December brings with it the collective exhaustion and excitement only a year-end can deliver. We wind down from a year, which passed at the speed of thought, but soon the enthusiasm for the New Year will put a glimmer in our eye. With that sentiment of optimism I write to you.
AfriGIS has grown significantly since our entrance to the GIS world eighteen years ago, and this past year was certainly no exception. Balancing growth, the economic climate, human interaction and the quality of our products and services to our clients always remains an interesting scenario. Overall 2015 has been a good and blessed year for the company, despite various challenges ever present.
Our blessings this past year are too numerous to pen down, but specific achievements worth mentioning, quoting from our Press Office:
“The Department of Social Development’s (DSD) Gender Based Violence Command Centre (GBV CC), powered by AfriGIS solutions, has been recognised with various awards, both nationally and internationally since its launch in 2014. The most recent achievement for our partners and us was a Gold Medal for Best Technology Innovation in the Small Contact Centre Category at the 10th annual Global Best Contact Centre Awards, hosted in Las Vegas in November 2015.
We are currently in “The 16 Days of Activism for No Violence against Women and Children” campaign, taking place annually from 25 November – 10 December. Gender Based Violence and the effects thereof is an ongoing struggle in South Africa. It speaks to the very core of our society and poses tremendous challenges in terms of economic-growth and poverty-reduction efforts. The GBV CC solution represents the first integrated technology of its kind and makes use of mobile technology to estimate the location of a victim, record and receive continuous feedback on cases.
The Vodacom Foundation sponsored the development of the technology used by the Department of Social Development Gender Based Violence Command Centre. The resulting integrated solution was developed by Vodacom in collaboration with its subsidiaries AfriGIS and Mezzanine, with the Command Centre hosted by Advance Call.”
AfriGIS is proud to be involved with a solution that makes a positive difference in our country.
“The EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award Programme recognises the most exceptional entrepreneurs. AfriGIS founder members Magnus Rademeyer and Charl Fouché were among a selected group of finalists of the 2015 EY World Entrepreneur Awards. Rademeyer and Fouché were part of the Top 3 Finalists in the Emerging Category for Southern Africa, together with Khudusela Pitje, New GX Enviro and Lex van Wyk, Teraco Data Environments. CJ Kujenga, Strategic Growth Markets Leader for Africa says, these entrepreneurs have demonstrated that beyond adversity, there is prosperity. The arduous road they have travelled in stoically building their companies is very humbling and inspirational.”
“AfriGIS joined the ranks of Google®, Oracle® and Intergraph® in becoming a member of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). AfriGIS actively supports the OGC initiatives and celebrates another first as the only private company to be an OGC associate member on the African continent.”
We were privileged to continue with the AfriGIS Learnership, in partnership with CTU Training Solutions & MICT Seta, for the fourth consecutive year. We are thankful for the opportunity to positively impact the lives of these young individuals and to contribute to the upskilling of new IT Professionals in our country.
To our clients and partners, thank you once again for your loyal support and choosing to work with AfriGIS, allowing us the opportunity to serve you and grow as individuals and a company. You are the driving force for everything we do.
A special thank you to the talented AfriGIS team; for the important role you play in the organisation, your dedication, loyalty, energy, expertise and hard work.
As always, we remain committed and passionate in our quest to make our beautiful country and the world a better place for all. We thank our Heavenly Father for His guidance and grace in our lives. We look forward to continuing our journey with you in 2016!
We wish you a blessed festive season and peace in the beautiful message it brings.
Regards,
Magnus
