We’re back and ready to roll with our 2010/2011 business development programmes

We’ve been scarce on the blog front as we draw the 2009/2010 programmes to a close, in preparation for the 2010/2011 round. If you’re not sure what this entails, here is a summary:

The Bandwidth Barn hosts various business development programmes over a six-ten month time-frame focusing on the ICT Industry. This year, we have opened the programme up to accepting Design Industry applications as well. The programmes start this month (July) and will run until early next year.

Types of progammes available are (previous programmes completed are listed below):

ACCEL: 2009 – The Bandwidth Barn
For start up businesses, refining a financial and operational strategy that identifies KPIs that take the business forward.

VELOCITI: 2007, 2008, 2009 – The Bandwidth Barn
PEERPOWER collaborated with CVP to create an integrated and focused training and mentoring program for early start up businesses.

MY BUSINESS GROUP: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 – The Bandwidth Barn
We have successfully run this programme for the Bandwidth Barn every year since 2005 and have assisted over 80 ICT business owners to think strategically about their business , focusing on their results and being held accountable for achieving those results.

WOMEN IN ICT: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 – The Bandwidth Barn, The Cape IT Initiative, Innovation Hub.
The forum provides a platform for women building ICT businesses to share resources, network, discuss specific issues they face and deal effectively with challenges.

PEER ADVISORY BOARD: 2007, 2008 – Nokia Mobile Leaders Society
PEERPOWER was contracted by Nokia through their Mobile Leaders Society to provide a Peer-to-Peer mentoring forum where business people create deep relationships with other business people and assist each other in achieving their key objectives.

There are a few spaces available for business owners/freelancers in the Design Industry, if you need support, then apply today! It takes five minutes to complete the application (http://filesocial.com/827fkgs) which should then be emailed to Ansi (ansi@bwb.org.za).

Even though these programmes are free to you, it is made possible by the Bandwidth Barn’s fund raising expeditions from various private and government sources.

Visit our Facebook page and view the comments from past delegates and feel free to leave a comment as well. We love hearing from you. Please feel free to engage with us via Twitter or comment on various articles we blog about. Should you have any queries regarding any of the programmes, please visit the PEERPOWER website or contact Ansi on 021 409 7000.

Good luck! BWB Editor

Fifteen million mobile web users forecast

 

The number of unique cellular users is expected to increase from approximately 35 million this year to just less than 42 million by 2013. This is according to the SA Consumer Handset Model and Cellular Activities Report, recently released by ICT market research and analysis firm BMI-TechKnowledge.

 

Consumers are predominantly using prepaid payment mechanisms, especially amongst lower income users, and this is unlikely to change significantly in the near future. Nevertheless, mobile internet browsing and mobile email access are expected to increase rapidly, with the report forecasting over 15 million users accessing the Internet directly or indirectly on their handsets by 2013.

 

Ryan Smit, consumer market analyst at BMI-T and author of the report, notes that handset trends such as media-orientated handsets, navigation handsets, and touch screen interfaces indicate that consumers are demanding higher functionality from their handsets, with convergence becoming more and more prevalent.

 

New operating systems such as iPhone OS and the Android platform have opened up many possibilities, especially when viewed in combination with their application stores which offer the user the ability to buy and install applications directly from his handset.

 

Read more at: http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/78/30770.html

 

Souce: Bizcommunity

 

Chris Vermeulen – Bandwidth Barn

 

Web 2.0 made easy

I have spent a very informative two hours this afternoon at a Web 2.0 seminar presented by Jamaal Khan at the Bandwidth Barn – and maybe “informative” is putting it mildly – it was really great. Never realised Web 2 had that much opportunity to offer – especially since we here at the Barn have only recently started to embraced social and new media platforms in a drive to reach ICT entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Western Cape. I hope to spend some time next week with Jamaal to discuss our web strategy.

 

Jamaal has another free (yes, FREE) mini seminar on Blogging Basics coming up on 10 October – I’ll definately be there.

 

Those of you interested in attending this and other seminars offered by Jamaal can contact him at jamaal@jayz.co.za – be sure to book early.

– Chris Vermeulen