CaseWare Africa, a division of AdaptIT, has announced several initiatives to strengthen its capacity to serve clients in six key African markets. In Zambia and Zimbabwe, CaseWare has successfully constructed a channel partner model. It has also announced that its Zimbabwean distributor, July 28, has won the award for Best Growth and Best Client Service in Africa.

"As economic recovery begins to look possible for Zimbabwe, we are delighted to have a local distributor of July 28's calibre. CaseWare can play its part in rebuilding the Zimbabwean economy by providing the technology platform that will enable world-class drafting and auditing, with all the benefits that implies," says Theuns Holtshousen, Business Leader, CaseWare Africa.

Mr Holtshousen says CaseWare's African expansion is the fruit of the company's longstanding growth strategy, and a reflection of the benefits of the merger with AdaptIT.

"Our accelerating growth into African markets is driven by two factors. One is our commitment to customising CaseWare's industry-leading global templates for individual African markets; the other is our ability to leverage AdaptIT's existing infrastructure to fast-track the establishment of local CaseWare offices," he says. "This strategy is paying off, and we are building traction in many of Africa's most important markets."

Mr Holtshousen says that the recent update of CaseWare templates to take into account the new Kenya Companies Act is a good example of how CaseWare Africa is investing in the creation of intellectual capital directed at specific African countries.

The other four key initiatives just announced are:

· Nigeria. The establishment of an office in Lagos, headed up by Mr Love Emmanuel, supported by a local consulting and training team. "There is a big drive towards compliance with global financial standards as Nigeria gears up to compete, and we believe that CaseWare has a key role to play in this area," says Mr Holtshousen. "We also believe that CaseWare can help develop a vibrant, entrepreneurial financial services sector because it allows smaller audit firms to compete with even the biggest global operators."

· Kenya. CaseWare has opened an office in Nairobi, headed up by Mr Rexon Wachira and backed by a local consulting and training capability.

· Mauritius. In cooperation with the local AdaptIT office, CaseWare has opened its own office, headed up by Ms Divya Bhurtan. "Mauritius is intent on establishing itself as a financial hub for the African continent; a strong CaseWare presence will assist the country to achieve its economic goals by providing leading drafting and audit technology to service international clients," Mr Holtshousen notes.

· Botswana. Again using the local AdaptIT office as a springboard, CaseWare has created a local presence in Botswana where clients will be supported by an in-country consulting and training team.

"CaseWare sees huge opportunity in Africa, and we are putting significant resources behind creating intellectual capital for African markets based on the global templates - and powered by the muscle of AdaptIT, our holding company," he concludes.