‘Khula’ is an Nguni word meaning ‘to grow,’ whilst ‘Sangam’ is a Hindi word which refers to the confluence of things. Under this program, ten young, unemployed South African graduates were selected for a six-month paid internship and training program with L&T Infotech in India.
In addition to this internship, participants will also be exposed to like-minded peers, community development activities and Indian models of excellence. This will ensure that the program moves beyond a simple internship and instead serves as a leadership development initiative, unlocking a sense of community and social responsibility in the candidates.
The program also entails exposing participants to Indian entrepreneurs on the ground and getting first-hand experience of their drive and passion. These interactions will be facilitated by FirstRand India’s management team. Further to this, the FirstRand India Corporate Social Responsibility team will be scheduling various site visits for participants and exposing them to the community projects that Indian youth are involved in terms of nation building in India. The aim of this is to highlight to the South African youth the importance of “giving back to their community” and inculcating the culture of serving the society.
“We are happy to partner with First Rand group for the Indo-African skills development program. We recognize the need of sharing our global experience and what we do in India for the skills development of young people. We have recently invested in a skills development academy in Johannesburg. At L&T Infotech, we believe that giving back to society is extremely important while doing business and we are committed to South Africa for the long term,” said Mr. V. K. Magapu, Managing Director, L&T Infotech.
Commenting on FirstRand’s involvement in the program, Mr Mahendren Moodley, CEO -FirstRand India, said, “ This project, although small in scale, represents an important first step in making progress to strengthen the skills base amongst the youth of South Africa and creating well rounded citizens of South Africa. FirstRand, through the FirstRand Foundation, is highly committed to addressing some of the challenges faced in South Africa and hopes that this project will eventually grow to a scale which will make a meaningful impact on the socio-economic front in South Africa. FirstRand would also like to express its immense gratitude to its partner and valued client L&T Infotech for coming on-board this program and investing significant expertise and money to make this program a success.”
Commenting on GIBS’ involvement in the program, Mr Abdullah Verachia, Head of the GIBS India-Africa Business Network, said, “The KhulaSangam program is a unique initiative aimed at addressing the challenge of unemployment in South Africa by leveraging the special and growing relationship between India and South Africa.”
About FirstRand
FirstRand Bank in India is a part of FirstRand Limited a large financial services group based in South Africa and the first African banking franchise to enter India. FirstRand is South Africa’s 2nd largest financial services group with over USD 115 billion of assets under management.
Through ownership of brands such as First National Bank (FNB), Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and Wesbank, the Group operates in almost every segment of the financial services market.
About L&T Infotech
L&T Infotech is wholly owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro (L&T), a USD 13.5 billion technology, engineering, construction, manufacturing and financial services conglomerate, with global operations. L&T Infotech provides end-to-end solutions and services in the following verticals: Banking & Financial Services; Insurance; Travel & Logistics, Media & Entertainment, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Energy & Process, Utilities, E&C , Hi-tech & Consumer Electronics, Consumer Packaged Goods, Retail & Pharmaceuticals, Auto & Aerospace, Industrial Products, and Product Engineering Services (PES).
L&T Infotech also delivers business solutions to its clients in: Testing, Mobility, Infrastructure Management System; Business Intelligence/Data Warehousing, SAP, Oracle and Microsoft, Enterprise Integration and Manufacturing Execution Systems, in addition to an innovative CIO-thought partnership program that provides a value-driven edge to clients.
L&T Infotech is ranked by NASSCOM as the 9th largest software & services exporter from India and among the top 20 IT BPO employers. It is differentiated by its unique Business-to-IT Connect which emerges out of its rich corporate heritage. (www.Lntinfotech.com)
L&T is one of the largest and most respected companies in India’s private sector. It is ranked the world’s 9th Most Innovative Company by Forbes International and 4th in the global list of Green Companies in the industrial sector by the reputed international magazine Newsweek. A strong, customer–focused approach and the constant quest for top-class quality have enabled L&T to attain and sustain leadership in its major lines of business over seven decades.
About GIBS
Founded in 2000, GIBS is an internationally accredited business school based in Johannesburg, South Africa’s economic hub. As the “business school for business”, GIBS’ purpose is to significantly improve the competitive performance of individuals and organisations through business education in dynamic markets. Consistently rated as one of the top business schools in South Africa, in May 2012 GIBS was again ranked as one of the top business schools globally by the Financial Times, the only African business school to be placed in the top 50 business schools worldwide for executive education programs. This is the ninth year running that GIBS has been ranked among the top business schools worldwide. In October 2012 the GIBS MBA was ranked among the top 100 business schools globally in the prestigious Financial Times Executive MBA Rankings 2012. GIBS is the only business school in Africa to appear in these rankings.
GIBS is accredited by the Association of MBAs (AMBA), the Council on Higher Education (CHE) and is a member of the South African Business Schools Association (SABSA), the Association of African Business Schools (AABS) and the European Academy of Business in Society (EABIS). www.gibs.co.za
