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Oracle sets aside R15m to support African tech start-ups

By , ITWeb
Africa , South Africa , 02 Feb 2022

Oracle has announced it will commit R15-million in support for tech start-ups across Africa, under the auspices of Oracle for Startups.

The company said its support programme is designed to help these start-ups accelerate their digital initiatives with the latest cloud technologies and business resources.

The multinational cloud computing company will provide extra resources and support to these start-ups over the next two years.

In addition, these businesses will also have access to hands-on technical support, executive mentoring, go-to-market resources, and customer engagements, the company added.

Jason Williamson, Vice President, Oracle for Startups, said, “At Oracle for Startups, we help new businesses grow from grassroots through scaling. So far, enrolments from South African start-ups have grown by 91%, while enrolments from new businesses in over 13 other African countries have grown by 39% within the last year – all of which is evidence that Africa is at the forefront of the digital economy. This R15-million investment will further boost the efforts of tech entrepreneurs in Africa to utilise the latest digital technologies for the success of their start-ups.”

This programme follows Oracle’s recent announcement of its first cloud region in Africa to meet the rapidly growing demand for enterprise cloud services on the continent.

In early January ITWeb reported that the company had opened Oracle Cloud Johannesburg Region, “will allow organisations looking to build high-performing, secure applications, meet data sovereignty requirements, and devise robust disaster recovery plans.”

According to the report, it was back in September 2019 when Oracle first announced plans to aggressively expand its cloud region footprint by building new cloud regions in South Africa, US, Canada, Brazil, UK, European Union (Amsterdam), Japan, Australia, India, South Korea, Singapore, Israel, Chile, two in Saudi Arabia and two in the United Arab Emirates.

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