• Zoho has announced two strategic partnerships as part of its upskilling initiatives locally.
• The partnerships are with BabesGotByte and CodeTelligence.
• The two partnerships will involve bootcamps where digital skills will be imparted to participants.

This week Indian CRM firm Zoho hosted its 2024 Zoholics Johannesburg conference, where it looked to engage with local customers and showcase some of the new solutions it is bringing to market.

In a media session held at the event, Zoho also detailed what the company is doing in terms of upskilling initiatives in South Africa.

To that end, it highlighted two initiatives in particular, with strategic partnerships being announced with BabesGotBytes and CodeTelligence.

“We find synergy with the mission of both BabesGotBytes and CodeTelligence in serving the underserved, and providing educational opportunities to the talented youth of South Africa. Through upskilling initiatives such as these, technology can become a true driver of equality and opportunity. It can open doors for those who previously lacked access, effectively levelling the playing field,” emphasised Andrew Bourne, regional head of Zoho Africa.

Both partnerships will involve bootcamps, which have not been formally launched at the time of writing, but Zoho confirmed that they are expected to get up and running before the end of the year, so it will be worthwhile keeping tabs on the socials of BabesGotBytes and CodeTelligence over the coming weeks and months.

Detailing what each partnership will involve, for BabesGotBytes, the focus is on empowering girls and women with digital skills through a comprehensive one-year bootcamp.

“This initiative is designed to bridge the skills gap and increase female representation in the tech sector. Skills training includes modules on digital literacy, website and mobile app development, UI/UX design, SQL, and more,” Zoho explained in a release shared with Hypertext.

As for CodeTelligence, it will aim to empower youth who are from economically disadvantaged backgrounds with access to IT skills to help increase their employability.

“As part of this initiative, Zoho will support a 6-month boot camp for 36 young individuals. The boot camp will provide training in end-user computing, UI/UX designing, office administration, data science, and more,” it added.

Highlighting some of its other local achievements, Zoho noted that its local workforce grew by 86 percent in 2023, with offices based in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Added to this, the company has recorded a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29 percent over the last three years.

The company attributes the success to the uptake of some of its key products including Zoho One, Zoho CRM, Zoho Desk, Zoho Books, and Zoho CRM Plus.

“As we expand our presence in the region, we are committed to ensuring that our growth contributes positively to the local economy, community, and business ecosystem,” noted Premanand Velumani, associate director for Strategic Growth at Zoho MEA.

“This commitment underpins our growth strategy called transnational localism, wherein we strive to remain locally rooted while being globally connected. To achieve this, we are hiring locally, expanding our partner network, and developing localised products. More importantly, we are investing in digital skills development initiatives for the youth to prepare them for future employment opportunities,” he concluded.