commercial entity,\u201d Coetzee said of start-ups that would qualify for the offer.<\/p>\n
The contest will run until July 20 when three winners will be chosen.<\/p>\n
Fin24<\/a><\/p>\n Entrepreneurship in South Africa sucks<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n R256 million in funding secured for tech start-ups in SA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n South African among the top venture capitalists in the world<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\nMore on start-ups<\/h3>\n