Gumede’s Gijima creates an IT giant
Gijima, a leading information and communication technology company, has officially taken over the internationally acclaimed T-Systems South Africa (TSSA).
Gijima is owned by business guru and billionaire, Robert Gumede. Gijima and TSSA made the acquisition announcement in October. TSSA is owned by T-Systems International, an IT services arm of German-based Deutsche Telekom.
The company has been operating in South Africa for over 20 years, providing ICT networks, applications and solutions to a number of industries. Although the announcement had been made in October, after a long period of negotiations, the acquisition was still subject to approval from the Competition Commission.
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The Competition Commission approved the acquisition at the beginning of this month, anchoring Gijima as the largest black-owned ICT company with level 1 AAA+ B-BBEE status in South Africa. “We are pleased to announce that the TSSA acquisition has been approved by the Competition Commission.
The approval will position Gijima as the largest black-owned ICT company in Southern Africa, with about 500 new employees joining Gijima in March. This game-changing deal will enable Gijima to have access to international IP, TSSA’s global Cybersecurity Security Operations Centre, certificates, expertise and best practices.
Furthermore, the acquisition of T-Systems business includes about 500 highly skilled staff members and a Tier 3 Data Centre which will enhance Gijima to be the prominent mainframe and IT data services giant in Africa. These services will now be coupled with Gijima’s existing cloud computing and digitalisation offerings.
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Gijima’s current and newly acquired clients are guaranteed to receive the best service delivery and business efficiency, while securing numerous jobs safely from the impact of Covid-19,” said Gijima’s group chief executive, Maphum Nxumalo.
“The synergetic nature of this deal, at a time when ICT is playing a major role in the new normal ushered in by Covid-19, puts Gijima at the forefront of the digital era, fully empowered to deliver worldclass services and solutions in cloud enablement, AI, cybersecurity, IOT and innovative digitalisation transformation. We are further encouraged and thankful to Deutsche Telekom for having concluded this historic sale to a 100 per cent black-owned and managed company that enhances transformation in our country,” continued Nxumalo.
The amalgamation of the two companies will result in creating the best information and communication technology service provider in South Africa. The merger will place Gijima in a position to provide top-class services, target a larger market and create opportunities for strategic growth and innovation.
