Director of Ceremonies, Mr. Roy Mkumla
His Worship the Mayor of the eThekwini Municipality, Cllr. Obed Mlaba
Members of the Executive Committee of the eThekwini Municipality
Councillors of the eThekwini Municipality
Members of the Media
The IT Community
Ladies and Gentlemen

At the outset I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the eThekwini Municipality and our City fathers for hosting this Mayoral Reception in our honour. This privilege is usually reserved for visiting delegations and high profile guests, and we are honoured to be hosted here tonight. Indeed it is a fitting landmark in a relationship that spans back to the founding of Adapt IT in 2003, when we were among the first participants in the City’s innovative Information Communication Technology (ICT) hub, SmartXchange.

With the benefit of hindsight, I can say today that our formative years spent at SmartXchange have been key to the success we now enjoy. Being voted 2007 ICT SMME Company of the Year, was the culmination of the time spent in a dynamic and innovative hub.

Since our founding, four years ago, Adapt IT has enjoyed sustained growth and the loyal custom of the City of Durban, and by its patronage, the City has exemplified its own mission to grow the ICT sector locally, as demonstrated by the Revenue Systems Management Project, and thereby remain true to its overarching vision to Create Work and Fight Poverty. The relationship has been mutually beneficial, as the City did not have to compromise on quality and efficiency in appointing Adapt-IT as its Website Management Company, a function that has seen the City’s website win Bronze on the SA Web Awards website and is one of the leading municipal websites in the world.

However, we are here to celebrate another symbiotic relationship. One that has culminated in the marriage of AdaptIT and InfoWave, giving rise to a company with the largest Black ownership of any ICT company, listed on the main board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Aside from the group being almost 40 percent black owned, the group has some of the highest broad based BEE ratings across its subsidiary operations.

Given the new credentials of the Adapt IT Holdings Group, it is poised to increase the footprint of its enterprise locally, nationally and internationally, leveraging off the combined expertise, experience and technologies of the combined entities. Secondly, its almost 12 year impeccable track record on the JSE gives the Group a sound heritage that enjoys investor confidence.

Sharing our confidence are our talented and excited employees, who have heralded the business combination as a major step in the growth of the Group, and for them, as members of a formidable team of IT talent, unlocking greater opportunities for growth.

AdaptIT’s business involves servicing clients spanning nine countries across three continents, successfully supported from its Durban headquarters utilising local IT expertise. The staff complement of 120 services an impressive client base, including among others, eThekwini Municipality; Illovo Sugar Limited, The South African Sugar Association; BHP Billiton; Eskom; Sasol; Ithala Bank and Old Mutual.

True to its original mission, the Group will focus on core competences of Application Development, Consulting and outsourcing of ICT solutions in world class proprietary technologies including Oracle and Microsoft, and most importantly, in keeping with our government strategy, Open Source technologies.

In closing, let me recommit the AdaptIT Holdings Group as the only listed ICT company, wholly based in KwaZulu-Natal, to the City’s vision as it seeks to attract and retain ICT skills locally, contributing to making this region an ICT powerhouse.

Thank you.