This deal pre-empts the finalisation of the ICT charter and has been proactively concluded by Fujitsu and Yard Capital on the basis of the significant value that could be created through their partnership. It also involves a 'new generation' empowerment company, whose approach is said to be to add value by taking an active role in the businesses in which they invest.

Fujitsu SA chairman, Mike Stares, emphasises that the deal, following hard on the heels of relocating Fujitsu's UK and EMEA call centre to Johannesburg, demonstrates Fujitsu's commitment to SA. "In essence we were looking for a partner with the kind of credentials that would augment our existing strong presence, especially in the public sector. When we first started talking to Yard Capital, the idea of simply meeting certain minimum charter conditions was not really on our mind."

"Our criterion was not so much to find a partner in the IT business, since we are not particularly looking to augment our IT skills and resources, which are abundant within the Fujitsu Group. Rather we required an empowerment group with high-level local management expertise and knowledge of the dynamics of the various market sectors we address," Stares adds.

Leslie Maasdorp, deputy chairman of Yard Capital, agrees. "It is important that a BEE investor adds value and plays a positive role in the growth of its investment. Our strategy is to acquire a significant stake in our partners and then play an active role in their growth and success."

"We complement existing management and prefer to take a partnership approach. Staff from our offices will operate from Fujitsu's offices on a regular basis, and work at the strategic and business levels," he says. To Maasdorp, the ICT sector is of strategic importance to economic growth and the achievement of the socio-economic objectives of government. "Most of government's programmes, including the administration of social welfare grants, education and training, managing the health system depend on the availability of sound ICT infrastructure," he concludes.