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Google today announced the launch of Woza Online, an initiative that aims to bring tens of thousands of small and medium South African businesses online. Businesses will have the opportunity to create their own websites at www.wozaonline.co.za and develop an online presence - for free, and in under an hour.
Woza Online, in partnership with the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI), Vodacom and the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC), hopes to transform the South African SME landscape, and drive economic growth and job creation. This project is also supported by Lead SA, the Primedia Broadcasting and Independent Group of Newspapers initiative that aims to mobilise change among South Africans for the benefit of the country.
According to the interim results of the latest SME survey conducted by World Wide Worx (January 2012), there is a strong link between being online and being competitive, profitable and sustainable. 79 percent of SMEs with a website reported profitability, whereas only 59 percent of SMEs without a website reported the same.
Businesses participating in the initiative get:
a free easy-to-build professional website
a free sub-domain name and hosting
an automatic listing on Google Places which reflects in Google Maps
access to training material and workshops
free online support available via Google Chat and email
1 year free top-level .co.za domain name for first 10 000 applicants
Commenting on the initiative, Elizabeth Thabethe, Deputy Minister for the Department of Trade and Industry, said, "The more small businesses are online the more customers they will be able to reach. We often hear entrepreneurs or business owners describing the challenges of building an online presence. With Woza Online removing those obstacles, SMEs are empowered to take that first bold step towards getting online."
"The HRDC has partnered with Google to provide entrepreneurs with free websites," said Dr. Blade Nzimande, Minister of Higher Education and Training. "Today having a website is as important as having a telephone, yet over a third of SMEs are not online, and businesses with a website are four times more profitable than those without one. Many businesses think that having a website is expensive or complicated. The HRDC is a platform where social partners can jointly seek solutions to identified blockages and the provision of websites to entrepreneurs will provide them with a head start by making it quick and easy for them to have an online presence. Through initiatives such as this, the internet will help create jobs and foster economic growth and development in SA."
Sipho Maseko, Managing Director at Vodacom said, "Being connected is essential to business growth and possibly the most cost-effective means of marketing for most SMEs. This is a step towards economic freedom and growth for many who previously were denied due to cost, technology know-how and access. We look forward to seeing the creativity of South Africans as they embrace the technology and realise how it can develop and grow their businesses.
Also present at the launch event was Arthur Goldstuck from World Wide Worx who said, "Woza Online presents a fantastic opportunity for SMEs across the country to join the digital revolution, at no expense. Research has shown that a company website, as well as the use of cloud computing, are closely correlated with being highly competitive and strongly profitable. We have also seen that, under tough conditions, many SMEs have only survived thanks to their online presence.
"We believe that the power of the internet will help small businesses in South Africa to grow, and will help entrepreneurs thrive, by bringing more local information online and making it accessible," says Luke Mckend, Country Manager for Google South Africa. "The Woza Online process is simple and business owners can be online in less than an hour - whether you sell transport services, cakes, crafts or electronics, locally or internationally."
Carla de Freitas, co-founder of a grow-your-own-mushrooms kit business said, "Having a website means that customers can find your business easily and quickly online, and that you can reach a much larger customer base. Our business has grown thanks to the internet, and we can receive queries and orders around the clock, even when we’re not on duty."
The announcement was made at the Innovation Hub in Tshwane and was followed by demonstrations where small business owners - ranging from a Johannesburg cake business to a Soweto bird-watching company - created their own websites.
Google has launched similar initiatives in 23 other countries around the world from Great Britain, Canada and Australia to Brazil, Indonesia, France and Poland, bringing 400 000 businesses online over two years. In Africa, the programme was launched in Kenya and Nigeria last year, with these countries seeing over 20 000 businesses going online within the first two months.
